Tag: Drawing »

Penpoint Drawing, by Damin Liu, is a new creative drawing app that uses your finger as your stylus.

It's true that we don't normally touch upon anything Android related here at 148Apps but our sister site, Android Rundown, is currently taking part in a giveawaywith NetEase Games that could get you a free $25 Google Play gift card. How could we not share the opportunity?

You can read up on all the specifics over on Android Rundown's announcement page, but the abbreviated version is thus according to the post:

• Sign up for the Speedy Ninja beta at the Google sign-up sheet.
• Answer the question “What color best befits a Ninja”? Put the answer as a comment to this post.
• Wait with fingers crossed; we’ll have a drawing and announce the winners.

For accuracy, make sure that your signup name and email match the name and email you sue to answer the questions in the comments.

The rules: one word (color) answers are fine. No profanity. Single entries. Boom.

Plasma Pig initially entices with a great, central idea. However, it doesn’t quite take that idea as far as it should go. It’s a great game, but the slightly wasted potential can’t help but sting. Still, landing among the stars is a good consolation prize for shooting for the moon.

When Pigsley, a simple Earth pig, is transported to the planet Lardo, he soon becomes the target of the bacon-hungry alien overlord, Than. Now, only the player’s finger can lead him home. In Plasma Pig, players draw ramps and platforms to guide the circular Pigsley to the level’s exit. The mechanic will be instantly familiar to anyone who played Kirby’s Canvas Curse on the Nintendo DS in 2005. That game set a new, high standard for what touch-based games could be and its hook is no less magnificent here than it was years ago. Players can also tilt Pigsley to help nudge him in the right direction, adding more finesse to the gameplay. While early levels are disappointingly sparse, with too many empty spaces, later worlds eventually introduce bounce pads and other tricks that give the game a satisfying amount of complexity. 

Still, throughout its 100 or so levels, Plasma Pig only does the most basic things with level design. Often, the most immediately obvious path to draw to get all three stars will be the one that works. The limited amount of ink or “plasma” occasionally forces players to be more thoughtful and efficient with their scribbling but the levels themselves should provide that challenge, too. It’s not like the game is some platforming adventure where new ramps must constantly be drawn on the fly. Each stage is just a self-contained, overly straightforward puzzle.

At least they are good looking puzzles, though. While it may appear overly simple at first, Plasma Pig’s various worlds, including desert, jungle, and ice environments, impress with subtle depth and textures with a kid’s book, construction paper quality. Pigsley himself may not be too interesting but his surroundings are. The music also does a great job at putting players in the “space adventure” state of mind.

Plasma Pig may not make the most out of its killer hook, but it certainly doesn’t squander it either. It’s a fun, creative game that just doesn’t completely leave orbit. 

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