Double Fine Kickstarter Game Broken Age Now On The iPad
Some would say that, like the game itself, the iPad version of Double Fine's high profile Kickstarter game "Broken Age" was a long time coming. Regardless whether iPad users felt entitled to it or not, considering it was never promised in the Kickstarter campaign initially, the game is here, or at least part of it.
After a period of slump in the gaming industry, Double Fine shot up through popularity when it took to Kickstarter to fund their next big adventure game. This was a notable and historic feat as being the first self-published game to take to the then nascent crowdsourcing platform. It's success, which saw it bagging $3.33 million when it was only asking for $400,000, inspired many game developers, both veterans and indies alike, to take to Kickstarter and similar venues in order to get their games funded and done, bypassing the traditional game publisher model.
However, Broken Age, as the game was later named, was not entirely without controversy. Already delayed, Double Fine was reported to be asking for more funds, as the lump that they acquired was apparently not enough. The story is actually more complicated than that though not exactly that dark. Needless to say, it negatively colored the perception by the crowd who saw the company as the Kickstarter poster boy. That was compounded by the news that Double Fine chose to split the game into two parts, as the game itself has grown exponentially beyond the initially Kickstarter vision.
Nonetheless, the game did ship, at least part 1 of it, to mixed reviews. Some came away disappointed at the simplistic puzzles and child-like artwork, others have pegged it as the revival of the once thought dead Adventure game genre. Whatever your view on the matter is, Broken Age is making its way through the gaming industry and through platforms. It has recently launched on the Android-based OUYA, and now, Double Fine is giving Apple's fandom a reason to smile as well, bringing the game to the tablet. iPad users need not worry about quality, as the developer claims that the beautiful hi-res art for the PC has been ported quite adequately to the mobile device. And controls shouldn't be a bother also, as they have reworked the more PC-centric controls to be more touch-friendly.
Broken Age for the iPad costs only $9.99, which is somewhat on par with bigger mobile games. However, that is only for Part 1 of the game, since Part 2 is still in production. When that second part does arrive, users will be able to buy it through an in-game purchase. The game is also now up on the Mac App Store for $24.99, but this time that price already includes Part 2 when it comes out.
Download: Broken Age (iPad), (Mac)