Super Monkey Ball was one of the first apps I bought on the iPhone, but I initially found the game play to be rather disappointing. Games where you need to roll an object thru a course like Mercury on the PSP and Labyrinth on the iPhone are usually pretty fun, and are perfect for when you have just a few minutes to give to a game.
By the way if you have not seen Labyrinth on the iPhone, you should check it out. I think it is the best example of how good the motion control sensor on the iPhone can be used to do very sublte things in game control. It is the first game I show people on the iPhone, it really feels like a little ball bearing is rolling around in your phone.
With Super Monkey Ball, I found the controls to be inconsistent. Sometimes the ball would move one way and sometimes the Point of View (POV) would move and sometimes it would not.
Tonight I decided to give SMB another shot and I realized that a large part of getting the feel of the controls is watching the little Monkey in the ball! Sounds kind of obvious once you know it, but I never thought to look at the little guy in there until now. Unlike Mercury or Labyrinth, where the ball is only affected by the tilt/gravity, in SMB the direction the monkey is facing, the POV, the tilt and the roll direction are all related. If you were like me and initially found the game control to be awkward and just not fun, give it another try and watch the Monkey.
By the way if you have not seen Labyrinth on the iPhone, you should check it out. I think it is the best example of how good the motion control sensor on the iPhone can be used to do very sublte things in game control. It is the first game I show people on the iPhone, it really feels like a little ball bearing is rolling around in your phone.
With Super Monkey Ball, I found the controls to be inconsistent. Sometimes the ball would move one way and sometimes the Point of View (POV) would move and sometimes it would not.
Tonight I decided to give SMB another shot and I realized that a large part of getting the feel of the controls is watching the little Monkey in the ball! Sounds kind of obvious once you know it, but I never thought to look at the little guy in there until now. Unlike Mercury or Labyrinth, where the ball is only affected by the tilt/gravity, in SMB the direction the monkey is facing, the POV, the tilt and the roll direction are all related. If you were like me and initially found the game control to be awkward and just not fun, give it another try and watch the Monkey.
