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We review Time Chaos, a Game Boy-style Android application
Nintendo’s legendary Game Boy may have been limited to displaying just four shades of grey but it has nevertheless gone down in video gaming history as a classic system – so much so that mobile developer Orange Pixel has created this tender love letter to the machine and its library of brilliant titles.
To put it simply, Time Chaos is a Game Boy game programmed almost twenty years too late.
The developer has intentionally stuck to those four famous shades of grey and has also included music which sounds as if it has been lifted directly from Nintendo’s famous handheld.
The project has actually evolved from one of those “make a game in 48 hours” challenges that indie developers are apparently so fond of – taking this into account it’s slightly easier to forgive Time Chaos’ incredible simplicity and lack of variety.
The action takes place on just one screen, with your character in the middle. By tiling the phone you can influence which direction he moves in and how fast he runs.
He brandishes a small handgun which is stuck on auto-fire, and the general aim is to kill the onrushing enemies which appear from the left and right-hand side of the screen.
These foes drop additional ammo and health packs which are vital to your survival.
They come in different forms – the basic grunts need to get in close before they can inflict any damage but other units are capable of firing back. Some are even packing rocket launchers and flame throwers.
It’s not just ground-based target which pose a challenge – you’ll also find that helicopters appear from time to time and drop bombs on your location.
During these particularly fraught moments you’ll need to master the tilt controls and your character’s jumping ability, which is triggered by tapping anywhere on the screen.
Aside from the ability to post your score to an online leaderboard, there’s little else in Time Chaos to speak of.
This is basically a high-screen challenge with basic controls and bags of addictive charm. There’s a surprising amount of skill involved with avoiding enemy fire and timing your shots to take out the stronger and more deadly foes.
The developer has already said that additional features – such as different levels, weapon power-ups and end-of-level boss encounters – are in the pipeline so Time Chaos is definitely worth supporting.
If you were feeling unkind you could point out that the brevity of the experience means that Orange Pixel’s retro-themed blaster isn’t going to oust other more established action titles on Android but that somewhat misses the point.
It’s being offered for free and in its current form offers a mildly diverting way to waste a few minutes.
With the proposed additions it could become a truly essential download, but for the time being you certainly have nothing to lose by checking this out – especially if you’re old enough to remember the irresistible allure of that monochrome Game Boy display.
Rating: 3,5/5
Source: Know your Mobile
tag: Time Chaos
With mobile gaming on the rise it seems about the time to look at a company who has been doing it for years. Since 2004 Orange Pixel has been in the mobile phone market. Now I am not sure about you, but for me six years is a long time. Getting a chance to talk with Pascal Bestebroer who is the CEO for Orange Pixel.
Toby Davis: Please, tell me who you are and about your job here?
Pascal : I’m one of two persons working at OrangePixel, and I’m basically everything from CEO to developer to graphics guy. The other person is Aline, who takes care of most of the day to day office tasks and helping out with the concepts and testing of the games.
TD: What would you say is the drive behind your games and how they are perceived by gamers in the mobile platform area?
Read full interview: Bitmob
tag:
Vandaag bekijken we voor de tweede maal een game van het Nederlandse OrangePixel. Hoewel de game nog met enige regelmaat bug fixes krijgt, is de het grootste deel van de game in 48 uur ontwikkeld en dat is niet slecht voor een studio met slechts één ontwikkelaar.
Toen ik de game voor het eerst startte, kreeg ik per direct een beetje heimwee naar mijn eerste GameBoy. Het kleurenschema van TimeChaos en de overduidelijke pixelart, gecombineerd met de chiptune muziekjes lijken rechtstreeks uit die tijd te komen. Dat verklaart misschien ook de titel die OrangePixel aan de game heeft gegeven gezien de game zelf geen verhaallijn lijkt te hebben.
Wanneer je de game start, sta je midden in een slagveld. Door het toestel (in ons geval de HTC Hero) te kantelen loopt jouw karakter naar links of naar rechts. Om de seconde los je automatisch een schot. Door op het scherm te tikken zal jouw karakter springen om op die manier soldaten en projectielen te ontwijken.
De vijand bestaat zoals gezegd uit verschillende soldaten. Sommige schieten met kogels, anderen met vlammenwerpers of raketten en weer anderen schieten niet. Om het geheel nog wat spannender te maken zijn er ook bommenwerpende helikopters die over het slagveld vliegen.
