This book has got some really cool technical features, but the story drags and the illustration/photo style is a bit disconcerting.
Buy it here on the iTunes App Store for $6.99
I’m a techie, so I can appreciate the long long hours that went into creating this book. It’s truly a technical feat – and one of the first kids books that I’ve seen make use of perspective based 3d, where the layout changes to match your perspective as you move the iPad around. It’s a mod of the technique made famous by Johnny Lee in this youtube video.
So, it’s with no small number of misgivings that I’ll write the following… and I’ll caveat the following by saying that I’m simply not a fan of girly fairy books. They’re just not my cup of tea, so if yours is, your opinion may differ.
While I found the 3d perspective interesting at first, it didn’t add enough to the story to make the story itself interesting. Some of the characters are morbidly skeletal (see screenshot of animals in a row with bunnies on end… the bunnies look like Keith Richards after a rough night). And then there are the invisible roses – which is a very neat concept – but in practice, looks like pixelated half-loaded images. So, buy this book if you like fairies or appreciate technical craft. But you won’t find a rich narrative or artwork that gets you out of your seat.
[3/12 update: thanks to comment from Kory from Mobad. I should clarify that by "mod" of Johnny Lee's work... I mean that it's using some of the same visual principals to create the 3d effect. ie: the scene changes relative to the positioning of your body (ie: how your hands are holding the iPad), but as Kory notes, the technology is different.]
Mar 12, 2011 @ 13:15:50
Hey Francesco,
Thanks for taking the time to review our book.
I wish you had found it more to your liking but everyone has their opinion and it’s resonating well with our target audience, children and especially girls under 10.
One correction on the technical aspects of the book.
The 3D effect has nothing to do with Johnny Flynn’s very impressive work.
Our 3D camera is controlled by the accelerometer on the device and does not do any tracking.
The 3D tracking in Flynn’s test is achieved via tracking of multiple infra-red lights so a much more robust and computationally intensive solution.
best
Kory Jones
CEO
Mobad Games
Mar 12, 2011 @ 13:43:54
Thanks for the comment Kory.
Glad to hear it’s going over well with the target audience. As I mention above, it’s with great misgiving that I negatively review work – especially on an app like this, where it’s obvious that a whole lot of thought, care, and craft went into the making of it.
- Francesco