Tag: Running »

We've looked at some pretty intriguing games from Mojo Bones and Simogo, but this time round, it's the turn of a more exercise-focused app developer in the form of Six To Start.

What is Six To Start?: Six To Start describes itself as next-gen storytellers. Made up of a variety of different staff from backgrounds as diverse as the theatre and neuroscience, the company works on online games, as well as apps for iOS, each with the focus on storytelling as well as providing memorable experiences. One glance at the team page on the company site ably demonstrates just how varied skillsets the team offer.

What is Six To Start most famous for?
Zombies, Run! One of the most successful Kickstarter projects in recent times, Zombies, Run! manages to make running (or walking) fun by adding a zombie twist to proceedings. Stick your headphones in as you run and an immersive audio adventure kicks in, distracting you from the aches and pains as well as telling a fantastic story, courtesy of award-winning novelist Naomi Alderman.

What's next on the horizon?
There's been a steady stream of new content for Zombies, Run! since it launched earlier this year but CEO Adrian Hon has promised us that a new app, Zombies, Run! 5k Training, will be out in the near future, aimed directly at beginner runners. New updates for Zombies, Run! will continue, also.

Anything else I should know about Six To Start?
Yup! We asked Adrian Hon how Zombies, Run! came about.

148apps: What was the inspiration behind creating Zombies, Run?

Adrian: It came from a couple of places - I've been a runner for a long time now, but it didn't come naturally! I only really got into it with the help of gadgets like the Garmin Forerunner GPS watch, which at least helped you see how much you were improving. The problem was that they didn't make running any more interesting or fun, and even when GPS tracking apps became commonplace, no-one seemed to be making running games for smartphones, so it was something that I've wanted to do for some time.

The other half of the inspiration came from our co-creator and writer Naomi Alderman, who fairly recently joined a running club. When they asked people why they'd joined, some people said 'to get fit', others 'to lose weight', but one person said, 'to survive the zombie apocalypse'! We put two and two together, and that's where Zombies, Run! came from!

148apps: What’s your favourite thing about iOS development?

Adrian: There's a lot to like - the solid development environment, the consistency across devices (although the iPhone 5 does make our life a little more difficult!), the comparative smoothness of publishing on iTunes Connect, and the absolutely massive potential audience. It's not perfect, but it's very good.

Where can I find out more about Six To Start?
Quite a few places. The Six To Start website is a good starting place, there's also the Twitter page. For more zombie based updates, check out the official Zombies, Run! website and its Twitter account. And, of course, we'll keep you informed on any updates and the progress of Zombies, Run! 5k Training

Heroes love effortlessly cutting swathes through entire armies of badguys, don’t they? I guess success when faced with impossible odds comes with the territory. Infinite Warrior takes the concept of “There’s no way that would happen in real life” and turns it into a strange little mash-up of endless running (not really running) and a kind of rhythm game. It’s a weird combination that would work incredibly well if the whole thing weren’t bogged down by schizophrenic controls, diminutive text, and lighting issues.

A lone hero marches along as wave after wave of enemies come at him in progressively tighter clusters. Fighting off said enemies requires watching the on-screen prompts - either blood-colored arrows at the edge of the screen or bright yellow arrows that appear on passing foreground characters - then swiping in the indicated direction. Any gold earned from a run is kept, win or lose, and can be used to purchase special temporary gear that will enhance various aspects such as gold collection. And, as expected at this point, a series of different “missions” can be completed (i.e. survive five waves, collect X amount of gold, etc) to raise the hero’s level and act as an extra incentive to keep playing.

It starts off a bit slow in the first wave but once the action gets going Infinite Warrior can get downright fantastic. Once enemies start coming in small groups with little pause between their assaults simply staying alive will require a fair amount of focus and reflexes. It’s also more than a little cool to see successful swipes acted out as stylish cinematic takedowns, naturally. It’s an aspect that makes the lack of consistently responsive controls a major disappointment.

Granted I was able to figure out I’m “supposed to” swipe in order to not fail miserably each and every time (it requires a kind of steady, deliberate swipe with a slight pause at the beginning and end), but gesturing in such a manner becomes increasingly difficult as the attacks get closer together. More than once I’ve hit a proverbial wall simply because the controls made it impossible for me to progress. Having menu text that’s ridiculously small on an iPhone screen doesn’t help either as half the time I can’t even tell how much gold I have let alone how much an item costs. And forget about trying to play any of the night levels in a room that’s even vaguely well lit. The screen’s so dark I could only make out the bright yellow arrows and some shadowy movement.

I really, really like the idea behind Infinite Warrior, but the implementation needs some work. With controls that aren’t quite so finicky, text that can actually be read, and a little gamma correction it would actually be really awesome. Until that happens it’s doomed to be more frustrating than fun.

Ever stylish, part personal journal, part social networking app Path has just implemented a major, fitness focused update.

Now including Nike+ GPS support, users can now connect their Nike+ GPS device to the app, thus sharing their runs in real time with friends and family. The app then creates a Running Story (or map of th route) including other information such as the user's best pace, time, distance and even pictures of the route. It's something that's been used elsewhere before but not in such a journal focused way.

Future updates will include Nike+ FuelBand connectivity for further tracking capabilities.

Elsewhere in the app, Music Match functionality has been included so that users can listen to a brief piece of music and have it identified, before sharing with friends. Extra photography functions are also included.

Path is fast becoming an ideal one stop shop type app for those who want to share their life with those close to them, as well as use a variety of useful tools.

Path is available now and it's free to download.