Hexile was released on the App Store this morning.  It only took ten days in the approval queue, and iTunes Connect was shut down for three of those.  Not bad for a holiday break.  Thanks for pushing us through, Apple!

Hexile (1.0) was submitted to the iTunes Store today!  We know Apple will be busy (and then closed) over the holidays, but hopefully Hexile will show up in time to celebrate the New Year.

Our tile layout framework for Hexile is complete.  There were two noteworthy milestones in reaching this accomplishment.  First, the creation of the horizonal hexagon layout, supporting multiple layers, was finished.  The hurdle was about how to tackle multiple tiles of the same, irregular shape.  We decided on subclassing UIView (no, not CALayer) for the creation of our Tile object.  These UIView’s are out-of-the-box adept at handling internal animations and touch states.  Each one contains a UIImageView that holds the tile image.

Original dual-layered coordinate system

Continue reading…

Hexile has been branded with a theme and motif!  Well, not without running in circles for a few weeks.

Originally the project was code-named “Augmentor” and early chicken-scratch had it wrapped with a futuristic, celestial feel with industrial overtones.

The first official draft phases surrounding the creative of the game shifted to an Egyptian, “Luxor”-like theme.  Set to be staged near Egyptian ruins, the working project name became “iRuin”, and early music drafts came shortly after. Continue reading…

Fusion Development Group has officially broken ground on an iPhone Game entitled “Hexile”.  Our intent is to produce a “for-all-users” casual game that employs both strategic thinking and mindless number tapping (but not at the same time).  Number-based strategic games satisfy a certain part of our brain, but we strive to strike a balance by providing ample opportunity to play quickly with minimal thought.  Yes, it sounds confusing, but there’s some real thought behind it. Continue reading…