Nitrome Touchy

Nitrome Touchy is a free Brass Monkey application for iOS devices released on October 31, 2012, and will soon be released for Android. . The app allows for select Nitrome games to be played using devices running the application, using the player's iPhone as a controller.

The multiplayer function of the Nitrome Touchy was first teased on September 18th, in the form of a mysterious trailer that showed four Spartans going throughout Double Edged levels. The next week, the app was revealed, and for subsequent weeks up until October 31st, new games and features of the app were revealed.

The app itself is free to download, and comes with Super Snot Put. . For full access to all Nitrome Touchy compatible games, extra payment is required. This fee gives app users access to all current Nitrome Touchy compatible games, as well as future releases. .

Ten games were released for the Nitrome Touchy on its October 31st launch date, with another 20 coming within six months of its release. The release of the app was celebrated with the release of the Touchy skin, prior to the release, a mini site was released that would provide more information, links and resources about Nitrome Touchy.

Despite Nitrome's announcement of "20 games coming in 6 months", Nitrome has announced that Swindler 2 will be able to played on the Nitrome Touchy, as soon as the game is released. However, although Nitrome has not revealed if Swindler 2 will be free to play (without the premium access price), it is quite likely Swindler 2 will only be able to played if one pays the premium price for the app.

Development
Nitrome partnered with developers Brass Monkey to create the Nitrome Touchy app, which would run off there software. One reason for this partnership was for "local multiplayer opportunities that we could never achieve within the confines of a normal keyboard", this allowing Nitrome to somewhat expand the size of the controls used to operate their games, thus allowing more people to simultaneously play a game that the regular limit of two or four.

Features
The Nitrome Touchy app will allow any iOS device to behave like a Nintendo Wii Remote, as the technology Brass Monkey provides supports almost all the features of a Nintendo Wii Remote. Although Brass Monkey has access to a number of functions, only two functions have been confirmed for use on Nitrome Touchy. Excluding touch screen interface, these include motion control and local multiplayer.

Motion control
Games which support this: Worm Food, Aquanaut, Thin Ice, Swindler, Flash Cat, Super Snot Put Motion control refers to the physical movement of the iOS device itself to interact with the in-game environment. Confirmed motions compatible for the Nitrome Touchy are swinging, and tilting the iPhone left, right, and down.

The Wii Motion Plus style control method of Super Snot Put provides an example of how motion control works on Nitrome Touchy. Swinging the iOS around in a circular motion takes advantage of the gyroscopic motion control of the iOS device.

Local multiplayer
Games which support this: Double Edged With local multiplayer, Nitrome Touchy supports the ability to allow multiple players to play in the same game module. A trailer released under the title "Double Edged????" first revealed the feature that would allow four people to simultaneously play the same game (Double Edged) on the same computer screen.

Touch screen
Games which support this: All

The touch screen of the iPhone allows for unique control methods to be used. Buttons, d-pads, and other control methods can be used via the touch screen of the iPhone.

Menu interface
Four options are listed on the menu interface: Games, Shop, Help and Options.


 * Games - The Games page lists the number of games Nitrome Touchy can connect to, and the number of players that can participate in the game at once.

Startup
When the player begins the Nitrome Touchy app, they will come to the games screen where the app will try to connect. When starting a game, the bronze Nitrome letters will appear before the game starts.

Controller interface
An iOS device running Nitrome Touchy functions as a video game controller while playing a Nitrome Touchy compatible game. The touch screen, motion control and local multiplayer functions are used, depending on the game.

Below lists the layouts and use of the controller for each Nitrome Touchy game. As first seen on the layout of the Double Edged controller, a gear image is placed at the top right side of the screen. As with the Music, Sound FX, and Pause button of Nitrome's other Flash games, this gear will likely serve as the options button of the controller, allowing the player to possible toggle the controller's layout to their liking.

Each controller comes with exclusive art pertaining to the game. In the below sections for each game, it will be informed what buttons on the iPhone are used for the game and what each button does. In each game section will be a condensed section, which states the controls of the game by specifying the action on the iPhone and what is done in the game.

Double Edged
Buttons: d-pad (+ shaped), circle button 1, circle button 2

Usage:The d-pad's four arms move the Spartan in the direction the arm of the d-pad is extending. Thus, the upper arm will move the Spartan up, lower arm will move it down and such. The lower button on the right allows the player to attack, while the upper button is for jumping.

Multiplayer
The Double Edged on Nitrome Touchy allows up to four players to play the game on the same screen at once. This can be done with four devices running the Nitrome Touchy app, although two players can also use the original keyboard controls to participate. All spartans in Double Edged cannot be hit by weapons used by another player, but can still lose health when hit by a rock thrown by another player.

Condensed

 * D-pad up/down/left/right - move
 * Circle button 1 - jump
 * Circle button 2 - attack

Super Snot Put
Upon pressing the play button, the player is presented with two modes of playing. With motion control, the player can fling the snot by pressing the screen and moving it continuously in a circular motion. When the player releases their contact on the screen, the snot is flung into the air. Alternatively, touch screen controls allow the player to fling the snot by moving it around in a circular motion and swiping to release it.