Wanneer je vijandige soldaten doodschiet, laten ze met grote regelmaat powerups achter zoals nieuwe levens en munitie. Hoewel we in het begin het idee hadden dat de hoeveelheid powerups wat overdadig was, zal je op den duur net zo snel levens verliezen als je ze op kan pakken. Dit maakt de game na ongeveer een minuut spelen al zeer dynamisch terwijl de AI van de vijandige karakters opzicht niks voorstelt.
Zoals je wellicht al aanvoelt, is TimeChaos geen spel waar je uren lol aan zult beleven. Het is een zeer leuk en simpel spel om even en paar minuten mee te vullen. De game is (op basis van advertenties) gratis te downloaden vanaf Android Market. Ontwikkelaars die interesse hebben om een variant op de game te maken of om deze uit te bereiden kunnen binnenkort de source van de game downloaden. Hou hiervoor het TimeChaos blog in de gaten.
tag: Time Chaos
Gameplay: DynamoKid is a classic platformer with a few twists that definitely deserve a look. You jump, destroy enemies, collect stars, and ultimately try and make it to the end of each level without dying. Since it is on the iPhone, touch controls come into play in various fashions. You tap the Kid to make him jump, you can swipe along dotted areas to let the world become more solid, you can tap to destroy or move enemies, and you can swipe/tap stars to drop them down to where the Kid can get to them. All of these elements work perfectly well but the pace of the game is where the difficulty comes in. From the second the game starts the Kid is moving quickly throughout the randomly generated world so make one false jump and you lose and must start over. Also you must juggle killing enemies, collecting stars, and jumping which was certainly frustrating at first.
Right now you only have one life so playing once and then exiting to the menu can be defeating for many casual players. With all of that said though, I found myself wanting to get better and playing at least three times every time I started up the game. From what I saw the world continues to evolve, add in more colors, add new enemies, and have some Easter eggs throughout the level. Coupled with the promise of new levels, UI & control updates, and more features in the future make this worth checking out for any platformer fan.
Graphics: Nice hand drawn to cartoon art style. The level and world evolves the further you get in the game with more colors, more distinct and diverse backgrounds, and elaborate enemies which makes the visual reward of getting further in the level very desirable. The menu system is simple and sweet with only my personal gripe missing. My personal gripe being the inability to play my own music library with or on top of the games sounds and music.
Overall: In the end I would say this is a fun platformer to try out and buy if you wish. The lite version gives everyone the free accessibility to try the game so there is no real reason to pass it by. Even if you aren’t a platformer fan but love challenging quick games, this one should be given a pass.
Pros:
* Fun addictive gameplay
* Quick play times make it great for quick or long play sessions
* Quick load times & visually exciting graphics make it a great show off piece for the iPhone.
Cons:
* Can’t play your own music while the game is loaded
* Very frustrating as you learn the games rules & controls
Score: 7 out of 10
Source: Loud Mouthed Gamers
tag: Dynamokid
Gulp is a new game from our good friends at Orange Pixel! These guys have put out quality game after quality game. So does Gulp keep up with the quality that Orange Pixel has come to show us?
Gameplay: The game is simple, it’s simple on premise and simple in execution, the point of the game is to guide your little guy through the vibrant and crisp backgrounds and worlds that the game takes him through. That makes it sound like a platformer, well it can be, and it isn’t, not entirely anways. Your goal is to take your character and move him from one side of the screen to the other while your enemies and powerups fall from the sky at what seems like random. The enemy needs to be collected and swallowed with your tongue quite like Yoshi from the Mario games, except instead of shooting straight forward, your character shoots his tongue upward and at an angle. This all seems easy enough and not too challenging, but that’s where you’d be wrong. The enemies you see, if you don’t eat them before they hit the floor, explode and remove the floor from right under your feet. This then turns the game into a platformer where you’re jumping from platform to platform in a mad dash to survive while you get fat and eat your enemies. The game, shortly after having two or three pieces of the floor being destroyed, turns into a hectic and exhilarating exercise in running and eating!
Controls: The controls are simple and easy to learn, the only downside that I noticed is that the sensitivity is too high and resulted in my character running too far to the side, or running straight into a precipice of which there was no return. If there was a way to change said sensitivity I would have said the controls are the best in accelerometer controls I’ve had the pleasure of controlling, but with sensitivity this high, its hard to say they’re perfect. Or perhaps it’s the user as well, sensitivity always seems like it’s up to the user to decide, all the while, one person may find them too difficult another player may find them perfect.
