Created by Realmac Software, the same guys who brought you the popular Clear to-do software for iOS and OS X and the Ember scrapbook application for the Mac (among other apps), are out with an interesting new virtual pet game for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Created in co-operation with Impending, the big hatching dubbed Hatch basically delivers Tamagochi-like virtual pet experience in the palm of your hand. The iPhone game is available now in the Apple App Store and I’ve included a few screenies, videos and more info right after the break…
The blurb explains the basic premise:
What if a tiny pet hatched on your phone? If it loved you, would you love it back?
Remember, this is a pet and not a game or an app. Fugu have a naturally gentle disposition and require minimal care as a pet… but thrive when given extra love and attention!
Those who years ago used to burn midnight oil catering to their Tamagochi pets will feel right at home in Hatch. Hatch challenges you to provide basic pet care to your growing little creature named Fugu.
As you could imagine, your adorable new pet needs to be fed fruit at least once a day and of course requires your attention and affection, for which you may be rewarded with various gifts, happy dance and more.
Check out the awesome trailer.
The game starts by picking a color and a name for your Fugu. From there, the player must collect trust points by catering to Fugu’s needs on a daily basis by collecting fruit, which is also an in-game currency.
You show love and affection to your Fugu by poking, petting, squeezing and more. Do it well, and starfruit will appear in the forest and your Fugu may even dance with joy. Fugu will also react to the tune currently playing in the Music app, by the way.
The game looks really great, graphics are crisp, environments are inviting and lively animated using the iOS 7-like parallax effect which gives the illusion of depth. Another nice touch: in game environment changes between night and day based on your current geographical location.
Check out the parallax effect in action.
Game Center is supported for leaderboards, achievements challenges and gift sharing.
Moreover, Realmac is treating early adopters who reserved a special pet via email back in December 2012 to a special egg which can be imported into the game by clicking a link in the email message.
If you’re interested to learn more, Zac Hall of 9to5Mac has a rather detailed review of the game, as do TouchArcade‘s Eli Hodapp and The Verge‘s Aaron Souppouris.
Hall wrote:
Accessories are traded for starfruit and acorns at the adjacent store in the game, and items include bags with larger space for containing fruit as well as decorative rugs (my favorite of which looks like a Clear task list) and even a camera.
The in-game camera lets you capture and share interesting Fugu photos.
Heck, there are even various collectable Fugu stickers that can be shared with your friends, with Facebook Messenger containing Hatch stickers as well.
You can download Hatch from the App Store for $1.99..
The download weighs at 96.9MB, has no in-app purchases and requires an iDevice running iOS 6.1 or later. More tidbits can be found on the Hatch website.