Condensed
Wii Motion Plus style control method Swipe screen control method
 * [[File:IPhone-motion.gif]]Hold snot, move iPhone in circular motion, let go - fling snot
 * Grab snot, fling around, let go - fling snot

Magic Touch
Like the Flash game, Magic Touch has players pop balloons by drawing the matching shapes on the balloons to the device. The wizard is seen on the device's screen rather than on the computer screen. The device's screen also darkens as the player draws on it.

Mega Mash
Buttons: D-pad, Button 1, Button 2

Usage: As Mega Mash has different controls for each game, it is possible that some buttons for some games will not be used. Regardless, controls will be different for each game. Below is the possible control setup for each game:
 * Carrot Story: The left and right arm of the D-pad will likely be used for movement, while it is possible that the upper arm of the D-pad will cause Fluffykins to jump. As only one arm of the D-pad can be pressed at a time, pressing to the upper arm to jump will be impractical as it prevents the level from moving while jumping (most of the time). Because of this, likely one of the two buttons will be used for jumping, while another button will be used for firing fireballs in super mode. The art for the each controller will change depending on the game entered.
 * Xolstar 3: It is probably likely that the D-pad will be used for movement of the Xolstar, each arm of the D-pad when pressed moving the ship in that direction, while one of the two buttons will be used for firing the laser.
 * Blast-Man Joe: The D-pad will probably be the control selected for movement, each arm when pressed moving the player in that direction. One of the two buttons when pressed will cause the player to place a bomb, if this setup is picked.
 * Smash: The D-pad will likely be used for movement, the left and right arm using the D-pad in the picked direction. One of the two buttons will probably be picked to fire the lasers of Smash when it is in super mode.
 * Nitrometris: Either pressing a left or right arm of the D-pad will flip the Nitrometris in the picked direction. Otherwise, one of the buttons will probably move the Nitrometris one way and the other button the other way, possibly. It is also possible pressing any button will move the Nitrometris clockwise or counter-clockwise, and there will be no other choice.
 * Balloon: Similar to Carrot Story, the left and right arms of the D-pad will likely be used for movement, while either one of the circle buttons or the upper arm of the D-pad will cause the Balloon to move up.
 * Ninja: The D-pad's left and right arms will probably move Takeshi left and right, respectively. Either the upper arm of the D-pad or one of the circle buttons will be used for jumping. One of the circle buttons will also probably used to fire a ninja star, holding on to the button causing a ninja rope to possibly be made.

Flash Cat
Buttons: Brake button, special button, jump button

Usage: The player's iPhone acts as a steering wheel. Tilting the iPhone left will move the player's caterpillar left, and moving the iPhone right will move it right. The left button (labeled "brake") causes an immediate halt to the cat, while the right button causes the cat to jump. The bottom pink bar has a button labelled "special". This button has a cat head on it, and will cause the player to use whatever powerup they currently have.

Swindler
Buttons: ↑ button, ↓ button

Usage:The player will move swindler when they tilt their iPhone. To advance up or down, the player has to press either the up or down button.

Off the Rails
Buttons: Bar, jump button, reverse direction button

Usage:The player has to slide their finger quickly back and forth on the the middle bar. Place at the top right and bottom left edges are buttons which when pressed, cause the player's in-game handcart to jump. The the reverse direction button is placed at the top-middle of the iPhone, and allows the player to reverse direction. The player has to drag the lever in the direction they want the handcart to move.

Thin Ice
Buttons: Skate button, boot button

Usage:The player controls the on-screen Eskimo by tiling the iPhone in the direction they want to move it. Holding down the skating button (left button) will cause the Eskimo to skate, while holding down the boot button will cause the Eskimo to skate and also cut into the ice.

Aquanaut
Buttons: Drop bomb button, movement button

Usage:The player moves the submarine by moving the inner blue sphere on their iPhone. They have to move this sphere in order to move the submarine. Pressing the two bottom buttons lays a bomb. Tilting the submarine increases acceleration.

Worm Food
Buttons: Finger button, hand button

Usage: The player has two playing options: the option of using their finger or both their hands. The option of using their finger is toggled on by pressing the left button, the finger button. This probably allows the player to control the giant worm by swiping their finger. The second option is toggled on by pressing the right-hand hand button. This possibly allow the player to take advantage of the motion control of their iPhone, and tilt their iPhone to control the worm.

Swindler 2

 * As Swindler 2 has not yet been released, the below controls are only assumptions

Buttons: ↑ button, ↓ down button

Usage: It is probable that Swindler 2 will follow the exact same controls as Swindler. For segments which involve having to roll swindler around, the same tilting controls will likely be used.

Game availability
Nine games will be available for download upon the initial launch of Nitrome Touchy, with twenty more games to be made available for the app within six months after its release.

