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Letterpress (video game)

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Letterpress
An overlapped red square is behind an askew blue square.
App icon
Developer(s)Loren Brichter
Publisher(s)
  • Atebits
  • Solebon[a]
Designer(s)
  • Loren Brichter
  • Jean Whitehead
Programmer(s)Loren Brichter
Artist(s)Loren Brichter
EngineOpenGL
Platform(s)iOS, macOS, Android
Release
October 24, 2012
  • iOS
  • October 24, 2012
  • macOS
  • July 20, 2016
  • Android
  • August 25, 2017
Genre(s)Word game, turn-based strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Letterpress is a 2012 turn-based word game developed by Loren Brichter and published by Atebits. In the game, two players take turns creating words with letter tiles and aim to cover the most territory. A tile can be locked by claiming those surrounding it, and the game concludes when all 25 tiles are claimed. The game's development started in November 2011 after Brichter left Twitter, Inc. Focused on combining words with color, he based the game design on Boggle, color wars, and SpellTower. The gameplay gradually evolved during beta testing; in the prototype, players avoided using unclaimed tiles, leading to excessively long games. To remedy this, Brichter made surrounded tiles unclaimable.

Letterpress was released in October 2012 for iOS. Under Solebon LLC, the game was released in July 2016 on the Mac App Store and in August 2017 on Google Play. While it was praised for its minimalist design and strategic gameplay, it was criticized for its usage of Game Center. Letterpress was ranked second in the App Store's Best of 2012 list and won the 2013 Apple Design Awards. Apple designer Jony Ive took inspiration from minimalist iOS apps, including Letterpress, to produce the graphics of iOS 7.

Gameplay

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The initial state of a five-by-five board with twenty-five letters, eight of which are highlighted in blue.
Player one (left circle, blue squares) selected tiles to spell the word "positions". The turn switches to player two (right circle, red squares). Locked tiles are indicated with a brighter color.
Some of the letters move above the board and make up the word "coarsening".
Player two assembles the word "coarsening". The numbers below the circles show a preview of the score.
A completed turn, with nine letters in red and six in blue.
All of player two's tiles switch to red, except for player one's locked tile. Player one loses two points, while player two gains nine points.

In Letterpress, two players compete to claim the most tiles on a grid of 25 random letters.[1][2] Players must assemble a valid word; they cannot reuse words,[3][4] use words not listed in the game's dictionary,[5] or use words from the same word family.[6][7] When a player finishes their turn, their selected letters change to their color.[2][6] If a player's tiles surround a letter they have claimed, the opponent cannot claim it, though it can still be used to create words. To indicate this, the surrounded tile becomes a different shade.[8][9] A locked tile loses its status if an opponent claims tiles in proximity.[2][4] Players may choose to pass a turn.[4] Once every square is colored, or if both players pass their turns in the same round, the player who owns the most tiles wins.[6][10] In single-player mode, the second player is replaced by a bot.[11]

Development and release

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After leaving Twitter, Inc. in November 2011, Loren Brichter, the founder of Atebits 2.0,[b] began finishing side projects he had previously had little time to work on.[14][15] Along with his experience as a graphics engineer for the original iPhone,[12] he had previously created Tweetie and the pull-to-refresh function.[15][12][16] Brichter saw Letterpress as a way to experiment with new Apple software.[17] After playing Zach Gage's single-player iOS game SpellTower next to his wife, Jean Whitehead, he was inspired to develop a multiplayer word game they could play together.[15][18] Focused on combining color and words,[15] Brichter cited Boggle and color wars as influences for the gameplay.[14]

Whitehead was the first beta tester and helped refine the game's rules. In the first version of Letterpress, players could freely create long words, as tiles would only be colored instead of locked.[19] He incorporated a feature that gave players bonus points for claiming tiles that have been surrounded.[14] However, Brichter realized that games would be endless due to players avoiding the remaining tiles; to fix this, he made surrounded tiles unclaimable.[14] For graphics and the user interface, he took inspiration from the Windows Phone.[19] The game was written in OpenGL,[14] and Game Center, Apple's multiplayer networking service, handled multiplayer matchmaking.[19] Brichter created most of the sound effects himself by spitting and making other noises with his mouth into a microphone.[19][20] He determined the game's name based on what the player did: pressing letters, which Brichter felt it alluded to letterpress printing.[19]

