Archive for June, 2012

PlayBook outperforming for App Sales

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

In terms of in-market devices, the number of BlackBerry phones being used is much larger then the number of PlayBooks being used. However if you look at app sales, the overall difference is much smaller.

It is unclear if this difference is due to the larger screen size, the different demographics of the userbase, or the ease of use of purchasing and installing apps on the QNX based OS.

Runaway Trains now available on the Amazon App Store

Monday, June 25th, 2012

Runaway Trains has been available for Android for a while, but now it can also be downloaded from Amazon’s app store. Like the BlackBerry and Google Play versions of the app, the first 25 levels are free, while the full game can be purchased with a $2.99 in app purchase.

About Runaway Trains

Runaway Trains is a colorful strategy game for all ages where you must route the trains to the proper station. Each level progresses in difficulty and presents an unique puzzle which you must solve by finding a way to guide the coloured trains causing a collision or running out of track.

This is done by touching the intersections to toggle the open path of the tracks. If at any time the trains crash or end up at the wrong station, you will have lost and have to try again.

Links & Information

BlackBerry 10 Jam in Toronto

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

Tomorrow the BlackBerry 10 Jam world tour is going to Toronto. I have decided that I will be making the drive up to Canada to attend. For everyone else going, I would love to meet you, so please feel free to take the opportunity to talk.

Xploding Boxes now available for Android

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

Xploding Boxes is now available for Android phones and tablets through the Amazon app store and Google Play. This is the same full game that is available for BlackBerry and includes the full 310 levels. You may play the first 25 levels for free, and can then use an in-app purchase in order to get access to the rest of the levels.

About Xploding Boxes

Xploding Boxes is a strategy game for BlackBerry, Android, and Nook, where the goal of the game is to start a chain reaction that will explode all of the boxes on the screen. Each level gives you a different number of touches, and requires a different strategy to solve. The first 25 levels are free, while the full 310 levels can be accessed by making an in-application payment and requiring no further downloads. This game is available for the PlayBook, most BlackBerry smartphones running OS 5.0 or higher, most Android devices running OS 2.2 or higher, and the Nook Color and Nook Tablet.

Links & Information

Xploding Boxes adds portrait orientation support for PlayBook

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Xploding Boxes has been updated in BlackBerry AppWorld and the Nook Bookstore to version 3.4. This new version adds an additional 10 levels while also adding support for multiple orientations on the BlackBerry PlayBook. The level selection page on the tablet has also been reskinned to match the gradients found on the phone version of the game.

About Xploding Boxes

Xploding Boxes is a strategy game for BlackBerry and Nook, where the goal of the game is to start a chain reaction that will explode all of the boxes on the screen. Each level gives you a different number of touches, and requires a different strategy to solve. The first 25 levels are free, while the full 300 levels can be accessed by making an in-application payment and requiring no further downloads. This game is available for the PlayBook, most smartphones running OS 5.0 or higher, and the Nook Color and Nook Tablet.

New in Version 3.4

This update adds an additional ten levels, bringing the total number of levels up to 310. Additionally the PlayBook got a visual refresh to the level selection screen, and now supports portrait orientations in addition to landscape.

Links & Information

Original design of Twinkle

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012

Back in 2010, around this time I was doing the first design work for the Twinkle app. While Twinkle has grown to include many features, it started off pretty simple with the design only taking up a third of a page, as shown below.