Developer: baKno Macmagic.
Price: $10
Requirements: Mac OS X, Internet connection. Universal.
Space Pig Math
Julie Thompson, Founder Julie is a proud nerd with a passion for beautiful historic architecture, elegant code, and nice shoes. After five years of leading teams building product for a successful ticketing startup. Julie started Space Pig Labs to fulfill her dream of connecting people to their surroundings. About This Game Journey to the moon as the whimsical SpacePig in this fun and entertaining cartoon-style game. You’ll have a blast collecting coins and diamonds around the moon. Catch as many as you can, but beware of falling meteorites and spikes. SpacePig isn’t modern or complicated, and it doesn’t require much thought. Sometimes, however, that can be a good thing. If you’re looking for a somewhat silly arcade-style game that’s relaxing rather than frantic, and you have a persistent Internet connection (Big baKno is watching you!), give SpacePig a try. When you try Space Pig, you are able to test all functionalities and start countless new sessions, but you are prevented from finishing a session. To be able to finish a Space Pig session you have 3 options. License is the regular way to own a game permanently. Tokens are pay-per-play mode in which each match has a 10-cent value. Spacepig Press is a woman-owned and operated small business proudly located in Sacramento, CA. Branding and website by BYRNE Branding & Design.
Trial: Feature-limited (you only get one life)
SpacePig got my attention because of its silly premise. You’re a pig, onthe moon, collecting coins and diamonds. You’re the only pig on themoon, I might add; there aren’t any others. If this were an Atari 2600game, I’d reach straight for the manual to learn the pig’s name and whyhe has left his home to risk his life pursuing lunar riches. But sinceit’s a Macintosh game, all I could do is reach for my keyboard and startplaying.
As it turns out, the moon is pretty small. You’ll run around it many,many times, in all different directions, gathering wealth andavoiding—because they can kill you—meteroids and green spikey thingsthat remind me a bit of conkers. Often the wealth is over your head, butyou can jump—very high and very far, thanks to your rocket-pack and themoon’s low gravity—to reach them.
I suppose all of this sounds easy, but it’s not. It can be difficult totell when something is directly overhead. Even when leaping fordiamonds, which are stationary, I often miss and need a second or thirdtry. As for coins, which fly through the sky…catching one is more luckthan skill. It doesn’t help that while you’re in the air you can’tchange direction, only look around.
But honestly, I find SpacePig amusing. Lots of motion on the computerscreen tends to make me woozy, it’s just the way I am: but I’ll play aslong as I can. The graphics are simple, old-fashioned maybe, kind ofcharming or nostalgic. And the music, streamed from baKno, is great,somehow fitting perfectly with floating slowly around the moon. Stopplaying and listen. The pig sits down, and the moon spins and spinsuntil I am so dizzy I have to stand up and keep playing.
Like all pigs, it’s inevitable that you will die, cold and alone on themoon. Four times you will die, and then it’s really over. The reward foryour efforts is fame: high scores are posted online. As of this writing, I’mnumber six.
My two biggest complaints about SpacePig have nothing to do withgameplay. The first problem, in fact, is common to many games I’veplayed: if you play in full-screen mode, the icons on your desktop areout of place when you quit. To me, that needlessly sours the gamingexperience. SpacePig, at least, opens in a window by default: but bewareof the mess if you decide to play full-screen.
My second complaint only affects those who pay to register the game. Youcan’t paste your serial number into the window to register; you musttype out the long string of hyphenated gibberish. You also must beconnected to the Internet in order to enter your serial number. It’sannoying, since there’s no reason why a program shouldn’t be able tovalidate a serial number without phoning home. But it gets worse: if,having successfully entered your serial number, you want to play againlater without an Internet connection (say, on the plane), the gamethinks you’re not registered. This takes anti-piracy measures to such anextreme that they interfere with the use of the game by people whoactually paid for it.
SpacePig isn’t modern or complicated, and it doesn’t require muchthought. Sometimes, however, that can be a good thing. If you’re lookingfor a somewhat silly arcade-style game that’s relaxing rather thanfrantic, and you have a persistent Internet connection (Big baKno iswatching you!), give SpacePig a try.
Space Pig Animal
Copyright © 2008 Paul Fatula, pfatula@atpm.com. Reviewing in ATPMis open to anyone. If you’re interested, write to us atreviews@atpm.com.