While Android Wear hasn't exactly been around for long, it's already starting to turn some heads in the wearable tech department, and with good reason. After all, it's a whole new idea in terms of getting the Android platform out of just smartphones and tablets and directly onto users' wrists. Not surprisingly, this was the kind of development that the gaming market couldn't help but get in on, and Swip3 represents the first game, at last report, specifically designed with the Android Wear in mind.
Swip3 takes advantage of the limitations inherent in a smartwatch—small display and comparatively tight control spaces—to bring out a game where users simply flick blocks around a field, much in the same way that “2048” did. Though this time, instead of a four by four grid crammed with numbers, it's a five by five grid full of colors. Connecting three or more blocks of the same color will cause said blocks to disappear and, instead, give the user points. The game is currently available for just $1.69, at last report, and there's a Web-based version also available at last report. Trying it, however, will require the use of the Unity engine, a development that will undoubtedly leave some a bit nervous. But it made development that much easier, and allowed the game to get on the Wear much more rapidly than the alternative.
“Swip3” won't be mistaken for the latest Madden title or something from Bethesda, but it provides a quick, fairly exciting experience that's hard to pass up. Casual gaming is particularly useful for mobile devices, and “Swip3” has a layout that's particularly well suited for a smaller screen with smaller controls. This is the kind of setup that should ultimately work well for gamers, and should add the extra benefit of drawing the gamers into such a device.
Smartwatches are a market that's looking like it will have plenty of competitors in the field. If the Android Wear can establish itself early on as the smartwatch of choice for gamers, then maybe it can get itself an edge in the marketplace against the growing numbers of other models in the field. It's possible, of course, but it's going to have to establish that edge quickly lest anyone else beat Wear to the punch. Only time will tell just how well it ultimately works out, but someone's got to be the gamer's smartwatch, and it might just be the Android Wear.
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