And we are back with a first update. We improved the physics and the zooming behavior a lot and polished the levels a bit more. I'd love to hear some feedback from you.

Here some fresh codes:
66RXX7MPY4TY
N74349FMHRJE
MA4ER74JE94H

Questor,

thank you for the great feedback! In earlier versions we had a pan with one finger and a cut with two fingers. After doing a game usability test session (with about 15 people) we learned that just a few people understood how to cut with this technique and most of them requested a simpler cutting with one finger.

We just improved the pan and zoom for version 1.1 a lot and hope people will like it even more.

We also logged a bug about following the cat. Our idea is that the camera will follow the cat as soon as it moves. If a users moves with two fingers, it does not follow anymore until the cat starts moving again. We hope to have this feature along with new levels and joints in v.1.2.

We are pushing smaller bug fixes and level refinements tomorrow and should be available in the store as soon as Apple approves it.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

Cheers,
sulf

sulf,

I played the game and really enjoyed it. The scissor action and physics work really well. One suggestion I have is that when the cat is in motion (aka falling, etc) you may want to have the camera follow the cat automatically. Not sure how that might affect gameplay in higher levels though. The problem was that I would make a snip and the cat would roll off the screen and I would be trying to quickly do the two finger scroll thing, but by the time I caught up to the cat, the action would be over...sometimes the level would already be over ;-) If auto scroll is not possible then perhaps switching the one finger snip with the two finger scroll as an option would help...ie: one finger to scroll and two fingers to snip. Or another possibility is to auto scroll only if the cat leaves the screen.

Also, I found when in a hurry to do snips while cat was in motion (like the see-saw level), I kept inadvertently hitting the reset button. If you made the rest button a double tap (or moved it to a different corner), it would make accidentally hitting it alot less frequent. BTW, I don't think an additional confirm dialog on reset would help as that would probably be more annoying than having it reset automatically. (Just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was suggesting that...as I like the fact that reset is so quick and easy, except when it is a mistake).

Anyways, just some suggestions, feel free to discard.

Regards,
Q

The project started with the goal to make a game using the strengths of the iPhone interface. Nothing based on precision or timing - something that might appeal to a broad audience - and something open ended, both so it could be extended with more levels and features and in solving method. Ice Breakers was a good reference because in our group because we talked about how we managed to solve the puzzles and we wanted something people would naturally talk about to their friends, helping out with marketing. We wanted a game with room to change around the environmental conditions. Taking a silly subject to different "planets" you can change the environment each time. Everything is cuttable for simplicity in game play and flexibility in art. The goals are also designed for more competition, with the concept of "Par" and distinguishing between players that can just beat the level, make par, and goals for beating par.
We wanted to incentivize good performance and coming back to play.

Here are also some screenshots:

sulf, this is an awesome game, congratulations! Did you inspire from the flash games Splitter and Ice breaker ?

Questor,

thanks for the tip! The next version will be build for an older iPhone OS. We had two developers as well as an artist working on the game and it took us 5 months (non-fulltime-work). We're using Box2D.

Cheers,
sulf

sulf,

Looks pretty cool. I did notice that your game says it requires OS 3.1.2... If this is not really a requirement, then you may want to change it as it will limit the market for the game.

Out of curiosity:
How many people worked on it? How long did it take? Are you using Chipmunk or Box2d for your physics?

Looks like a lot of fun.

Regards,
Q

Here is our first iPhone Game, that uses cocos2d:

US Store link: http://tinyurl.com/y8sjgk5

Snip (the intergalactic hedge trimming puzzle game).

Cat stuck in a tree? Boring. Space cat stuck on a cactus about to be crushed by a boulder? Awesome. Cut through vines, trees, rocks and practically everything else to help the cat get safely back into its bin. Who knew cutting stuff could be so much fun?
Features:

* Fully cuttable environments. Cut anything, anywhere.
* Realistic physics engine simulates gravity, friction, and loads of other physical forces.
* Super cute 2d graphics.
* Intuitive touch control scheme lets you cut with ease.
* 20 challenging levels (spanning 4 different worlds) with tons more on the way.
* Local high scores. Keep track of your best snips.
* Facebook integration. Let your friends know how well you can snip.

Learn more:

homepage: http://www.snipapp.com

twitter: http://www.twitter.com/snipapp

Here a short video: http://www.viddler.com/explore/sulf/videos/1/

And some codes:
LFXAHLMYPM7X
RTNPXK4YP9WY
N6HH33WWH7M7

US Store link: http://tinyurl.com/y8sjgk5