The game was released for iOS on October 24, 2012,[21] and on that day, it was downloaded over 60,000 times.[15][22] By November 2012, the game had garnered one million downloads.[17] In December 2012, Letterpress was updated with a replay feature that shows each individual turn in a game.[23][24] After Solebon LLC acquired Atebits 2.0, the game was released on the Mac App Store on July 20, 2016,[25] and on Google Play on August 25, 2017.[26]

Brichter marketed Letterpress as freemium.[15][19] In the free version, players could only compete in two games at once,[8][27] while the premium version allowed unlimited games, the ability to see previously played words, and more themes.[3][18][28]

Reception

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Letterpress has a "generally favorable" Metacritic rating based on eight critics.[29] It was featured in the App Store's Best of 2012 list,[31] ranking second place as the game of the year for iPhone.[32] It was nominated at the Worldwide Developers Conference and won the 2013 Apple Design Awards.[33][34]

Reviewers found the strategic elements of Letterpress engaging, comparing it to Scrabble,[5][18][20][35] Reversi,[18] Connect Four,[20] Go,[5] SpellTower,[3] Words With Friends,[18] and chess.[30] Despite Jared Nelson from TouchArcade finding the gameplay challenging to articulate, he noted its addictive nature once players understood the rules.[9] Lex Friedman from Macworld described it as "addictive",[6] while AJ Dellinger of Gamezebo believed it would appeal to "word nerds and strategy-oriented thinkers".[7] Pocket Gamer's Harry Slater commended the suspense inherent in waiting for an opponent's move, labeling Letterpress as "asynchronous gaming at its finest".[30] Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web and Federico Viticci of MacStories both viewed the game as a worthwhile way to pass the time.[3][20] However, some criticized its lack of a single-player mode.[7][9][27]

Certain critics expressed concerns regarding the game's reliance on Game Center.[36] Luke Larsen of Paste magazine lauded Letterpress as an "incredible achievement", but criticized its dependency on Game Center, which he felt impacted statistics tracking and matchmaking management.[1] Dave Wiskus of iMore attributed Letterpress's absence of in-game chat and a rematch button to Game Center integration. Despite Wiskus noticing the lack of user interaction, he mitigated it with iMessage. He also highlighted problems while starting rematches, stating that simultaneous matches between players would be created.[28] Viticci felt Game Center efficiently handled matchmaking in Letterpress.[3]

Critics unanimously praised Letterpress's design. Ellis Hamburger of The Verge, noting the game's 6,346 lines of code, described the interface as "barren" with "natural-feeling animations".[18] Nelson called the graphics "aesthetically pleasing",[9] while Dellinger and Shane Richmond of The Daily Telegraph appreciated its clutter-free design.[2][7] Nelson enjoyed the game's minimalist style and "smooth animations", drawing parallels to the productivity app Clear.[9] Viticci noted similarities between Letterpress's visuals and Microsoft's Metro design language.[3] Larsen complimented Brichter for the game's visually appealing menus and "smart aesthetic choices",[1] echoing Wiskus's sentiment that Brichter "put a lot of love and care" into Letterpress.[28] Friedman and Panzarino praised Letterpress's attention to detail, including its sound effects and user interface.[6][20] Panzarino further praised the polished graphics and "reactive" animations.[20] Ranking the game as a "must have", Chris Reed of Slide to Play deemed Letterpress a "gorgeous example of minimalist design".[27] Brandon Sheffield of Game Developer used the game as a case study for design, noting its details, interactivity, and simplicity.[22] Letterpress was among a list of minimalist apps provided to inspire Jony Ive, the lead designer for Apple's iOS 7.[37][38]

Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ Solebon published the Mac and Android ports.
  2. ^ Brichter was the founder of the previous Atebits, which was acquired by Twitter, Inc. in 2010.[12][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Larsen, Luke (November 5, 2012). "Mobile Game of the Week: Letterpress (iOS)". Paste. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Richmond, Shane (October 25, 2012). "Letterpress for iOS review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Viticci, Federico (October 24, 2012). "Loren Brichter's Comeback: Letterpress". MacStories. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Godfrey, Mary (December 22, 2012). "App of the Week: Letterpress Word Game". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Centers, Josh (December 6, 2012). "Letterdepressed". The Magazine. No. 5. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e Friedman, Lex (October 24, 2012). "Review: Letterpress is an excellent iOS word game". Macworld. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e Dellinger, AJ (October 29, 2012). "Letterpress Review". Gamezebo. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "It's Your Words Against Others', in Games for the Mobile Screen". The New York Times. New York. September 11, 2013. ISSN 1553-8095.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Nelson, Jared (October 24, 2012). "Letterpress – Word Game Review – Simple And Awesome". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  10. ^ "Video games: Weekend". Manchester Evening News. Glasgow, UK: MGN Ltd. November 3, 2012. p. 24 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ Cole, Joshua (January 5, 2022). "Games Like Wordle For Android". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on August 3, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Bradshaw, Tim (December 7, 2012). "Meet the innovators". Financial Times. London: The Financial Times Limited – via ProQuest.
  13. ^ Miller, Claire Cain (April 9, 2010). "Twitter Acquires Atebits, Maker of Tweetie". Bits. The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e Brichter, Loren (November 14, 2012). "Loren Brichter talks Letterpress for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad". iMore (Interview). Interviewed by Guy English; Rene Ritchie. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Wortham, Jenna (October 25, 2012). "Letterpress, Game From the Creator of Tweetie, Lifts Off". Bits. The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  16. ^ Rigney, Ryan (November 7, 2012). "You May Win Every Time, But You Haven't Solved This Game Yet". Wired. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Brichter, Loren (December 3, 2012). "Loren Brichter: Designs on the future of iOS apps" (Interview). Interviewed by Erica Ogg. Gigaom. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Hamburger, Ellis (October 24, 2012). "Letterpress for iOS: Tweetie creator emerges from year of silence with addictive word game". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d e f Brichter, Loren (October 24, 2012). "A Conversation With Loren Brichter". MacStories (Interview). Interviewed by Federico Viticci. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  20. ^ a b c d e f Panzarino, Matthew (October 24, 2012). "Tweetie creator Loren Brichter has a new app called Letterpress. It's a game, and it's fantastic". The Next Web. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  21. ^ Wehner, Mike (October 24, 2012). "atebits releases Letterpress for iPhone". Engadget. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  22. ^ a b Sheffield, Brandon (May 19, 2013). "7 design lessons from Letterpress". Game Developer. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  23. ^ Panzarino, Matthew (December 17, 2012). "Letterpress for iOS adds clever new shareable HTML game replays". The Next Web. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  24. ^ Nelson, Jared (December 19, 2012). "Letterpress – Word Game Gets Awesome Replay Feature in Latest Update". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  25. ^ Hall, Zac (July 20, 2016). "Letterpress word game lands on the Mac as Skype drops support for older OS X versions". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  26. ^ "Letterpress – Word Game". Google Play. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c d Reed, Chris (October 26, 2012). "Letterpress – Word Game Review". Slide to Play. Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  28. ^ a b c Wiskus, Dave (March 9, 2018). "Letterpress by Atebits review". iMore. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Letterpress – Word Game". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  30. ^ a b c Slater, Harry (October 27, 2012). "Letterpress". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  31. ^ Bradshaw, Tim (December 27, 2012). "Android apps put pressure on Apple". Financial Times. London: The Financial Times Limited – via ProQuest.
  32. ^ McWhertor, Michael (December 13, 2012). "App Store names its 'Best of 2012' games for iPhone and iPad". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  33. ^ "This year's winners". Apple. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  34. ^ McElroy, Griffin (June 12, 2013). "Ridiculous Fishing, Letterpress and more take home Apple Design Awards". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  35. ^ Bradshaw, Tim (December 11, 2012). "Meet the innovators: Letterpress' Loren Brichter". Financial Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  36. ^ Nuttall, Chris (November 9, 2012). "Planet of the Apps". Financial Times. London: The Financial Times Limited. p. 16. ISSN 0307-1766.
  37. ^ Newton, Casey (October 9, 2013). "Taskmasters: how Israeli intelligence officers helped inspire the look of iOS 7". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  38. ^ Fung, Brian (October 12, 2013). "How Apple searches the App Store for its new ideas". Washington Post. Washington: WP Company LLC. The Switch – via ProQuest.
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