YORKSHIRE COMPANIES JOIN FORCES TO LAUNCH GROUNDBREAKING MOBILE PHONE APP (02/06/2010)
Digital media companies from across the region have demonstrated world leading innovation through a collaboration to develop the first ever audio-only game, built solely for the iPhone® and iPod Touch®. Unique mobile phone app Aurifi TM (pronounced ‘or-if-eye') allows players to interact with sound in the same way that video games let them interact with graphic objects, using music theory, digital sound design techniques and even the neuroscience of perception. Aurifi was designed and produced by York game design company Punk Pie in collaboration with Bradford iPhone developer Four Door Lemon, supported by Screen Yorkshire and Leeds digital agency twentysix.Aurifi, available to purchase from the iTun
es App Store now, is unique among iPhone/iPod Touch games in that it can be played without users ever having to open their eyes. It allows players to progress as they explore a vast array of original sound components and audio effects, blending hundreds of bespoke musical phrases to create thousands of different permutations. Using headphones, players explore a sonic environment and pick up the skills needed to interact with Aurifi in a highly original manner. They manipulate audio effects by bouncing, steering and batting them through the three-dimensional soundscape.
Chris Walker of Punk Pie says:
"To develop Aurifi, we had to get to grips with how the brain processes sounds and what 'images' are created in the mind. It was a fascinating and beautiful insight that we're very lucky to have spent time investigating. No two people perceive the same thing and that's what excites us about Aurifi - the ability to compare your experience with someone else, and marvel at the similarities and the differences. Our brains are amazing at building an environment made up of sonic clues and we give you the 'compass' to explore that world.
Screen Yorkshire's ongoing support was critical to the development of Aurifi. Their financial investment and industry knowledge provided us with the invaluable industry links and support necessary to develop our initial concept through to the final product.''
Aurifi is availableto purchase on the Apple App Store now! http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/aurifi/id370383663?mt=8
Reviews
''...Aurifi is a remarkable experience. By mercilessly removing the visual component of the game, developer Punk Pie has cleverly forced you to exclusively leverage your sense of sound.... It's one of the only games that can be enjoyed by blind or partially-sighted people - that's inventiveness worth applauding.''
‘'Aurifi deserves major kudos for taking an interesting risk and creating such a unique product. For those looking for something different or those who are mere curiosity seekers I would definitely recommend checking it out. I can promise you you've never really played anything like it before. As someone that relishes new gameplay experiences this one definitely scratches that itch.'' - Gamezebo
"Aurifi marks the beginning of a completely new genre of gaming" - BornTechie
"4 out of 5 : Download this app if you're ready to try a state-of-the-art audio game" - Snapcase07, Appolicious
"Aurifi is unlike any game available for the iPhone, and is likely the first of its kind for any gaming device." - Appolicious
"Aurifi uses a finely-woven tapestry of sound effects and music to create a gaming experience unlike anything you've experienced before." -TouchMyApps
"Welcome to the advent of audio games on the iPhone and iPod Touch" - N4G
"This concept is totally revolutionary... This is one of the must have games. I LOVE IT!" - Davide
"...an enjoyable and oddly hypnotic experience." - PocketGame
