graphics - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Graphic Designers: Bookmark This Great Cheatsheet For Holo Visuals And Resources

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Development, News

I spent the better part of four years before the keyboard as a graphic designer, but when it comes to programming and development, I don't know Java from a small Indonesian island. If you're a designer who's been tasked with creating the visual elements for an Android app, you need to check out Peter Nohejl's Android cheatsheet for Graphic designers. It's got pretty much everything you'll need when preparing visual assets, plus bonus help when preparing promotional materials for the Play Store.

In addition to basic dimensions, DPI settings, standard colors and the like, there's some great information about why you need to prepare certain files and templates in certain ways.

Feb

'Anomaly Warzone Earth' And 'Anomaly Korea' Are 50% Off On The Play Store ($2)

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Deals, Games, News

Tower defense games are great. Tired and done to death, sure, but the good ones are really fantastic. Anomaly Warzone Earth and the sequel Anomaly Korea are two of the better entries in the genre, having the distinguishing factor of playing role reversal. In these, you're not building towers, you're trying to slip past them. Now, both titles are half off on the Play Store, each costing a mere $2.

Normally, each game individually is priced at $4 and now you can get both for the same price. Not a bad deal! Back when Ryan reviewed Anomaly Korea, he loved it.

Jan

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

Posted by Liam Spradlin 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.

Dec

Activision's 30th-Anniversary PITFALL! Rework Hits The Play Store As An Endless Runner With A Little More To Offer

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Games, News

Bringing its already-popular (on iOS) reimagining of the Atari classic to Android, Activision released Pitfall! to the Play Store today. For those who haven't seen or played the newly conceptualized Pitfall, it shares very little with the original – you'll still be dodging snakes, swinging on ropes, and jump over impossible pitfalls, but this time you'll be playing an "endless-runner" a la Temple Run. Unlike Temple Run, however, Pitfall's protagonist (Pitfall Harry) uses a whip to defeat whatever wild foes happen to be in his way. Harry will also find himself riding various vehicles and running through plenty of dynamic environments.

Dec

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

Posted by Liam Spradlin 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.

Dec

Snapseed, The Image Editor That Google Bought After It Won iPad App Of The Year, Is Now On Android

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Google, News

There are no shortage of image editors on Android. Even Adobe, which makes the class-leading Photoshop, has a version of its editor on the platform. Today, though, Google gets one of its very own: Snapseed. You may recall this particular piece of software when it was demoed by NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang at CES this year. At the time, it was only available on the iPad where it had won App of the Year in 2011. Shortly thereafter, Google bought the company. Now, the Android version is finally being released.

^{This video is a bit older and shows off the iOS version, but you get the idea.}

Oct

[New Game] 2K Games Releases NBA 2K13, Invites Players To 'Enter The New Dynasty'

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Games, News

Bringing a new entry to the successful NBA 2KX franchise, 2K Games recently released NBA 2K13 to Google's Play Store. Like its predecessors, NBA 2K13 is built on the NBA 2K engine, with improved graphics and a new one-finger control option to give players "the ultimate NBA experience while on the go."

Besides the option to use 2K13's new one-finger control system, players can revel in some nostalgia while reliving some of the best performances "in NBA history, including Kobe Bryant's 81-point performance in 2006."

Players can also play through multiple NBA seasons with the same team in order to establish them as "a new dynasty," while enjoying a television-style presentation including full commentary.

Sep

Voxel Invaders Is A Galaga-Like Space Shooter That Thinks Two Dimensions Just Isn't Enough

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

You seen one top-scrolling space shooter, you've seen 'em all, am I right? No, as a matter of fact, I am not. Voxel Invaders is here to prove that. Take a look at the trailer below and you see that the game starts off simple enough. Some nice, 3D-ish graphics adorn an otherwise banal battleground. Or so it seems. Until around ten seconds into the video, when the world shifts and we see things from a whole new perspective.

It's not just a plane change here, either. Voxel Invaders incorporates elements from a variety of different retro and modern game styles for an elaborate experience.

Sep

Photoshop Touch For Tablets Updated With Larger Image Support, UI Enhancements, And New Effects

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Applications, News

Photoshop Touch may be a long way from coming anywhere near the capabilities of its desktop alternative, but Adobe is closing the gap bit by bit. The 1.3 update issued today adds a handful of new features, the most important of which is support for images up to 12 megapixels in density. Even that won't be enough to keep up with current mid-range DSLRs, but it should let designers play with the photos taken from any Android tablets in the near future. Unfortunately, the $9.99 app is still exclusively formatted for and restricted to tablets - something that Galaxy Note owners are surely a little miffed at.

Aug

[New App] SwatchMatic Creates Live, Automatic Color Swatches From Your Smartphone Camera - Plus Robots

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Applications, News

So you're a graphic designer who's constantly inspired by the colors around you. That's fine and dandy, but just try putting "that sort of yellow-orange I saw on the aspen leaves in Durango last Saturday" into Dreamweaver and see what happens. Well, chromatically frustrated artists, we have a solution for you. SwatchMatic takes a look at the colors streaming into your Android smartphone's camera, and creates live, continually shifting dynamic color palettes from the relevant scene. Tap on the screen and you get your palette, output in HSV, RGB, and WEB values. It's a neat little color tool, and best of all, it's free.