This app turns sketches into working computer games [video] | Hacker News Reader

This app turns sketches into working computer games [video]

springwise.com

PixelPress is really cool. Their OCR technology is a neat idea to making levels. However users are not really making games. They're making levels for a game they provide.

We have developed an iPad app which is called GamePress http://www.gamepressapp.com (we had the name first!) its live in the app store right now for free. It is a platform that allows you to actually make a wide variety of games using our behaviour system. We developed a visual programming environment that works like a flow chart.

You're not limited to game mechanic we provide since you have timers, variables, if statements and more.

We also allow our users to share their games really easily to what we call the GamePress arcade. Its a place inside the app where users can play, rate, and even edit (if enabled by the author) each others games.

So far have been getting great reviews in the app store. Teachers have even started using GamePress to teach kids about programming!

I agree with your point about creating different game mechanics. After browsing through both sites and watching the videos, it seems that GamePress is much better in that regard.

Does it work for iPhones as well as iPads?

iPad only. We found that making games on an iPhone is just not fun with our current interface. We currently don't have the resources to come up with a new interface for iPhone.

We do hope to have a player available for iPhone eventually, but right now our main focus is iPad.

This seems like it would be cool for existing games to add as a feature, like a level creator on ipad or iphone games, but as for actually making games it seems like all these ideas are just custom basic side-scroller generators. Someone had something like this the other week at Hack-MIT and I think it even won some stuff, the tech is cool, but so far no impressive implementation.

Deleted comment

>>yohann305 8 minutes ago | link

>> It seems the magic comes from the fact that a paper sketch turns into a game. It will fool the average consumer or a child. However I am baffled with the fact that you have to use a pen and a paper instead of drawing directly on the iPad screen itself. Also it seems, it does not work on a regular piece of paper... You need a drawn grid, which defies the concept of a handy pen and paper. Nice mind trick!

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I would think that even today, sketchwork on grid paper is common in the videogame-designing scene. I don't think there's any "mind trick" going on. It's an interesting product to help people out in their already existing workflow.

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