GDWC AppGameKit Category Winners!
The Game Creators today announced the winners of the AppGameKit category in the GDWC 2017 Competiton.
Well done to everyone who entered and without further ado here are the winners:
Slice Wise - 1st Prize $500
Developer: Jan Bögemann
Description: Use your cuts wisely, as it is not always as simple as it seems. In this physics puzzle game, you need to feel your fingertips and prove your understanding of physics! Your goal is to use a limited number of cuts, to make all the contaminated crates drop down and disappear. Once achieved you can move on to the next level.
Review: This is a physics puzzle game that really gets you thinking. The game is very well presented and finished off with lots of care taken to ensure it plays well on mobile devices. Improvements could include easier levels to get you started and a better tutorial. Overall this was the most rounded off and completed AppGameKit game and deserved to win 1st Prize in the AppGameKit category - well done Jan!
Play Slice Wise on Android for FREE HERE
conFUSE! - 2nd Prize $200
Developer: Matthew Pilz
Description: In conFUSE!, the player races against time by feverishly constructing a singular path for the rapidly burning fuse to traverse. This is achieved by sliding and swiping the various tiles around the gamespace and rotating them so that they connect with one another. There are numerous types of tiles. Some cannot be moved at all while others can only rotate in certain patterns. When the round begins the meter on the left will begin burning down, and when the fuse reaches the end it will connect to the main playfield and start along the path. The longer you can keep the fuse moving, the higher your score will be. Two game modes are available Survival and Level Run.
Review: The game is very well developed with good graphics and an easy to use interface. We really wanted to like this game because it's a great idea and a lot of work has gone into its design and gameplay. The main bug bear was the fact that it was super hard to play. The player is not given much time to sort the path and before we knew it the time was up and the game was over. More gentle and easier to play levels would really help settle a player into the game. Still, a great game idea with lots of promise. We hope Matthew field tests the game and completes it fully.
Vacuum - 3rd Prize $100
Developer: Chris Chedwood
Description: The game is set in a solar system, some 600 years after interplanetary space travel was achieved. Humans have established colonies throughout the system, but there is political unrest within the colonies towards the controlling homeworld. The actions you take, the jobs you complete and the alliances you forge throughout the game will mould the political landscape of the solar system. You start by designing your spacecraft. Since artificial gravity does not exist, all spacecraft are ring-like space-stations (like in Interstellar) and you create your own by selecting specialist parts (power, shield, residential, farming, science, industry, etc.). As you progress through the game you upgrade your space-station by either researching upgrades or salvaging them from inactive stations and probes.
Review: This is a thinking person’s space simulator! The game introduces you to gravitational orbits and planetary space travel. You take on missions and pick up new crew members as you planet hop around its virtual universe. It’s very much a work in progress and shows a lot of potential. The graphical style is very appealing and well thought out. We did find the game very difficult to understand and play at first. There needs to be better tutorials and documentation to show users how to play the game. There’s lots of potential here and we urge Chris to test the game with friends to refine first game play issues.
Emoji Wars - 4th Prize $50
Developer: Teemu Kanstrén & Kaisu Kanstrén
Description: Help Bob and Alice save the souls of mankind from mega corporations! In this 2D top-down shooter where you as Bob (virtual Bob to be precise) must infect the databanks in the mega corporations networks in order for Alice, as the operator, to hack the network. The goal is to progress to the final big data storages at the depths of the mega corps networks.
Review: This is a twin stick shooter featuring emoji icons, what more could you want? The game has good movement and shooting mechanics. There's still work for the developer to do. We felt the text was hard to read at times and it's not very clear what is expected of the player. We urge more testing with new users and taking any feedback to improve the game. We look forward to seeing the title fully completed and tidied up.
The Awakening - 5th Prize $50
Developer: Racso (Oscar Fernando Gómez Sandoval)
Description: The Awakening is a fast-paced puzzle game. Use your quick thinking to collect food while avoiding the Awaken: reanimated death who appeared in the world and caused the society to collapse.
Review: I was pleasantly surprised by this game. In the quick survival mode you only have 30 seconds to score points by taking out the Awakened enemies, eating food and picking up health packs. Every choice has a consequence and before you know it the time is almost out or you've not got the right food / health levels to finish in time. With an online leaderboard and an exploration mode this is a well thought out game.
Lennu Run - 6th Prize $50
Developer: Teemu Kanstrén & Kaisu Kanstrén
Description: Your job is to help Lennu the Dog have a good run in different locations. Starting in his home forest, continuing to Helsinki, and from there forward. Lennu wants to have a nice run, but everyone else wants to hug him because he is so cute. So try to run as far as possible and avoid the huggers, as well as other obstacles in the game. It is a sideways running game.
Review: Another title from Teemu & Kaisu. This is a simple jumping game for mobile devices. The basics of the game are in place and we would encourage the developer to make it more interesting if possible.
Well done to all those who entered and won prize money, and a big thank you to GDWC for hosting the competition.
