Review: Eliss for iPhone
The App Store has become an interesting world for mobile development, where the most impressive pieces of software available are not the task managers, social networks, or book readers, but the games. It's within games that the the accelerometer, touchscreen and other features are best demonstrated, harmonising the hardware with playful ideas.
The App Store has its fair share of poorly made games, but it is becoming the breeding ground for a more elegant class of games that could only find a home on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Eliss ($3.99, App Store), by Steph Thirion, is one of these games. Like a lot of other games of its ilk, Eliss is has been nominated for 'Innovation in Mobile Game Design" award at this year's IGF. From the few screenshots initially provided there was certainly nothing to get excited about, but now that it can be seen (and played) in motion, that's all changed.
In Eliss, you fly through space from sector to sector and are made to fill 'squeesars' to restore a universal balance to that area. This is done by filling the squeesars with an appropriately sized planet. But it's not a matter of putting the right shape into the correct hole -- rarely are you given a planet that will fit straight into a squeesar. Instead, you must manage the sizes of planets by merging them into giants or splitting them down into increasingly diminutive planetoids.
Not only that, but squeesars of a certain colour require a correspondingly coloured planet; and different coloured planets must not overlap, as this will bring down your health. Added to these cosmic dangers are drifting red stars, black holes and other space hazards, which you must strive avoid with your planetary herd.
If it all sounds like a lot to manage, it is: Eliss is a challenging game, with a level of difficulty that will have you repeating some sectors a number of times. The health bar is rather unforgiving, and when the mistakes compound each other, things become more hectic and the round can be over very quickly. The "game over" screen is one that I have now become very familiar with.
The control scheme of Eliss is what you'd expect it to be: moving planets around the screen by dragging them, pinch-spreading planets to split them, and tapping around the screen every now and then for a loose bit of stardust. I myself had great problems getting past the fifth level until I had a control epiphany, when I remembered that the iPhone did not only have a touch screen, but a multi-touch screen. From using two fingers I jumped to as many as I could fit on the screen at once, and cleared through the sector in a snap. Eliss really comes into its own is when you realize you can perform many actions at once, and several times over.
For instance, it is very satisfying to move a planet into a squeesar while splitting another one into two smaller planets that can maneuver around the red star that had backed them into a corner -- only to be joined up on the other side again and placed into a squeesar all in the same movement. Eliss promotes multitasking not only in its controls but in the complexity of its levels, which can have you dealing with hundreds of planets on the screen at once, or trying to split and manage giant planets in an obstacle course of vortexes (an example of one of many scenarios the game will put you through).
There is never a moment to rest in the game, as planets are constantly generating around the sector, and existing planets must be moved in or out of the way according to color. A game over screen is only moments away, and so players must be vigilant. Eliss is frantic and unforgiving, which is why it is so important that it has the level of design that it does.
The pastel colours and constructions of Eliss clearly mark what each element on screen is, what it is doing, and what you can do with it -- from the little 'grippy strips' of the planets, to the zooming frames of planets that are soon to be, to the spiraling vortexes that will suck all your planets away. The lifetime of a time slowdown powerup is signified by a blue frame that snakes around the screen. The instructions have a similar level of simplicity, with spartan instructions that offer single-word descriptions and small diagram to go with them.
Fortunately, the design is not only functional but also very pretty. And when the screen gets busy with an animated chorus of effects, it's very hard not to get distracted by how nice it all looks. It's an aesthetic that works all too well with the soft electronic music that blips and chimes from the iPhone's speakers or headphones (unlike last week's Zen Bound, which more or less requires headphones, Eliss' soundtrack is perfectly at home through the iPhone's modest speakers).
It cannot be stressed enough that good visual and sound production can elevate a great game to a sublime one; and that's what Eliss is, a sublime techno-toy, tailored to a device which is now home to some very interesting experimental work.
The App Store has its fair share of poorly made games, but it is becoming the breeding ground for a more elegant class of games that could only find a home on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Eliss ($3.99, App Store), by Steph Thirion, is one of these games. Like a lot of other games of its ilk, Eliss is has been nominated for 'Innovation in Mobile Game Design" award at this year's IGF. From the few screenshots initially provided there was certainly nothing to get excited about, but now that it can be seen (and played) in motion, that's all changed.
In Eliss, you fly through space from sector to sector and are made to fill 'squeesars' to restore a universal balance to that area. This is done by filling the squeesars with an appropriately sized planet. But it's not a matter of putting the right shape into the correct hole -- rarely are you given a planet that will fit straight into a squeesar. Instead, you must manage the sizes of planets by merging them into giants or splitting them down into increasingly diminutive planetoids.
Not only that, but squeesars of a certain colour require a correspondingly coloured planet; and different coloured planets must not overlap, as this will bring down your health. Added to these cosmic dangers are drifting red stars, black holes and other space hazards, which you must strive avoid with your planetary herd.
If it all sounds like a lot to manage, it is: Eliss is a challenging game, with a level of difficulty that will have you repeating some sectors a number of times. The health bar is rather unforgiving, and when the mistakes compound each other, things become more hectic and the round can be over very quickly. The "game over" screen is one that I have now become very familiar with.
The control scheme of Eliss is what you'd expect it to be: moving planets around the screen by dragging them, pinch-spreading planets to split them, and tapping around the screen every now and then for a loose bit of stardust. I myself had great problems getting past the fifth level until I had a control epiphany, when I remembered that the iPhone did not only have a touch screen, but a multi-touch screen. From using two fingers I jumped to as many as I could fit on the screen at once, and cleared through the sector in a snap. Eliss really comes into its own is when you realize you can perform many actions at once, and several times over.
For instance, it is very satisfying to move a planet into a squeesar while splitting another one into two smaller planets that can maneuver around the red star that had backed them into a corner -- only to be joined up on the other side again and placed into a squeesar all in the same movement. Eliss promotes multitasking not only in its controls but in the complexity of its levels, which can have you dealing with hundreds of planets on the screen at once, or trying to split and manage giant planets in an obstacle course of vortexes (an example of one of many scenarios the game will put you through).
There is never a moment to rest in the game, as planets are constantly generating around the sector, and existing planets must be moved in or out of the way according to color. A game over screen is only moments away, and so players must be vigilant. Eliss is frantic and unforgiving, which is why it is so important that it has the level of design that it does.
The pastel colours and constructions of Eliss clearly mark what each element on screen is, what it is doing, and what you can do with it -- from the little 'grippy strips' of the planets, to the zooming frames of planets that are soon to be, to the spiraling vortexes that will suck all your planets away. The lifetime of a time slowdown powerup is signified by a blue frame that snakes around the screen. The instructions have a similar level of simplicity, with spartan instructions that offer single-word descriptions and small diagram to go with them.
Fortunately, the design is not only functional but also very pretty. And when the screen gets busy with an animated chorus of effects, it's very hard not to get distracted by how nice it all looks. It's an aesthetic that works all too well with the soft electronic music that blips and chimes from the iPhone's speakers or headphones (unlike last week's Zen Bound, which more or less requires headphones, Eliss' soundtrack is perfectly at home through the iPhone's modest speakers).
It cannot be stressed enough that good visual and sound production can elevate a great game to a sublime one; and that's what Eliss is, a sublime techno-toy, tailored to a device which is now home to some very interesting experimental work.