MosKillTo
Version Reviewed:
Score: n/a
Developer Sittiphol Phanvilai is perhaps one of the few celebrities in the Symbian OS world, with his Mobitubia being arguably one of the two most impressive applications of 2007, even winning a top award (Nokia Open C challenge). He's at it again, with an in-development game called MosKillTo, undoubtedly inspired by Mosquito, a camera-based game with similar objectives from the days before accelerometers (yes, yes, that long ago).
Over to Ewan Spence, who's been buzzing around his study playing the game for the last hour. What's the verdict, Ewan?
"Not long after the debut of Series 60 (as it was on the 7650), a bundle of concept games arrived on the handset. Programmers were playing around with the new toys in the SDK, and pumping out ‘I can do this’ style programs for others to build on. MosKillTo reminds me of those heady days for two reasons.
The first is that this is a concept demo, using the accelerometers of the current Nseries handsets to aim a gun around a 3D room. The second is you’re aiming the gun at a group of mosquitoes who are getting in the way. Putting aside the fact that a massive great big cannon against a solitary slow moving mosquito is a touch of overkill(!), I can also remember using the 7650 and the camera to look round by room to find ‘ghostly insects’ to zap with my trusty smartphone.
As a game, MosKillTo isn’t much to write home about – by tilting my N95 to the left, right, up and down, your gun points to different parts of the 3D room, allowing you to aim the cannon at the flying pests. Once I got over the fact that I was to tilt the phone, and not physically spin round holding the handset, I was fine, vaporizing mosquitos right, left and centre:"
Thanks, Ewan. Although there's a second level to advance to, this is, as the author points out, very much a demonstration of what's possible. In my own playtesting, the physics weren't quite right, in a final version I'd hope that spinning the physical N95 (or N82 etc) through 90 degrees produced a similar turn in the virtual room - the current linkage between the two is too low.
Still, it's games such as this (and developers such as this) that really get the pulse quickening and the mind thinking. Consider adding this sort of control to the existing Doom and Quake ports to S60. Then plug in a stereo headset. Now, that would be pretty darned immersive.
Kudos to the developer, I think you just kick-started a genre!
Steve Litchfield (and Ewan Spence), AllAboutSymbian, 2 April 2008
Share This (Digg, del.icio.us, Facebook, etc.)
Review Discussion
bery95
Comment: Sorry, but Marty from SF and me are the only people who knew of Sittiphol's great new project and new web page containing the download link.
A large web page like AAS should respect when other sites have unique news and not publish it as their own discovery or not?
Unregistered
Comment: Bery95, be honest, AAS has linked back to your site pretty often. Maybe they had the information before you? Don't cry like a baby ;)
Norman John
marty3
Comment: indeed bery, i completly agree..
there is no possible way they could of got this news from any where else than symbian-freak or symbian web blog.. me and bery was the first to know it and work very closely with sittiphol
marty3
Comment: hey my news.. :( and no link to symbian-freak.. i was first with this news i am 100% certain, in fact me and bery work very closely with sittiphol and have exclusive access to all of his projects months before they are released norman, so there is no possible way they could of known this before us ;)
slitchfield
Comment: Err.... this isn't a news post, it's a REVIEW. If we'd simply put up a news post then sure, we'd link away. But this is unique editorial material (yada yada) and it's simply about reviewing something we discovered on the web. In this case at S-F, yes, [url="http://www.symbian-freak.com/news/008/04/neuvex_goes_live.htm"]here's the link[/url]. But there's no need for an extra link IN the review itself. *Reviews* are about our opinions and the developer's web site. All that's unusual here is that our review has come so close to the first public mention on S-F.
Steve
Error Erroneous
Comment: Steve,
Please reflect on the way you answer these queries. These are normal people trying to work things out and, although I'm certain this is not deliberate, starting you responses with an "Err..." is a little contrite and puts people's backs up.
It's only funny if it isn't aimed at you eh?
Errrr....
Errol
bery95
Comment: @Norman
Please comment only in case you know what you are writing about. ;)
I don't want AAS to link back to me, that would be ridiculous as SF was clearly the fist blog who published their post. In this case it's them who should be respected.
Please don't get me wrong, Steve. I like your page and want to stay in good contact with you, but I think when news are so hot like in this case you should add a source although it's a review. Otherwise you could skip source adding just by reviewing a new application. ;)
And I know you do it very reliably normally, also often to my blog, that was the reason why I was confused not to see a link back to SF.
