fiftyones

The Fun doesn't stop - Peter designs another 51 characters spin off

 
 

Today, itunes store features yet another 51 characters spin off - again with a superb design of Peter Machat. Check out the free app here.

The app is a small MIX-MAX application allowing you to mix your own easter egg and email it as an E-Card to your friends. Perfect for Easter!

Happy Easter

Peter Machat designs for MIX-MAX

Today, Ravensburger Digital published a new iphone game for kids and parents called MIX-MAX. The game MIX-MAX was inspired by the original 51 charactes project and Peter Machat contributed the designs to this lovely game. You can download it here. 

MIX-MAX is fun application for those who want to mix from a range of over 30 animals and want to mix them in any kind of combination. The outcome may look something like this:

 
 

In addition kids can learn the alphabet by mixing animals with the according alphabet letter and can then listen to their descriptions either in English or German. The App is for free for a week and you can participate in a small price competion. So check it out.

TOP 10 Entry in Asia!!! Leaving ebay and Vogue behind....

Well, admittetly it is definitely not the biggest itunes app store but we made it to the TOP 10 this week. Since the release of version 1.1 we are seeing an increase in downloads thus leading to the conclusion that people like the new features like wallpaper saver and the improved play mode. 

We would like to thank all our fans at this stage and hope that you keep up the support.

 
 

New 51 Characters Version 1.1 is available for free!!!!

The new release of the 51 characters application version 1.1 is available as free download here:

itunes store

This version includes new additional features as:

- a button to save characters pictures to your camera roll

- improved screen navigation

- a new splash screen

Thanks again for all your comments and support. Keep on downloading and evaluating!

 
 

New app update in store shortly!

Well, it looks like we are rolling! The 51 Characters app is about to get a refresh. Steffen just posted the latest additions to Version 1.1 on his blog. http://www.gaminghorror.net/steffenj/51-japanese-characters-update-submitted/ In addition PR activities have been picking up. Stuttgart based Sympra is supporting the project! They just released some press material and it looks as if we the project around Peter Machats little japapanese characters gets some attention.

Blog posted here.

More than 51 Characters...looking for new ones!!!

...yes, actually there are already more than 51 characters in place. Peter got some requests in the past to do some special edition characters thus leading to one of the very rare characters developped for the national german kendo team for the World Kendo Championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in August 2009.

As our fan base is growing day by day we would like to show the little character. He is called Kendokan. In case you like this one - maybe you have ideas for new characters? Just send them to tim@51characters.com

Insights into the 51 Characters App - Interview with Steffen Itterheim

Hello Folks,

for those of you waiting for a new character to pop up today - well we thought differently. Here is a small interview with Steffen Itterheim - the guy behind the code of the iphone app. Enjoy!

Hi Steffen, you developed the 51 Characters application. Why did you join the project?

I was drawn in by the characters actually. I appreciate the style and I think they are excellent work from an artistic point of view. Since the app was easy enough for me to do it gave me a great opportunity to start building a foundation for future iPhone projects. Plus it was a cool "I did that" kind of project that may not impress you with innovative game design but a very clear visual style and flow. Having such a polished product that I can show to potential clients makes them feel more comfortable and increases the chance to close a deal, so i benefit simply from being able to "show & tell", something I learned works quite well from my time at Electronic Arts.

Steffen, what was the biggest challenge for you when developing the app?

That was definetely implementing the In-App mail and making it work with the cocos2d engine. Without going too much into technical details it's a bit like trying to extend a Playmobil building with Lego blocks. They don't naturally fit together so there's the issue of properly handing over control to the iPhone's native UI and giving it back to OpenGL when it's done without one interfering with the other. Luckily for me, the users of the cocos2d engine are very friendly and knowledgeable and i was able to bring together the bits and pieces of information that make the transition work.

Which one is your favourite character?

Seppuku! The expression on his face is hilarious even though he's in such a serious situation, with his stomach pierced by a knife and all. He portrays Harakiri, the form of suicide supposed to restore one's honor. Maybe it's so hilarious to me since the idea of Harakiri is rather disturbing and strange for someone not familiar with the japanese culture. Although I admit their idea of honor is quite Klingon, so to speak, so as a Star Trek fan I do respect that. :)

Which nation would you like to see next?

Not sure but naturally a european country would be great. I can imagine spanish, french, dutch, british, italian all very well. Naturally german characters would be great, too! Religious leaders could also be an interesting subject. There are enough influential leaders or archetypes to portray and I think the beliefs and practices of other cultures should be common knowledge, so a "51 Religious Leaders" app could be an interesting instrument for teaching the diversity of religion that exists in our world.

Please, let us know what are your next projects (that you can talk about)

Well, there's a kid's game in development for Ravensburger Digital and hopefully it will be followed by a port of a well known board game from Ravensburger. I also get requests for cooperation here and there and I'm weighing my options, I'm open to every idea. But most of all I want to design and program my very own iPhone game from start to finish, something that I can say is completely mine. Then make millions with it. At least that's the plan. I already have a concrete idea in mind, something that takes Flight Control to the next level. I suppose that's something every other game developer would say about their game but I know what I can achieve and sometimes you got to reach for the stars to land on the moon! And no, it's not going to be called Moon Control or Moon Flight, although I can think of pretty cool game ideas for both of them.

In case someone would like to do an app with you where would they find you?

On my application site www.gametooldeveloper.com is everything you need to know about me, including CV, references and a contact e-mail. I maintain a copy of this page in german under www.steffenitterheim.de and if you want to follow what i do or think you might want to read my blog where i post under the alias of GamingHorror at www.gaminghorror.net - the name is a homage to Jeff Atwood's CodingHorror blog that I consider to be the best programming related blog and maybe a few years down the road mine will have a similar status among game development related blogs.

I also run the german site www.spieleentwicklungsland.de where I publish my "SpieleEntwicklerVeteranen Podcast" to a german speaking audience of prospective or soon to be game developers. The idea is to give a behind-the-scenes look on game development, something that is not very commonly found and apparently I've struck a nerve with this podcast. I never expected it to become so popular so quickly, so i'll do my best and publish new episodes more often.

Thanks for the interview and again thank you for the great support.

You're welcome, I enjoyed it! :)

posted by Tim E. Fischer

Meet Kannushi

Kannushi. He is a Shinto priest. Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion which believes in the existence of many gods known as kami. The kami live in humans, animals, mountains, rivers, objects and so on. At any time new kami can arise while others fall into oblivion. Japan was created by the Shinto gods Izanagi and Izanami who poked a spear into the sea – the drops that dripped back formed the islands of Japan.

Meet Yopparai salaryman

Yopparai salaryman. In the little free time he has, he wants to have maximum entertainment. He likes to play pachinko, to sing karaoke or to spend an evening with hostesses in the hostess bar. If he has a chance to go out to drink, he drinks a lot. When using the last subway trains you can meet a lot of drunken salarymen like him.

Meet Ikeike

Ikeike. Fashion is her life. She is mad about clothes, accessories and especially shoes and handbags. She has dyed hair, perfect fingernails and looks like she has just stepped out of an advertisement. You can meet her at the Ginza or at the Omote Sando, looking for the newest international fashion trends.