After all the Vampires and Werewolves saga, after all of the hobits and the mystical creatures, even after all of the wizards and sorcerers, there is one character that we seem to love and hear about, the monster that was created - Frankenstein. It has been depicted in the movies as a brain transplant, in some it is slightly more than that including organ and limb transplants.
This app today is a book, and on top of that, a real delight. This is the new adaptation of the Classic novel. First let us go through the experience.
When the app starts, it has the red hardbound cover with silhouettes on the cover, giving it a beautiful feel. Tap on the cover, the book opens a bit and a page scrolls out. This page is the menu of the app. The app is not a game, but Interactive Fiction (IF), no sure if you have heard that earlier. In very basic terms it is the equivalent of an interactive text adventure. However this not being a game, has several twists and turns but reads like a story and you can alter the direction and outcome of the story.
The engine that runs it is made by a company called inkle based in Cambridge, UK. That is in many ways than one the home of a lot of IF. They also provide this inkle platform (writer) in its beta version to write your own stories. The app is a delight on many levels, though there might be a few anatomical illustrations (of the human muscular system) that might make some queasy. You also need to consider that Frankenstein was all about the artificial reconstruction of a human.
The best part perhaps are the way the story is presented. The way each page scrolls to the right creating a new hierarchy from the the menu to the Contents and from there to a Part and then to the actual reading. You can swipe the screen left or right to swipe between the hierarchies, it is smooth and a visually appealing result. At the bottom of the page appear small strips of paper with a line of text, which is the option that we can choose. Upon selection, the strip attaches itself to the main story with a pin to visually give the impression of continuity.
It is a book, a story that has been re-written by Dave Morris, an adaptation of the original Frankenstein. If the app was a showcase of Dave's creative writing, it is quite good. If the app is a showcase of inkle's technology, then again it serves it's purpose. However, in my opinion Frankenstein might not have been the best choice for either David or inkle.
I am more dazzled by the sheer beauty of the interface and the elegance of the app. In fact if inkle offer the stories that one has written to be published as apps using this engine, that would be amazing and am sure that a lot of writers would want to give this a go.
The app is iPad only and is currently available at a special price of $4.99 and has loads of stunning images and backgrounds in fact the app is a bit heavy at 180MB mainly due to the art. I strongly feel that the app is mostly HTML powered.
Here's a video for you to enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b7MXzVKHw1A
SUMMARY
Software : Frankenstein, for iPad and iPhone
Version : 1.0.6
Publisher : Dave Morris, inkle Ltd
Website : http://www.inklestudios.com/frankenstein
Twitter : @inklestudios
Platform : iPhone/iPad, iPod touch (iOS 4.3+)
Price : $4.99
App Store : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frankenstein-for-ipad-iphone/id516047066?mt=8
And we have a copy of Frakenstein (the app, not the monster) for one lucky winner, all you need to do
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