23
Jan
unnamed (1)

[New Game] Imangi Studios Debuts Temple Run 2 With Enhanced Graphics, New Obstacles

Posted by in Games, News

Bringing a much-needed update to the wildly popular Temple Run, Imangi Studios introduced Temple Run 2 to the Play Store earlier this evening. The game, which brings updated graphics, new obstacles, and player-specific powers, is essentially a refresh of the original, bringing it up to par with recent endless-runner entries like Activision's Pitfall!.

Temple Run 2, like its predecessor, provides players with a vague pretext surrounding a sacred idol. All you really need to know is that you're running from a big, scary, demon monkey, avoiding obstacles, and collecting as many coins as possible along the way. While the overall gameplay dynamic remains the same, players will enjoy sizable enhancements - for one thing, alternate characters are no longer just custom meshes - each character has its own special power.

20
Dec
image

Google: Developers Can Now Localize Promotional Graphics In The Play Store

Posted by in Applications, News

As Google continues the work of expanding its Play Store services across the globe, it only makes sense that the giant is also working to provide a cohesive, pleasant experience for users in the 130+ countries that now support paid apps. To that end, Google has announced in a post to the Android Developers blog that developers can now include localized promotional graphics and video in their Play Store listings.

Basically, what this means is that developers can upload separate assets to ensure that users in, for example, the United States will see English-language graphics and video, while others around the world see materials in their own language.

30
Jul
image

Going Indie: The Story Of Independent Android Game Development From Concept To Completion

Posted by in Android OS, Applications, Development, Games, Interviews
Last Updated: July 31st, 2012

One of the great things about Android's ecosystem is the number of indie developers who are able to enter the market successfully, providing a great product and inspiring would-be developers to join in. For many though, Android development in general is a mysterious topic. How an app or game goes from an idea to an entry in the Play Store is unknown, but (thankfully) not unknowable.

Of course, considering how major development studios bring apps to life doesn't require too much thought – major companies like EA, Disney, or Rockstar have no problem hiring designers and developers to crank out and maintain polished apps.

11
Jul
image

Fluid UI Makes Creating (And Testing) Mobile Design Mockups Faster, Easier, And More Productive

Posted by in Android OS, Design, Development, News

Aiming to "unlock the world's creativity," the team at Fluid Software recently completed a project that began in January 2011 with the release of Fluid UI 1.0. The tool, which is powered by HTML 5 and based online, allows users to quickly and easily create mobile UI mockups for Android (both tablets and phones), as well as iOS using a simple interface that includes all of the basic building blocks (clip art icons, navigation elements, system bars, etc.) for beautiful, style-guide friendly interfaces.

image image

Fluid UI's building interface can link, clone, and add pages and other elements, while providing an impressive array of transition options including various gestures and page-transition animations that are automatically baked in to your mockup.

15
Jun
image

Draw Something's "Fresh New Look" Could Use Some Help, But A Few Tweaks Could Make All The Difference

Posted by in Applications, Design, Editorials

With the introduction of Draw Something's "fresh new look!" update a couple of days ago came many design changes, not all of them entirely great. Just for fun, I decided to take a shot at making Draw Something's design slightly "fresher," or at least slightly more sensible. Just like my last design critique, I'll start by taking a look at what issues the current design has, and then make a few suggestions (with some quick mockups) as to what I think could be improved.

What's Wrong

To be completely fair, Draw Something's new look isn't terrible. It's just not what it could be.

26
Nov
image

Verizon Specifically Marks The Galaxy Nexus As Having "No OEM Customization," 32GB Internal Storage

Posted by in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Verizon Wireless

In a recent "Competitive Comparison" graphic, Verizon has labeled Samsung's Galaxy Nexus as having "No OEM Customization," ostensibly as a selling point against the competition.

galaxy-nexus-competition

It's interesting that Verizon would go so far in labeling the Nexus' UI as such, but it may hint that VZW is at least vaguely aware that some consumers prefer a stock experience, and consider it a strong enough selling point that it should be included in a comparison chart. It's also likely that Verizon simply wanted to accurately describe each device's UI, but I find it odd that they included "Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich" twice in the same column, just to make clear that there are no custom overlays to be found on the Nexus.