Zen Bound 2

Frand · 12:34 PM

June 23rd, 2010 - Zen Bound 2 will take advantage of iOS4 anti-aliasing on 3rd Gen devices.

What a difference a day makes! Anti-aliasing enabled on 3rd gen devices. (Engineering speke for "less jaggy pixels".)

Side-by-side with the ducky:

And some other random shots:

Our visual goal is for Zen Bound 2 to be the most beautiful game on iPhone, bar none.

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June 16th, 2010 - Zen Bound 2 will be available on multiple platforms: iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC and Mac.

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On desktop platforms the game supports mouse, trackpad and multi-touch trackpad controls (including the touch surface on the Magic Mouse).

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(Older archived original post.)

Hi guys,

Our holidays are starting to be over, and I thought I'd spill it out that development is starting on a 3GS-specific version of Zen Bound.

We intend to get our hands dirty with the new hardware and see how we can take advantage of its new capabilities. That is, as soon as we can get our hands on a 3GS, they're still not selling over here on this dark corner of the planet. Should be soon, though.

Plans may change, but our current aim is to develop this as a technical and visual upgrade to the current game with no changes in the amount of levels (don't think of this as an expansion or a sequel, it's not). It will only run on a 3GS.

It will be a separate product in the App Store, not an update to the existing game. I'm sure many who are used to the free lunches in the App Store will find this controversial, but I remind that we need to eat too, and we believe everyone will see that the increase in quality will be worth the price.

And no, we haven't yet decided on a price, and will not do so until we are much closer to release. This brings us to the release date: there isn't one yet, we're only now starting and doing this right will take longer than we expect.

I'll be keeping everyone posted of the progress when there is something to show

arn · 07-30-2009, 08:27 AM

I'm excited.

arn

unconnected · 07-30-2009, 08:33 AM

I'll definitely grab this when it comes out, although I'm interested how you could improve on the superb visuals already in the app.

Out of interest, what would happen if you tried to run this on a non-3GS handset? And is it worth Apple stepping in with some logic in the App Store to prevent customers with hardware that wasn't compatible with the app from purchasing it?

Going forward I can see more and more developers releasing 3GS specific content (and newer hardware as it becomes available) and yet there hasn't been any real hints as to how Apple would differentiate (if at all) the content for these different platforms.

Anyway, good to see you testing the waters in this rather controversial (although it shouldn't be!) area.

Good luck!

Der-Kleine · 07-30-2009, 08:34 AM

Only 3GS? Say that again in September!

icepulse · 07-30-2009, 08:48 AM

Why not add an "in-app purchase" function to the existing game, for 99¢, that will only work for owners of a 3GS? This way, you'll be able to treat existing customers w/ a courtesy, and new customers pay the same rate as usual?

Is it possible to distinguish between older devices and the 3GS, via the in-app purchase function?

I love the game, but I don't mind telling you that I'm not going to be interested in re-buying it for full price, w/o new content.

1337brian · 07-30-2009, 08:51 AM

I'm really hope that with each new handset I won't have to go and buy my same apps all over again just to see some optimal improvements...

As long as the old version will continue to work on the 3GS I won't get the new version unless it adds a substantial amount of content to the game... No point as I already have it...

Frand · 07-30-2009, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icepulse

Why not add an "in-app purchase" function to the existing game, for 99¢, that will only work for owners of a 3GS? This way, you'll be able to treat existing customers w/ a courtesy, and new customers pay the same rate as usual?

Is it possible to distinguish between older devices and the 3GS, via the in-app purchase function?

I love the game, but I don't mind telling you that I'm not going to be interested in re-buying it for full price, w/o new content.

Setting up a DLC server with security, creating an in-game store for additional content, re-architecting Zen Bound to a hypothetical modular renderer architecture and then wondering how on earth to get the word out of a new DLC instead of a new app would push the scale of the project far beyond the single but already time-consuming thing we're trying to achieve.

And I don't mind pointing out that we haven't yet said anything about the price

Mindfield · 07-30-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icepulse

Why not add an "in-app purchase" function to the existing game, for 99¢, that will only work for owners of a 3GS? This way, you'll be able to treat existing customers w/ a courtesy, and new customers pay the same rate as usual?

DLC doesn't work that way. See my post here.

I for one would love to see a 3GS version of this -- it's already graphically stunning, so a 3GS version would just blow me away. And I already bought the original, so I wouldn't have a problem paying for a new one -- though a reduced introductory price would be nice.

unconnected · 07-30-2009, 08:59 AM

Thanks for that insight Frand, that answers my question in another thread about DLC perfectly.

Any hints on what form the improved visuals will take?

Frand · 07-30-2009, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unconnected

Thanks for that insight Frand, that answers my question in another thread about DLC perfectly.

Any hints on what form the improved visuals will take?

We've got a number of ideas, but since we don't yet have the hardware it's too soon to say which ones are feasible. Screenshots will be posted here as soon as there's anything to show, but honestly that will be a long while from now.