Happy Wheels (Free), a gory physics-based trials game from Fancy Force, blew up the iOS world last week when it came out on the App Store. It quickly climbed to the top of the free games chart. Happy Wheels was first released as a Flash game all the way back in 2010. Since then, it has grown by leaps and bounds. Happy Wheels has been a huge hit in the world of browser games. It has a bunch of silly characters and vehicles that you can play as, as well as a level creator that is run by the community and has over 6 million levels made by users. Which makes me feel like a fool for not knowing about it until it showed up on iOS last week. Hey, I'm old, and I have no idea what these crazy kids today are into.
Also, if you liked the browser version of Happy Wheels a lot, you might have noticed that the iOS version doesn't have nearly as much to do as its older sibling. Don't worry, though, because developer Jim Bonacci said in a post on the game's official website, that the stripped-down version of Happy Wheels for iOS was done on purpose. Bonacci sent in the version of the game that he thought would be the safest just to get it into the App Store and see how people liked it. As Bonacci states:
"You may have noticed that there is no browser for users. We also only gave you one character for each of the 15 levels we gave you. The game came out this way because it was most important to get Happy Wheels into the Apple App Store in the beginning. Segway guy is probably the most calm and easy to control of all the initial characters. I didn't want the people in charge of judging the game to see an irresponsible dad and his son blow up as they were crushed under a van.
Bonacci was also worried about the level editor and the chance that user-made levels might contain something that goes against Apple's rules. Like penises or something. It's not the first time a developer has thought something like this. Also, games like Geometry Dash ($1.99) have shown that user-made content can be the key to a game's success in the long run. Happy Wheels seems to be the same way, so it's good that more content is coming to the iOS version.
Also, since Happy Wheels is the most popular free game right now, Bonacci knows that many people are playing it for the first time. On this subject, he says, "I know there are a lot of new casual players who have never seen the game before, and I'd like them all to know, preferably as soon as possible, that there is a lot more they haven't seen. There will be a user level browser, and as soon as we have some good stuff, we'll put out "featured" levels for other characters. So there you have it, right from the horse's mouth. Big things are coming to Happy Wheels for iOS, so download it and keep an eye on the Updates tab in the App Store over the next few months.
Also, if you liked the browser version of Happy Wheels a lot, you might have noticed that the iOS version doesn't have nearly as much to do as its older sibling. Don't worry, though, because developer Jim Bonacci said in a post on the game's official website, that the stripped-down version of Happy Wheels for iOS was done on purpose. Bonacci sent in the version of the game that he thought would be the safest just to get it into the App Store and see how people liked it. As Bonacci states:
"You may have noticed that there is no browser for users. We also only gave you one character for each of the 15 levels we gave you. The game came out this way because it was most important to get Happy Wheels into the Apple App Store in the beginning. Segway guy is probably the most calm and easy to control of all the initial characters. I didn't want the people in charge of judging the game to see an irresponsible dad and his son blow up as they were crushed under a van.
Bonacci was also worried about the level editor and the chance that user-made levels might contain something that goes against Apple's rules. Like penises or something. It's not the first time a developer has thought something like this. Also, games like Geometry Dash ($1.99) have shown that user-made content can be the key to a game's success in the long run. Happy Wheels seems to be the same way, so it's good that more content is coming to the iOS version.
Also, since Happy Wheels is the most popular free game right now, Bonacci knows that many people are playing it for the first time. On this subject, he says, "I know there are a lot of new casual players who have never seen the game before, and I'd like them all to know, preferably as soon as possible, that there is a lot more they haven't seen. There will be a user level browser, and as soon as we have some good stuff, we'll put out "featured" levels for other characters. So there you have it, right from the horse's mouth. Big things are coming to Happy Wheels for iOS, so download it and keep an eye on the Updates tab in the App Store over the next few months.