It’s hard to stand out from the crowd – especially when you’re a platformer on the App Store.

IntenseGames Limited believes its latest title, Infinity Run, has enough fresh and novel elements to make an impact in a highly competitive genre, though.

We had an opportunity recently to sit down and chat to Alexander Kutehov, project manager of Infinity Run.

Among other things, Kutehov revealed more about the aforementioned unique gameplay elements, how much work went into the touchscreen controls, and what’s planned in terms of updates for the game.

Oh, and whether Android gamers can look forward to a bespoke version of the game.

The first thing Kutehov wants to emphasise is that this is not just another endless-runner.

“The game is endless and finite at the same time. Infinity Run is packed with lots of levels, unique looks for each level, a diverse set of obstacles, and a bestiary of monsters,” Kutehov says.

“The number of levels is still finite, though. So, you CAN complete the game, defeat the final boss, see the final cutscene, and enjoy the victory. And after all that… start all over again.”
A game in which you are constantly on the move needs accurate controls, though, and Kutehov says that a lot of work went into ensuring this was the case in Infinity Run.

“The controls in Infinity Run work in such a way that the player can perform actions quickly and efficiently,” he says.

“To make a jump, for example, you don’t have to release your finger after swiping, for it’s enough just to touch the screen and slide your finger up for a certain minimum distance. Also, we have added several checks to prevent you from making accidental wrong moves.”

Kutehov states that a lot of work has gone into Infinity Run‘s presentation, too, which has a distinctly fantasy / mythical vibe.

“All those beautiful landscapes and buildings that you can see on the campaign map are there to remind you what would be lost if those hapless dwarves (in the game’s plot) have their way,” he says. “It is all there to show what you are trying to save.”

Making sure the detailed environments didn’t impact on the game’s performance was essential, as well.

“From the very beginning of development, we wanted to make sure the graphics ran smoothly on the entire line of Apple mobile devices,” Kutehov explains.

“To achieve this goal, our team of programmers and artists tested many different solutions and implemented the best of them.”

In terms of increasing the amount of content in Infinity Run, Kutehov says that one aspect that will definitely be bolstered is the number of playable characters.

“In the original version of Infinity Run, you only have one game character: a noble paladin, who alone tries to save the world from a terrible monster that has broken free,” he says.

“Additional characters will appear in the add-on version of the game. And you can find out who they are in the final cutscene of the game.”

This is just one of the many things that’s planned in terms of updates for the game.

“This upgraded version of Infinity Run is already in development, and will contain an additional character, more levels, and new game elements such as combos,” Kutehov reveals.

“Furthermore, we plan to add support for the iPhone 5’s larger display. We’re looking to translate Infinity Run into different languages, as well.”

You can download Infinity Run as a free Universal app for iPhone and iPad now [iTunes link].

Kutehov tells us we can expect to see an Android version out in the near future, as well.

Intrinsity is well know for it’s work on ARM based SOCs (System On a Chip), like the Samsung Hummingbird, which uses a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor. It’s a similar architecture to that which is rumoured to make up the iPad’s A4 CPU, but with more I/O on board. The Hummingbird was used in the Galaxy 5.

From electronista :

While any developments would more likely use the ARM A9, an acquisition could be a coup for Apple as it would give it further opportunities to improve performance beyond what was learned from PA Semi.

PA Semi (which Apple already own) have supposedly taken an ARM A8, paired it down so that it has much less I/O circuitry, and improved it’s power consumption to produce the iPad’s custom A4 SOC. Low power silicon designs being something they excel at.

This additional purchase, if true, shows that Apple sees it’s future, at least in mobile devices, as being far from Intel silicon.

Intrinsity’s website is now showing as “Under Construction” as of the writing of this news piece. Expect an announcement within days, if not hours.