SteamPunk Hockey Review

by Bryan Schell, Macworld.com

Steampunk is a movement within science fiction and alternative culture which melds futuristic technology with Victorian society and imagery in a quirky, anachronistic way. Think gentlemen in bowler hats and ladies in bodices shooting laser guns while riding flying motorcycles that run on steam and have cogs. If that sounds totally awesome to you, you might want to pick up a little game called Steampunk Hockey. Developed by Kenneth Mayfield, the game’s unique style is ultimately its best selling feature. [...]

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SteamPunk Hockey is a re-think of the venerable and popular ‘frictionless’ table hockey concepts engineered in the early 70s by Phil Crossman, Bob Kendrick, Brad Baldwin (Wikipedia) and Bob Lemeiux. Many variations have been developed for the touch-sensitive iPhone and are very popular, but few have strayed from the original concepts with the notable exception of Glow Hockey.

Kenneth Mayfield takes the ‘touch hockey’ concept a step further. A love of 19th-century craftsmanship, Romantic-era artists, and modern steampunk & science-fiction concepts pulsing in his heart and veins, Kenn created a game redefining the touch hockey genre and opening it up to consistent thematic and narrative possibilities.

SteamPunk Hockey utilizes various obstacles to redirect the disc’s trajectory and change the gameplay for each level, much like a pinball machine and labyrinth game. The genre style allows for beauty and verisimilitude when introducing new obstacles, robots and layered narrative themes.

As the economic crash of 2009 cascaded across the world, Kenn decided that creativity was the personal and business solution to finding himself out of work in a small Czech economy.
Having purchased a used Mac Mini, a monitor and the $99 Apple Developer license, he set about learning enough Obj-C, Cocos2D, continuous physics and game AI coding to produce a sellable product.
To date Kenn had completed a single object-orientated Flash/Director game development project rendered as a business-to-business service in 2006.

Over the course of two months Kenn drew amongst his previous experience developing Flash e-learning applications for the Geological Survey of Canada and a small business training course taken through the YMCA in Vancouver.

By December 2009 enough work was completed on SteamPunk Hockey to enter the information into Apple’s iTunes Connect, and a single-player version without sound or music was released to the App Store on January 5th for $0.99 USD.
Two consecutive revision quickly followed adding obstacle, sound options, and currently two-player functionality and OpenFeint Achievements.

Throughout January, the game sold over 200 units, including $80 for Haiti charity as part of the Indie+Relief and AppRelief efforts.
By February 2010 sales had dropped to 0-3 per day. Lack of visibility and piracy  appeared to be taking a toll. Kenn offered SteamPunk Hockey to OpenFeint and FreeAppADay.com for promotion, and the rest is (alternate) history in the making.

Version 1.3 of SteamPunk Hockey for iPhone is a physics-driven touch environment using the open-source Cocos2D for iPhone Objective-C game and Box2D physics frameworks.

For more information please contact the developer Kenn Mayfield VIA email: info (at) xyris (dot) ca.

Kenneth Mayfield is a graduate of the 1991 Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and a Canadian currently residing in the Czech Republic, near the UNESCO heritage city of Prague.

SteamPunk Hockey ranking via MajicRank, 11:20AM GMT+1

#2 Greece & Japan     games/family/free (g/f/f)
#6 Greece     games/arcade/free (g/a/f)
#8 Japan     games/arcade/free
#10 Poland     g/f/f
#14 Greece     All Free
#18 Portugal     g/f/f
#20 Hungary     g/f/f
#21 USA     g/f/f
#22 Hong Kong     g/f/f
#23 Germany     g/f/f
#24 Belgium     g/f/f
#26 Russia     g/f/f
#27 Netherlands     g/f/f
#27 Spain     g/f/f
#29 Poland     g/a/f
#31 Greece     All Apps (Free)
#33 Japan     All Games (Free)
#33 Hungary     g/a/f
#36 Canada     g/f/f
#38 Sweden     g/f/f
#41 Israel     g/f/f
#41 Jamaica      g/f/f
#43 Portugal     g/a/f
#44 China     g/f/f

Current chart reports, Games/Family/Free:

USA #51
Canada #95
Hong Kong #97
Japan #45
Taiwan #93
Thailand #89

Special thanks to the iPhone development community, Cocos2D and TouchArcade forums,  and reviewers!

It also offers tantalizing screen area for games and application development.

SteamPunk Hockey will be developed for the iPad, with a few new features. Stay posted for more news!

This update adds sound fx and background music, with switches to toggle audio both on or off. The ‘bead’ obstacles have been randomized to either remain in place or bounce away on contact with the disc.
The discs themselves have been given more ‘bounce’.

iTunes link: http://itunes.com/apps/steampunkhockey

Screenshots: http://steampunkhockey.com/screenshots/

After mid-February 2010, new features will be added and the price increased to $1.99 USD. Thereafter new levels and obstacles will be offered on a regular basis through in-game purchases.

SteamPunk Hockey iTunes purchase link: http://bit.ly/65oxGw

Please visit http://apprelief.com/ to view participating developers and perhaps make a charitable donation directly or through the purchase of a game.

A big thank you to all who supported Indie+Relief for Haiti through sales or direct donations!

purchase link: SteamPunk Hockey

SteamPunk Hockey for iPhone is participating in IndieRelief’s promotional effort to raise money for the families in distress in Haiti after the 7.o earthquake devastated homes and took lives there recently.

Donation will be gifted upon payment of proceeds from Apple.

Please visit http://www.indierelief.com on January 20 to purchase applications or make a donation to a charity of your choice.

This version 1.0.0 supports twenty-three preset levels and infinite random levels thereafter; two paddle size and three disc sizes; physics-based motion and OpenFeint community Leaderboards!

Update 1.0.1 is well underway and features improvements to the disc motion and physics, improved goal action, animated discs and animated obstacles.

My sincere Thanks to all who support this idea with you encouraging words and interest. Now buy the app – own it today!