You're Welcome, Steve Jobs. <-- UPDATE!
by Brett Seyler · 05/15/2009 (1:05 am) · 36 comments
Great news this morning for Marble Blast fans...Marble Blast Mobile has arrived!With the production work done by those fabulous South African gents at Luma Arcade, this is one awesome adaptation of the best-selling XBLA hit. If you have an iPhone, you're going to want to check this out...
Attending the iGames Summit a couple months ago, I gave some first look previews to a few iPhone app news outlets. You can read their reactions following the links below...
I definitely recommend checking this out in HD on Youtube.com (
since I can't figure out how to embed here in HD :/ )
What's next? I suspect we'll see a lot more more great Torque games appearing on the iPhone soon. Marble Blast Mobile was created entirely using iTGE, and the engine itself is getting continual optimization and polish as we tune the performance for more and more game types.
I also want to thank Sam Williams (brother of the famous Josh) for his fantastic effort as Producer on this title. Really great work.
Find out more Marble Blast Mobile information on GarageGames, or on InstantAction below:
UPDATE!!!! CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW:
UPDATE 2!!!! MBM Trailer!
About the author
Since 2007, I've done my best to steer Torque's development and brand toward the best opportunities in games middleware.
#3
05/15/2009 (2:36 am)
The first iPhone game I can actually imagine myself playing! :) Congrats! 
#4
*just kidding about the "hate you"* <-- Added for disclaimer purposes. :P
05/15/2009 (3:46 am)
Darn ... there goes $10 to purchasing this game for my iPhone ... I hate you GG. :)*just kidding about the "hate you"* <-- Added for disclaimer purposes. :P
#5
05/15/2009 (4:05 am)
Ouch.. $10 making it one of the highest priced games in the app store. It does look great and it plays great (yes, bought it as soon as I saw it), and I hope more levels are on the way. 
#6
New marbles look great, as well.
05/15/2009 (4:06 am)
FINALLY RELEASED!!! I purchased the app without even looking at the price ;)New marbles look great, as well.
#7
05/15/2009 (4:35 am)
There are tons of really great games for the iPhone already, but it's nice to have one more. Won't get that many downloads at $10 though. Not because it's not worth it, but because the App Store was originally dominated by indie developers there's a culture of cheapness where developers believe the only way they can increase sales is to lower the price. Now the top sales spots are more often taken by EA, Eidos and PopCap games, but the low prices persist - even Tiger Woods Golf is only $10 with most of the indie titles coming in at $2-$5. 
#8
"Marble Blast Mobile transforms your iPhone into a futuristic astrolab arena suspended high in the clouds."
Isn't it supposed to be astrolabe?
Don't wanna be picky, jsut helping out :)
05/15/2009 (5:21 am)
Looks awesome. But i read your GG page, and the first sentence in the description says: "Marble Blast Mobile transforms your iPhone into a futuristic astrolab arena suspended high in the clouds."
Isn't it supposed to be astrolabe?
Don't wanna be picky, jsut helping out :)
#9
An astrolabe is a historical astronomical instrument used by classical astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars; determining local time given local latitude and vice-versa; surveying; and triangulation.
So why should it be astrolabe?
05/15/2009 (5:54 am)
@Matt: Huh?An astrolabe is a historical astronomical instrument used by classical astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars; determining local time given local latitude and vice-versa; surveying; and triangulation.
So why should it be astrolabe?
#10
05/15/2009 (5:59 am)
The astrolabe is in the background/sky, so that makes the player contained "within" the astrolabe.
#11
Heehe ... my bad! :)
*hides in the corner* Sorry. :(
05/15/2009 (6:02 am)
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ... ok makes sense now. :)Heehe ... my bad! :)
*hides in the corner* Sorry. :(
#12
05/15/2009 (6:23 am)
Unrelated... but I know how to use an astrolabe :D 
#13
05/15/2009 (7:05 am)
yes, this the number one game I wanted for my Ipod touch, thank you 
#14
05/15/2009 (10:22 am)
Awesome stuff! Way to go Luma and GG. You are heading into the market at a "premium" price, which is what EA, ngmoco, and most of the other premium publishers are doing. It would be great if the $9.99 price point became a standard for new, highly produced games. Let us know how sales do. 
#16
Oh, and the other big thing I'm reading is that people are upset that they pay $10 for a game that has so many levels (even the multiplayer levels) locked until you beat a certain time.
I'm hoping that people will get excited about playing the game if lots of people are in multiplayer and they have good matches. Then they would want to get their friends on board. But then again, it looks like there's NO internet based multiplayer... only LAN based. Not good for getting multiplayer matches going.
05/15/2009 (10:56 am)
Wow... the $10 pricing point is getting hammered on sites like TouchArcade and others. Big complaint is that there are less levels, lower graphics, but twice the price of the XBLA game.Oh, and the other big thing I'm reading is that people are upset that they pay $10 for a game that has so many levels (even the multiplayer levels) locked until you beat a certain time.
I'm hoping that people will get excited about playing the game if lots of people are in multiplayer and they have good matches. Then they would want to get their friends on board. But then again, it looks like there's NO internet based multiplayer... only LAN based. Not good for getting multiplayer matches going.
#17
05/15/2009 (11:02 am)
I loved Marble Blast Ultra.....gladly will be $9.99 for this title..downloading now :) 
#18
Now, please give us Windows Mobile version of MB! :)
05/15/2009 (11:07 am)
Congrats Luma & GG with the release!Now, please give us Windows Mobile version of MB! :)
#19
05/15/2009 (1:05 pm)
Congrats on getting this one out the door. 
#20
05/15/2009 (4:00 pm)
I have a question... Can you find out how many downloads you received? Like if 200 people download the game, would you find out how many people downloaded it?
Torque 3D Owner Chris Cain