Hope to stay in contact with you.
Bery95
Unregistered
Comment: Interesting ... A Vanity Fair in the symbian world! I thought only publishing scientists get that bitchy over things like that ;-)
But hey, what about that money pick-up game Mike at the N82 Blog posted about some days (or even weeks) ago? It's also using the accelerometer as in-game-control, only that you don't have to shoot. So probably the developer of THAT game has invented a new genre ... Take a look at it, I'm sorry for not being able to provide a link, but it's definitely at the N82 Blog - and no, I've got nothing to do with that blog or even the guy running it. I'm just observing all those symbian blogs simultaneously and objectively :-)
pseudofinn
Comment: Boy, this pettiness of who links who lately is getting very tiresome. Can we give it a rest now, guys?
We're all in this for the same thing, to spread news of Symbian. Like Steve said, this is a review, why does it need a link to S-F? Why does S-F "own" all the news and changelogs now? Let's just calm down. :rolleyes:
Unregistered
Comment: Forget the game, I am more interested in how SF now owns other sites reviews. This may be hard to take in Marty, but you and your partner do not own the internet.
Unregistered
Comment: this civil war,must stop now come we are all big people not kids?
Unregistered
Comment: everyone steals news from SF lol, i understand completly how they get angry, because everyone seems to do it lol, mostly all of the good news on symbian scene, does in fact always source back to the guys on symbian-freak..
maybe it is because SF is AAS main competitor which is reason why AAS don't link back to symbian-freak, as i have noticed AAS don't seem to ever link to these guys any more, i don't know, maybe its just me.. both sites are great anyway ;)
Apocalypso™
Comment: I have one real civil war behind me and I really don’t like to hear that word, this is ridiculous guys, whole damn thing, I am tired of this really, you can link or not link back, I really don’t care, I’ll keep linking to my sources. The proper net protocol is to respectively give credit to the source of the information but of course it is just my opinion and maybe I am wrong, I am just a freak after all. It is pretty hectic here lately, my spare time is on the zero, SF is just a hoby that takes most of my spare time lately and I really have no time for this.
To answer on Pseudofinn comment regarding to Change Logs, you see, I am getting this logs even before Nokia sends them to the Service Centers and believe me that it is not that easy task, it is really hard to get it and such effort deserves a simple “10X 4 the heads up Teo” in my personal opinion, but again it is up to you or to anybody, you can take it and link back to source, or not take it at all it is really up to you, but lately I am making some changes in the logs just to know who taking the stuff from SF, nothing more than that.
The latest example is Mazor’s camera test released few days ago; it is already ripped completely with photos and without a single word about source or author, is it fair?
Anyway, let’s go back to the main theme of this topic, this is the very promising engine, not that much in gaming lately but there is no doubt that it is the great work, sure, there is space for improvements, it will be great to see something like [url=http://www.symbian-freak.com/news/008/03/mirage_money_demo_available_for_download.htm]MirageMoney’s[/url] real mode and smash the mosquitoes in the real world captured through the camera viewfinder? Anyway, once more, great work Sittiphol.
[b]Don't take life toooo seriously, you're not going to survive it anyway.. . . .[/b]
Teo
Unregistered
Comment: How pathetic!? So what the guys at S-F are saying is that no-one else can review an application which S-F announced first, without crediting S-F with the story. Sounds like a good reason not to visit S-F at all....
genXhippie
Comment: The tone of these responses comes across as being very smug, there is not a trace of regret, humility, or understanding.
There IS a need "for an extra link IN the review itself," if one wishes to express courteousness and respect toward another party,imo. Besides, the real issue is not "need", but rather principle.
Whether the article is news, or a review does not excuse one from exercising good common manners, nor is it harmful to do so. I believe you taking yourselves too seriously.
It is not constructive at all, quite the reverse actually.
A real shame too, since we all share a common interest/hobby in symbian.
Lets try to keep that in mind ppl.
Unregistered
Comment: So what you're saying is that every article or review of an application has to link back to the first website to post anything about, out of courtesy. And for how long is this necessary? 6 months after the first post, a year, indefinitely?
I agree that this is petty, but the pettiness stems from the guy from S-F.
Unregistered
Comment: "end off"
16 Comments / Post New Comment