"It's a mix of feelings, we're still thrilled by all the love for Threes. But it has me wanting to never make a small beautiful thing again." - Threes dev Greg Wohlwend on Twitter (@aeiowu)
I liked 2048 and its offspring, but it's a shame that this sort of rapid cloning can discourage talented game designers from working on great little games like this.
This is a great article. And it does highlight some of the reasons why I enjoy both 2048 and Threes. I bought Threes on Android the day it was released and started playing with 2048 a few days later. Threes is great when you want to really sit and plan out a game, thinking a few moves ahead. 2048 is more for quick semi-brainless fun with the patterns and numbers. It requires less mental focus, which is why people keep making one-offs to keep it fresh. I packaged up the original 2048 as a portable app over at PortableApps.com using node-webkit and am doing an update to it tomorrow. I wish I could package and sell a portable version of Threes on PortableApps.com as well so more people could enjoy it.
This is a great article. Thanks for the post. I'll be sharing it around.