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148Apps 2013 wrAPP-Up - The Most Distinct Apps and Games of the Year

Posted by Lucy Ingram on January 1st, 2014

Every year, with thousands more apps and games being released on the App Store, it becomes increasingly difficult to single-out just which are the crème de la crème of this ever-growing iOS market - and more specifically, which of them truly set a higher standard in terms of innovation, uniqueness, and individuality. Be it a game designed for the iPhone or iPad, anything developed and released on the iOS market in this day and age has to have that special something to grab our interest and retain it for months to come. In no particular order, here are a selection of the most notable games and apps of 2013 that raised the bar in one way or another.

Games


Morphopolis - Quite possibly one of the most visually stunning games I’ve seen all year, Morphopolis' astounding presentation and imaginative world designs are what truly sets this hidden object puzzle game apart from those of a similar style. The beautiful hand-drawn watercolor hues bring every aspect of the game's artwork to life, while the folksy ambient soundtrack sets a beautiful and warm tone to suit the mellow and relaxing pace. What is so immensely likeable about the puzzles in Morphopolis is that each of them is original, unique, stylish, and distinctive in nature, with every single one utilizing the environment in some manner to build upon the atmosphere.

Ridiculous Fishing - Ridiculous Fishing is a game that without a doubt deserves everything it’s achieved this year as it’s nothing short of spectacular. Yes, it’s a fishing game. Agreed, it’s ludicrously silly, simple, and every part as ridiculous as it sounds, but it’s also beautiful in every way. Alongside it’s fantastic art style and fluid control system, this is the kind of game that is suitable for anyone.

Procreate - Artist Kyle Lambert Uses App to Create Photorealistic Portrait of Actor Morgan Freeman

Posted by Andrew Stevens on December 5th, 2013
iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
Our rating: starstarstarstarstar :: PAINTING PERFECTED :: Read Review »

Artist Kyle Lambert created a portrait of actor Morgan Freeman by using Procreate on his iPad Air. Below you can find the video of the entire creation process of the image as the artist uses only his finger to create the portrait.

Procreate 2.0 Update Arrives With a Redesign, Adds New Features and Adjustments to its Editing Tools

Posted by Andrew Stevens on November 27th, 2013
iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
Our rating: starstarstarstarstar :: PAINTING PERFECTED :: Read Review »

The Procreate 2.0 update has arrived, presenting users with a completely redesigned look for iOS 7 and optimization for the iPad Air and Mini with Retina Display. It features new filters and adjustments - including Gaussian Blur, Sharpen, Noise, Hue, Color Balance, and Curves. It also updated the gallery to allow users to quickly load documents and share a group of images.

Procreate 2 - Savage Interactive Announces New Procreate App, Features a Variety of Graphics Accelerated Image Filters

Posted by Andrew Stevens on November 6th, 2013

Savage Interactive, the creators of Procreate, are currently working on Procreate 2. This idea was formed after celebrating Procreate's success in winning an Apple Design Award earlier in the year. The company's plan for Procreate 2 is to make sure it's better. Well, Obviously. Procreate 2 is planned to feature a variety of graphics accelerated image filters that are built on Open GL. This allows for fast, real-time adjustments that give the user nearly limitless possibilities.

Pogo Connect Bluetooth 4.0 Stylus for iPad Review

Posted by Lisa Caplan on February 22nd, 2013

The iPad’s form has been seducing digital artists and those who love to doodle since its launch. It’s also the ideal size for taking hand-written notes. There are dozens of apps that create rich drawing or writing environments, but until recently input devices have been limited. Fingers just won’t do when precision is needed so artists and copious note takers usually rely on capacitive styluses which simulate the feeling of a pen, but are limited by the touchscreen interface. They aren’t sensitive to pressure, they offer no control over line thickness, and holding one comfortably tends to leave palm marks on the virtual page. Ten One Design offers one solution with their Bluetooth 4.0 Pogo Connect stylus. It doesn’t get everything right, but it’s a solid start in a promising direction.

