The Pune based technology startup working on application, game and web development is currently focusing on augmented reality technologies, contextual apps and 3D Game Development. The team consists of designers, music producers and developers to indigenously create a great user experience with their products.
The company has recently witnessed some great success on the Blackberry 10 and Windows 8 platforms with its game titled ‘Hues’. Thus, taking its success forward it recently decided to launch the game on Android as well.
Speaking to AnimationXpress.com, ReFocus labs lead developer Puneet Kohli says: “It feels great that with over 1 lakh downloads on the Blackberry and Windows platform put together, we can now look to get the same kind of response from the Android users as well. After its launch on 3 July we already have nearly 1,600 downloads and counting.”
‘Hues’ belongs to a new generation of card matching game inspired by ‘Threes’ and ‘2048’. It was originally designed and developed for Blackberry devices and Windows phones. Seeing the large amounts of downloads and user feedback, ReFocus Labs decided to launch it for Android devices as well.
The gameplay is simple, using swipe input to slide the cards around the 4×4 game board (also works with a gamepad or a touch keyboard, if you have one!). The cards need to matched and combined with other cards of the same color. For a more intuitive experience, a scheme of color coded characters was developed, and each character has its own little story. The game has three modes – Infinite, timed, and limited moves. They are complemented with Power ups which can be unlocked by the in-game currency called “Hues”.
“Hues is ReFocus’ take on the new popular franchises of card matching games, with power-ups and an entire new game experience. The limitless mode is $0.99 which will allow you to play without moves or time restrictions! There is also a $1.99 purchase that will unlock all the Hues from The Clan,” Kohli reveals.
The Art design is by Aditya More and the complete development of the app took nearly two months with an additional month to make it suitable for the Android platform. The ReFocus Labs team earlier this year won Blackberry’s AngelHack Startup Challenge and the People’s Choice Award of Blackberry Jam Asia as well.
“The thought behind really taking this game a step forward from ‘Threes’ and ‘2048’ was to make it more interactive with the users and at the same time let them get engrossed in the experience of the game. Thus, we have incorporated colours as users generally either prefer numbers or colours, this makes it more engaging,” Kohli adds.
With the Indian gaming industry experiencing a renaissance of sorts, it’s great to see indie developers like ReFocus Labs coming up with such innovative ideas and really thinking global.