Quick Look: Touch Plant for iPhone
One thing I’ve loved about mobile computer platforms is that they are filled with indie developers. That means that you’ll see all kinds of things that you won’t see on consoles simply because the developers aren’t tied to the philosophy “we have to make a buck”. Such appears to be the case with Touch Plant from Phobic Software. I’m not even quite sure how to categorize this product, because it’s not a game and it borders on not being entertainment. I guess I’ll let you decide that.
Plant Grows Up
The object of Touch Plant is simple: start from the flower pot, and drag your finger around the screen. This will create a stem from which your plant will grow. Then, you just sit back and watch it bloom! That’s all there is to Touch Plant. On the plus side, it’s actually kind of relaxing just watching your plant take form as randomly generated limbs protrude and ultimately produce flowers. The graphics are okay, though I do like the clouds that get drawn in and float by (I especially like the fact that they get drawn in instead of just being there). On the down side, even as a simple entertainment product it doesn’t feel nearly finished. There are several potentially easy things that could be done to make this a much better product.
First of all, find some music. There’s plenty of free stuff out there, and as long as it sounds good, who cares if it’s not the developer’s own creation? It just seems like soothing music goes hand in hand with a product made for relaxation. Second, add a splash screen. It’s bad enough when a program starts off with a screen that simply has the program’s name and a button that says “Start”, but it’s not very professional to have a program start up and just thrust you into the middle of the action with no warning. Third, have a zoom option if the plant grows outside the bounds of the screen (this one is probably much more difficult to implement). Finally, add some color – literally – by having the flowers bloom in random colors instead of just all being red.
I think there’s a lot of places Touch Plant could go to make it an interesting relaxation application. I just hope the developer decides to try taking it there. As it stands right now, if you’re really interested in growing some plants, I’d suggest spending a couple of extra bucks and getting Flower Garden instead.
Final Verdict: Not Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link
[Note: image courtesy of App Shopper]
Tags: Eric Pankoke, Phobic Games, Quick Look, Relaxation, review, technobrains, Touch Plant