At 5.1" (130mm) with a price tag of $80, the Pogo Connect sports a stylish silver barrel with a rubber tip at one end and decorative cap at the other. There is a single button on the side and a LED light. It uses one AAA battery and because it’s Bluetooth 4.0 that battery will last a long time. A little wider than a regular stylus, the pen lacks heft, but it fits comfortably in the hand and has good balance. The tip is the same thick dark rubber that one finds on traditional styluses and is magnetic for easy replacement. Ten One promises new tip designs in the future.

Pogo Connect doesn’t pair with the iPad in the usual way a Bluetooth device would. To assist in getting everything set up correctly, users can download the free Pogo Connect app to link the stylus and then each of the 19 compatible apps - up from the original 13 - goes its own way. Some apps like Procreate just find the pen, while others like Noteshelf require users to poke around in the settings. It's easy.

Because the stylus uses Bluetooth 4.0 it is only compatible with 3rd and 4th gen iPads and the iPad mini. Ten One offers iPad 2 owners a less-than-elegant work-around: there is a Pogo Bridge app that connects to the iPhone 4S or 5 and then sends the signal to the iPad 2, but at present only one app - Procreate - has incorporated the feature.

One of the more glaring flaws when I first tested the Connect back in December was that it didn’t prevent palm marks, but recent updates have improved that functionality. How well it works seems to depend more upon the app than the stylus.

And what about pressure sensitivity? That’s the key selling point, but it’s very hit or miss. Some apps respond to pressure by varying line thickness, others opacity, and none respond to a light touch despite claims that the proprietary Crescendo Sensor technology requires “0 grams of activation force.” That said, the Connect outperforms captive models. It's not transformative, but with the right app and practice, sketching feels more holistic.

There are a couple of neat features worth mentioning: the Pogo Connect app has a pen locator, the button on the stylus works as an undo command, and the LED light indicates the active ink color. Still, while somewhat more intuitive than capitative models, the Pogo Connect needs a lot of tweaking before it warrants the hefty price tag, much less turns the iPad into a device that can compete with a dedicated graphics tablet.

A full list of compatible apps can be found here on the Ten One Design site.


Procreate Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Lisa Caplan on November 8th, 2011
Our rating: starstarstarstarstar :: PAINTING PERFECTED
Procreate gives professional and amateur artists the tools they need and the simplicity they want to create their own masterpieces in real time.
Read The Full Review »

Five for Friday: Week of March 25, 2011

Posted by Chris Nitz on March 25th, 2011

War Pinball:
Pinball is fun no matter what form it comes in. War Pinball takes some of the best war movies from MGM Studios and turns them into virtual pinball machines. This takes the magic of Hollywood and gives you a great set of tables to test your skills on. This is certainly one of the better pinball games to arrive on iOS.

Forget-Me-Not:
Mazes, monsters, and shooting in a tiny package! What more could you ask for. How about gorgeous retro visuals, an ever changing world, and up to two player frantic action? All you have to do is get a key, gather all the flowers, and make it to the exit before the monsters eat you for lunch. With three modes of play, there is plenty to enjoy with this game!

Evil Angry Planet:
Evil Angry Planet combines elements of real-time strategy and tower-defense for a game sure to please fans of either genre. Players must defend their base from the Scourge in an endless onslaught of death and mayhem. The enemies will adapt to defenses played, thus keeping pressure on the player. A global leaderboard gives the best of the best a place to brag as well. Do you have what it takes to survive in this ruthless world?

eBook Magic:
eBook Magic was designed to eliminate the headaches that come with desktop book making programs. An easy to use interface greets users as soon as the app is opened. From there, it is up to the imagination how the book should look. There is no limitation on photos, themes, and content. Easily bring in photos from the iPad, Flickr, and Facebook. Once your book is done, send it off to iBooks, PDF, or even email it to friends and family. This is all about the creativity!

Procreate:
Procreate takes the power of desktop sketching apps, adds on some professional features, and optimizes it for the iPad. Not happy with the included brushes? Import your own. Adjust textures, scale, spacing, and movement of brushes. Miss having a pressure sensitive tablet to draw on? Procreate includes a synthetic pressure sensitivity for brush fall-off. This is only the beginning! This just maybe the most powerful drawing/editing app to hit the iPad yet. Photoshop what?