Hazard provides playground for users, creator Adam Coomes
By his own admission — if one sentence in a Twitter bio qualifies as admissable evidence — Adam Coomes has "too much fun." With his latest side project, Coomes is trying to help other people do the same.
Coomes, the Kansas City-based co-founder of Infegy and freshly minted marketing manager at Zaarly, is also the brains behind Hazard, a new gaming app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. In Hazard — which sells for $.99 in the app store — the goal is to move the main character, "Harry," to keep him from getting crushed by a series of collapsing ceilings. The object of the game is simple, and so, too, is the process involved in users launching it. That, Coomes said, is ideal for a mobile app that's most frequently played in short spurts.
"I wanted to create an old-school arcade gaming experience where high scores had meaning, yet keep a current feel on a mobile device," Coomes said in an email interview. "I also wanted to make a game that you could load up and play immediately for a few minutes at a time, which is how a mobile game should be.
"Most mobile games have a few splash screens, a menu and too many options to click through before you can play. If you have one or two minutes to play a game, why waste 30 seconds trying to start it? Hazard allows you to jump in and play in a split second."
In Hazard, users try to keep the character Harry safe from falling cielings. Screenshot from Apple.com.
Hazard is a product of Keymash, which Coomes said he created as a "personal playground for projects I've always wanted to work on." Coomes facilitated Hazard's creation and hired an international team to build it.
"The team that worked with me on Hazard is incredibly talented," Coomes said. "We intend to work on more iPhone/iPad games together in the future."
The team has made modifications to Hazard since its initial release, and Coomes said more changes that "should really enhance the gameplay" are on the way. With any luck, those changes might just mean too much fun for everyone.
Editor's Note: Danny Schreiber contributed to this story.
Free Codes: Coomes has given Silicon Prairie News five free codes to hand out to our readers. If you'd like try Hazard on your iPhone or iPod touch, leave a comment below. The first five individuals will be sent a code.
ARCHIVED COMMENTS
Sounds like a great entry into the casual gaming market. I'd love to try it out with one of the free codes.
I also agree with Adam about load times for games - too many have become overburdened with ads and splash screens. Something that's quick to boot up and get you right into the experience is sure to be a winner.
Thanks for the comment Mike! I'd love your feedback on the game.
I'd love to try out the game with a free code!
Always great to see creatives running multiple projects. Props to Adam.
Looks like a game developer that really "gets" it. Splash screens do nothing but engender bad feelings towards the company that's making me wait to launch birds or slice fruit or throw a wadded-up ball of paper into a trashcan or whatever.
@Scott Thanks buddy! If you don't get your code, let me know.
@Matthew I appreciate that! I've played plenty of iPhone games myself and am constantly annoyed by this.
Let me know if you guys give the game a shot. I'd love your feedback.
I know this post is a bit old but I notice that 5 comments were not left. Is there a code for the game still up for grabs :)