hideNtweet – Hide & Seek For The iPhone And Twitter

update Jul 5: hideNtweet is now available for FREE via iTunes – click here to download

(written by guest author Tim Giron. follow Tim on Twitter @timgiron)

hideNtweetLogo11 It’s 10:15 on a Sunday morning and I am crouched in one of the many alleys in a small neighborhood near Arizona State University.  I check my iPhone map display and see a red plus sign moving in my direction; it’s the seeker blocking my path to the home base.  Blue dots indicate the positions of the other players, full grown men experiencing a high tech version of the classic playground game.

cthurst_capture11    IMG_0009_11

This is hideNtweet and we’ve been invited by the developer, John Ellis of Dove Valley Apps, to take part in a beta test.  Realizing that the direct approach is not going to work for me, I move off a ways and wait for John, who is currently "it", to chase after somebody else.  Once he does, I loop around and head for the base location, which is thankfully near a hammock in the shade.  For the next round, I choose to be "it" and the chase is on again!

finding_homebase11    john_tags_home11

hideNtweet creatively utilizes the technologies available on the iPhone to fuse the virtual and physical worlds.  The camera is used to identify a home base and to tag other players as caught.  The GPS and map, complete with sweeping radar indicator, shows all of the player positions.  And, to top it all off, the app uses the online Twitter service to announce threeGhostsWhite11 significant game plays to the participants.

While it is much more fun to play with others, the game also has a "solo" mode where 4 ghost characters will try to evade and outwit you.  Ingeniously, the ghosts move through the camera view when you close in for the capture.

ghost_capture11

If you’re interested in joining in the beta test hijinks, gather up a few friends and head over to http://hideNtweet.com to apply.  Please note that since the application is currently in beta test, some of the screens may change before release.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Wow! Talk about a unique gaming experience for the iPhone … totally looking forward to the release of this app. With all the garbage and repeat apps (how many tic-tac-toe apps? – too many!) in the App Store, we applaud Dove Valley Apps for thinking outside the box and working on something truly creative and first of its kind. Rock on guys!

And don’t forget to sign up to be a beta game player … DO IT … it’s fun, free and will make you feel better. Click Here to sign up now.

May 30, 2009 | Filed Under anti-KRAPPS, Games 

Comments

  • johneDVA

    this is john from dove valley apps. thx for the article! i just wanted to mention a couple things:

    we are definitely lookin for more beta testers, so please sign up!

    you can follow @hideNtweet on twitter for updates and the beta
    http://twitter.com/hideNtweet

    we just finished the game recap feature… to see the game tim discussed above, go to
    http://hntw.me/3v
    you'll see the game played out on a map complete with tweets, etc. we plan on adding more features like a replay speed control, a scrollable, clickable list of events/tweets and even more.

    look forward to seein ya in the beta!

    thanks,

    john

  • this is john from dove valley apps. thx for the article! i just wanted to mention a couple things:

    we are definitely lookin for more beta testers, so please sign up!

    you can follow @hideNtweet on twitter for updates and the beta
    http://twitter.com/hideNtweet

    we just finished the game recap feature… to see the game tim discussed above, go to
    http://hntw.me/3v
    you'll see the game played out on a map complete with tweets, etc. we plan on adding more features like a replay speed control, a scrollable, clickable list of events/tweets and even more.

    look forward to seein ya in the beta!

    thanks,

    john

  • Extremocracy

    looks really fun… too bad i dont have an iPhone

  • Extremocracy

    looks really fun… too bad i dont have an iPhone