IncrediMarble is a fun new sandbox construction game for iOS where you get to build gigantic marble slide worlds with real time physics, and earn points by adding more and better slides. The more points you earn, the more pieces you win to keep upgrading your slides, and turn them into massively deranged contraptions. (Android and PC/Mac versions coming soon.)
The game is solely created by Dave Kap, an indie developer who got his start at Linden Lab. The game reflects both his time there, playing SL, and a dream he's had since a boy:
"When I was a kid," as he puts it to me, "I had a toy that was just this huge set of plastic slides and a bunch of marbles. You connected the plastic slides together, put the marbles into the top-most one, and watched them flow down from piece to piece. I always loved this toy as a kid in the 80s and it turns out that even kids now still have this toy. I always wanted more pieces and the ability to defy gravity so a video game version was something I've always wanted to play. It turns out nobody's ever made a good version of what I wanted, so here we are!"
Linden Lab helped hone his developing skills, while Second Life influenced IncrediMarble 's creative gameplay:
"Since most of my work [at Linden Lab] was as a Release Engineer, someone who automates processes, I managed to put those skills to use in some of the code optimizations for IncrediMarble. It also sped up the testing process, as releasing beta versions for the game on iOS can take up to an hour if you're doing it manually. I managed to cut that down to 10 minutes or less."
Then there's creativity of SL, which he first joined as a user, before becoming an employee:
"Although I had some CAD experience in high school, Second Life's building tools were certainly helpful inspiration for adding a snap-to-grid feature in IncrediMarble. Plus one of the first things I built in Second Life was the Plinko board from The Price is Right, so the fun of playing with physics is engrained in me from my early SL experiences.
"In fact, dumb story, I remember after my first day inside Second Life I wrote on the forums 'this building stuff is really cool but I sure wish I could play with physics' to which someone replied 'click the physics checkbox and have fun.'
"That was what sparked my initial love in Second Life and you definitely see that in IncrediMarble."
Get the game from the App Store here and share your thoughts with Dave below.
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