Game adjustments
Several of the originally Flash Nitrome games will have new features given to them. Some of the features range from only supporting 4-player multiplayer, to new game modes.

Other games such as Dirk Valentine have been experimented with on the touchy controller. A duel stick-style controller was attempted but due to the lack of shoulder buttons on the device, it was deemed "uncomfortable" for gameplay. Nitrome later decided to focus on developing "games that play well on the controller and ideally where the controller brings something extra to the gameplay".

Nitrome tested Roly Poly on the Nitrome Touchy, but said that it may need new levels, as the game became incredibly hard after the first few levels, using titl controls.

Nitrome revealed on October 26th 2012 that all game's playable with the Nitrome Touchy, the game will be able to played in full screen on the monitor the game is being played in.

Requirements
To use Nitrome Touchy, the player will be required to download the application from the App Store onto an iOS device. Upon being downloaded, the player will then be able to play the selected game on Nitrome.com on their computer.

iPhone requirements
The Nitrome Touchy app is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. All devices have to have iOS 4.2 or later.

App compatibility
Nitrome Touchy will first be released for Apple iOS devices, shortly followed by a release for Android smartphones.

TV connectivity
Despite the Brass Monkey technology shown to work on a TV, the Nitrome Touchy said and shown to work on a TV, the Nitrome Touchy nor the Brass Monkey technology allows for connecting to a TV. In fact, this connectivity is reliant on the player's computer. In order to connect one's computer to a TV, they have to have the necessary cables. Unusually, Nitrome did not speak of this until responding to a Facebook comment about the Nitrome Touchy on a TV.

Bulk use
If there are multiple iPhones linked to one iTunes account, then if one person pays the fee for premium access to all games, the all subsequent iPhones linked to the same account can obtain free access to premium content without having to pay for it.

General game/site changes
The release of this app changed the front page of Nitrome.com slightly, and also changed some games compatible with Nitrome Touchy. The bottom-right box in the inner box of the front page had its far right button that reads "More games" replaced with "More touchy". This was to allow Nitrome Touchy users to easily find the Nitrome Touchy page.

Along with that, going to a game that can be played on the Nitrome Touchy will cause the word "Play with Touchy" to pop up, and a speech bubble next to that with a signal symbol. The symbol possibly changes when one connects the Nitrome Touchy to the game. Along with that, on the bar above the game is a button that reads "fullscreen". This button when pressed will cause the game to in full screen, but only when playing the game with the Nitrome Touchy.

If one clicks the fullscreen button without a Nitrome Touchy connected to the internet, they are prompted to buy the Nitrome Touchy. Along with these changes, Nitrome released a skin to commemorate the release of the app.

Universal game changes
Some Nitrome games had their gameplay slightly changed when they were made Nitrome Touchy compatible. For example, in Aquanaut, the submarine 's health was changed from three blows to six blows, therefore doubling the health of the sub.

Beta elements
The Touchy, in fact, has beta elements. Planned for the game select screen of the app is a "heart" button and "share" button. Ultimately, these were eventually scrapped for unknown reasons. Also, Magic Touch and Super Snot Put were meant to support 4 players instead of one, as seen in pre-release images.

A possible reason for Magic Touch's cut multiplayer function is due to many lines of varying lengths across the screen would clutter the screen and potentially cover up balloons. Super Snot Put's cut multiplayer function possibly has a similar reason, as the computer screen would have to be divided into four equal parts, but due to common screen sizes, each individual screen would be rather small.

September 18th 2012
Nitrome revealed an unusual trailer consisting of four spartans - two more than usual - going through levels of Double Edged. The trailer was titled Double Edged????, and ended with four different coloured ? in the colour of each of the crest of the spartans.

September 25th 2012
Nitrome reveals the Nitrome Touchy Controller, along with two images of the game's interface.

October 2nd 2012
Nitrome launches the Nitrome Touchy mini site.

October 19th 2012
Nitrome reveals more Nitrome Touchy games.

October 25th 2012
Nitrome reveals even more games for the Nitrome Touchy.

October 26th 2012
Nitrome releases a trailer for the Nitrome Touchy that shows how you can play Nitrome Touchy games in full screen.

October 31st 2012
Nitrome releases the Nitrome Touchy, and also releases a trailer of the game.

Usage
Nitrome Touchy compatible games work once a player runs the app and is connected to the same WiFi network as the computer running the game. When opening a game, the app will automatically connect to the game screen to display a list of games the app has currently connected to. Selecting a game from the menu will automatically start it up. From there, the player can select options from the device's menu screen as they would on the game screen. Touchy controls can only be viewed from the help screen on the Nitrome Touchy app.

Downloads
On Friday November 9th 2012, Nitrome announced in their Friday update that the Nitrome Touchy had received close to 10,000 downloads. Nitrome did not specify how many paid for access to all games, however.

Trivia

 * The music used in the Nitrome Touchy trailer is actually unused music for Super Feed Me.