Software:Blast-A-Way
Blast-A-Way is a 2012 puzzle video game developed and published by the Swedish studio Illusion Labs. The player controls a robot who must rescue creatures named Boxies by clearing paths from using their provided tools. Conceptualized from an image made by one of the studio's artists, the game was developed over a nine-month period. Released on August 30, 2012, for iOS, the game received praise for its gameplay and minimalist design but criticism for its controls.
Gameplay
Blast-A-Way is a puzzle video game. In each of the game's 80 levels,[1][2] the player must clear paths to collect creatures, known as Boxies, by using their provided tools, including bombs and teleporters.[2][3]
Development and release
Blast-A-Way was developed by the Swedish studio Illusion Labs, who previously created mobile games such as Touchgrind (2008) and Labyrinth 2 (2009).[4][5] The game's concept originated from an image of box-headed robots throwing bombs, created by one of the studio's artists. Initially an action game, Blast-A-Way would gradually become a puzzle game through its nine months of development; four were spent on prototyping, while the remaining months were spent on developing the game. The game was developed with Xcode, Adobe Photoshop, and 3D software in which they had built their own level editor.[6]
The game's minimalist design was decided early in development; the studio decided to only use shading until they implemented textures to make the game "a little more appealing" to consumers. Controls took approximately a month to develop. Since the game was three-dimensional, the developers opted for a throwing mechanism instead of a slingshot mechanism.[6] Blast-A-Way was released for iOS on August 30, 2012.[1][7][8]
Reception
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On Metacritic, Blast-A-Way has a "generally favorable" score of 87 based on 10 critics.[9]
Multiple publications praised the game.[17][11][10][18]
The game's controls received mixed opinions. Although some critics found them simple,[16][14] others said they were tricky to handle.[5][15][13] Reviewers pointed issues in rotating the game's camera.[12]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gilmour, James (August 29, 2012). "Blast-A-Way to drop bombs on your iPhone and iPad tomorrow". https://www.pocketgamer.com/blast-a-way/blast-a-way-to-drop-bombs-on-your-iphone-and-ipad-tomorrow/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dredge, Stuart (August 30, 2012). "10 Best iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone games this week". https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2012/aug/30/best-mobile-games-bastion-heroes-call.
- ↑ Nicholson, Brad (August 10, 2012). "Illusion Labs Releases New Blast-A-Way Teaser". https://toucharcade.com/2012/08/10/illusion-labs-releases-new-blast-a-way-teaser.
- ↑ Nelson, Jared (August 29, 2012). "TA Plays: Blast-A-Way - Illusion Labs Puts Their Stamp on Physics Puzzlers". https://toucharcade.com/2012/08/29/ta-plays-blast-a-way-illusion-labs-puts-their-stamp-on-physics-puzzlers.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Catalán, Cristian Ciuraneta (July 2, 2017). "Blast-A-Way". https://as.com/meristation/2012/08/15/analisis/1345010400_107756.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bridge, Caleb (October 10, 2012). "Going bang: The making of Blast-A-Way". https://www.pocketgamer.com/blast-a-way/going-bang-the-making-of-blast-a-way/.
- ↑ Thomas, Lucas M. (August 30, 2012). "App Store Update: August 30". https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/30/app-store-update-august-30-3.
- ↑ Frushtick, Russ (August 28, 2012). "iOS Gaming Watch List: Bastion, McPixel, and Blast-A-Way". https://www.polygon.com/2013/1/24/3711202/ios-gaming-watch-list-bastion-mcpixel-and-blast-a-way.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Blast-A-Way". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/blast-a-way/.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Rambo, Dant (September 3, 2012). "Blast-a-Way Review". https://www.gamezebo.com/reviews/blast-a-way-review/.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mundy, Jon (September 4, 2012). "Blast-A-Way". https://www.pocketgamer.com/blast-a-way/blast-a-way-review/.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Ford, Eric (2012-09-05). "Blast-A-Way Review – Illusion Labs Takes on the Physics Puzzler". https://toucharcade.com/2012/09/05/blast-a-way-review/.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Dotson, Carter (August 31, 2012). "Blast-A-Way Review". https://www.148apps.com/reviews/blastaway-review/.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Nesvadba, Andrew (September 3, 2012). "Blast-A-Way Review". AppSpy. https://www.appspy.com/review/3483/blastaway-review.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Nichols, Scott (September 3, 2012). "Mobile review round-up: World Ends With You, Blast-a-way, more". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.com.au/gaming/levelup/a403390/mobile-review-round-up-world-ends-with-you-blast-a-way-more.html.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Polito, Giovanni (4 October 2012). "Robottini alla riscossa" (in it). Multiplayer.it. https://multiplayer.it/recensioni/108804-blast-a-way-robottini-alla-riscossa.html.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Eaves, Phil (September 5, 2012). "Blast-A-Way Review". http://www.slidetoplay.com/review/blast-a-way-review/.
- ↑ Stuart, Keith (September 24, 2012). "Five best games optimised for iPhone 5". https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2012/sep/24/five-iphone-5-optimised-games.
External links
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