Createrria Review
“Become famous game designer!” proclaims the app store description, and with design tools like these, you just might be able to.
Createrria is a game design app by new Polish startup, Incuvo. Already achieving finalist in the European Game connection 2012, second place at Pitchforce, and being selected at the indie prize showcase in San Francisco, it is not difficult to see why the buzz for Createrria has built thick and fast. Having made a number of levels in online platformer creator ‘Sploder’, little big planet 1 and 2, and truly missing the long defunct ‘Atmosphir’ I was keen to explore a new freemium version of this burgeoning genre on ios.
The game wastes no time in getting going, with an initial ‘play’ or ‘create’ option greeting you upon opening the app. Clicking on create takes you directly to the design tutorial, complete with a nutty looking professor that guides you through the very simple process. Design tools made available to you heavily favour a platform design toolkit but also feature some puzzle assets too. The addition of a slingshot that fires a ‘stunt bear’ enables the ability to design sub-angry birds levels which could bring some variety or even parody to user levels. The level creation process is made to be easy but allows enough in the way of a toolset to create fairly complex level designs. Starting from scratch allows you to go it alone and let your imagination run (fairly) riot. Choosing a prefabricated base for your level costs coins to cut this corner. However most of the fun comes from building your own designs, so I am not sure why you would bother with this option.
The game boasts a range of Graphic styles to experiment with, from 8 bit ‘pixel’ stylings to ‘fable’, ‘smooth’, and ‘candy’ themes. These alternative themes have to be earned by making progress in the gaming levels or by making purchases within the app. All themes have nicely executed parallax backgrounds that give a semi 3D feel to the level you are working on or playing.
Visually the game has a wide appeal through the large headed cartoony characters and items that are selectable in the menu system. Incuvo have produced a wide range of assets for the player to utilise with the option to scale if needed.
‘Decorative items’ can be scaled upwards allowing for some mammoth oversized shrooms or some giant beanstalk type situations. If you really wanted to, there is opportunity to make your character seem big by designing small. Scaling to a huge size tests the fidelity of the sprites, but reasonable sizing still results in a slick looking level especially on a Retina screen. The soft pastel hues are appealing to all ages but perhaps lean mostly towards a younger audience.
Initially the developers have been generous with the in game coins and gems (which also serve as real world currency) to get your designs started. Currency incentives/achievements are also are cleverly assembled to encourage participation and to keep the Createrria community strong. For example, completion of ten community games is rewarded by two gems which can be traded in for items in the design toolbox.
Creating terrain for your level is as simple as selecting a brush icon, choosing your platform, item or character and dragging your finger along the touchscreen. The menu system is intuitive and feels fun to use. Interestingly the app allows recording of in game footage to share on Facebook or Twitter and you can of course share your creations through the main social networks.
Perhaps taking some influence from little big planet, the app presents your ears with lo-fi superadorablecute music themes which permeate your Createrria experience. However, once in design mode, the repetitive nature of the tunes had me reaching for the mute button. Sound effects are fun and match the cartoony style of the app. An auto save function ticks away in the background saving potential frustration in battery shortages or ios system crashes.
Controls, whilst simplistic are effective using a touch based left/right and jump system but with the nice addition of touchscreen elements to help your character progress. Platforms can be touch manipulated to help your character ascend dizzy heights and doors can also be swiped to allow access to hidden areas. Adverts in menus do pop up between periods of loading but can be skipped quickly.
Incuvo have also developed an interesting but potentially frustrating way of monetising the design process. Sort of like the thermometer in Little big planet that let’s you know how space you have left in your level to place objects or enemies, you have to keep playing or feeding the energy bar to keep designing or playing. This does refill, but limits the amount of time you are allowed to spend in the app. Gems can be used to refill your energy bar but cost real money and can interrupt your design flow. Designing does become addictive as you perfect jump distances and incentives for community play are enticing.
As you would expect, user levels vary in quality sometimes leaving the player stranded or stuck behind obstacles. There are however curated levels championed by the Editors pick sections which help to showcase the best of Createrria’s talent. Generally the design engine is solid and levels load extremely quickly but after playing through a number of user levels they feel can repetitive with only a few occasions where I felt designers grappling to push the dynamic’s of the game engine. I am confident this will improve after time. Hopefully Incuvo will integrate more options, items and collectables in the future without choosing to make them purchasable only, which has a real bearing on what is possible within the app.
Frustrations aside, Createrria is a good introduction into level design with enough in the way of immersive community features to keep players and designers tapping away.