Graphics: The game looks great, the character exhibits great and fluid animations, and the world around you is vibrant and crisp, nothing to complain about here.
Overall: It’s a brilliant game, it’s fun and simple and can be played either for minutes at a time, or hours at a time. It’s challenging an frustrating, depending on how you find the sensitivity is set at.
Rating: 4.5/5
Source: Droid gamers
tag: Gulp!
A cute Cannabalt clone that needs a little tweaking.
I could try to distill DynamoKid Touch into something deep – rhapsodizing about its themes of perseverance, destiny, and determination – but really, this is pretty much just a super-cute Canabalt. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Canabalt remains a very special iPhone game and there are far worse titles to model after.
Your role in DynamoKid is to make sure the titular runner is able to get as far to the right as possible and collect as many stars as you can along the way. You tap the kid to make him jump. Touching enemies eliminates them. Swiping across hanging stars drops them into the kid’s path for easy collecting. Sounds easy, right? DynamoKid’s challenge comes from the need for you to color objects that keep him from tumbling into the void. For example, as you rush up to a black-and-white bridge, you must rub it to fill in the missing colors and make it usable for the kid. It’s a cool idea.
DynamoKid, however, is held back by some fussy controls. The kid wouldn’t necessarily always jump unless I tapped directly on top of him. When you are trying to color in the path, eliminate enemies, and drop stars, you don’t necessarily have time for pin-point accuracy. Cut me a little slack here. And some of the swiping to color in objects didn’t respond nearly fast as necessary to complete enough of the platform. I’d start rubbing to make a bridge, watch is frustration as only part of it became usable, and then was unable to tap the kid in time.
Rating: 7/10
Source: IGN
OrangePixel release Time Chaos a free game for the Android
Den Helder, Netherlands – May 17, 2010
Just a fun game in 8 bit style, completly free so check out the Android market.
Post your high scores on Twitter and challenge your friends!
If you want to find out more about this game, check: http://www.orangepixel.net/timechaos
tag: Time Chaos
Our game Drill Panic! The free version is the Free Android App of the Day on Free android app a day!
“Escape the drill by tilting your Android phone left or right. Collect diamonds on the way down, and avoid obstacles.”
Read more: FreeAndroidAppADay
tag: Drill Panic!
Tout droit échappé de Android, Dynamo Kid ne peut s’empêcher de courir. C’est à pleine vitesse qu’il débarque donc sur iPhone et iPod Touch grâce au travail effectué par Orange Pixel. D’autres jeux d’arcade ont déjà su séduire les amateurs de scoring et de challenge, et DynamoKid Touch vient s’ajouter à la ludothèque de l’App Store en y apportant une ambiance et une jouabilité à part entière qui offre un peu de variété au genre. Les plus courageux peuvent d’ores et déjà terminer de nouer leurs lacets tandis que les flemmards opteront sagement pour la fuite en prenant leurs jambes à leur cou.
DynamoKid Touch allie jeu de course et d’arcade en y ajoutant une large touche de plateforme et d’action qui saura séduire les amateurs du genre, les joueurs avides de challenge ou tout simplement ceux qui apprécient les jeux auxquels on joue par courtes sessions. Après avoir déboursé 1,59€, on installera donc le soft de Orange Pixel sur son iPhone ou son iPod Touch (ou son mobile Android) de manière rapide puisqu’il ne pèse que 1,3Mo.
Read full review: LiveGeek
Raiting: 14/20
tag: Dynamokid
We recently reviewed the iPhone / iPod Touch game DynamoKid Touch by OrangePixel, a mobile game studio. Given the opportunity to ask some questions about the game and the studio’s upcoming projects, we jumped at the chance to find out more.
Scott Morse: On OrangePixel’s website it’s mentioned that upcoming updates for DynamoKid Touch include a bug fix and the addition of a new world. Are there any other updates we can look forward to in the future?
OrangePixel: The update mentioned on the site is now live, but we are already hard at work on real updates. A new world will be added, together with a world-selection map (like the old school Mario games). The update will contain many small enhancements on top of the new world… and after that we plan to add more worlds in following updates… we are not done with this game yet! – check the site for a great trailer of the new world we are introducing.. it’s hot!
Read full interview: Gamers With Casts