Show HN: Weird iOS, a list of the weirdest, most artful or unexpected apps

http://weirdios.tumblr.com

by kennywinker • 12 years ago

136 20 12 years ago

weirdios.tumblr.com

kennywinker3• 12 years ago

App suggestions welcome! Would love to hear from app developers, too.

davepeck• 12 years ago

Fun list so far!

I'd vote for Not YYZ, which will only make sense to Rush fans and morse code freaks.

DerekL• 12 years ago

Looks interesting. I just bought it.

YYZ is what I called my unfinished, unreleased Z-machine implementation. I was thinking about using it in an iOS app, so I wrote it in Objective-C, though I found that language wasn't a big improvement over C. I did get it far enough to start running Zork I, but I didn't implement saving and loading yet.

I noticed that some of the many Z-machine interpreters were named after magic words appearing in Zork, and I like Rush, so I picked a word that was reminiscent of "xyzzy".

(The Z-machine is the virtual machine invented by Infocom for running text adventure games. http://teladesign.com/tads/authoring/articles/small-machine.... )

ctdonath• 12 years ago

My first app purchase was iBonsai. Beautiful app "grows" a painted bonsai tree. Wish it were kept up to date.

kennywinker3• 12 years ago

When the app store first launched I would go searching for weird things, as time went on the amount of weirdness I would come across has gone way down. That's part of why I started the blog, to get some of that back.

xauronx2• 12 years ago

I think my crazy weekend hack qualifies (and might even be more weird). A game based on the unique adventure of peeing with no lights on :)

https://itunes.apple.com/tc/app/peeindark/id711900905?mt=8

kevinwang• 12 years ago

Jesus christ that's brilliant

masklinn• 12 years ago

I'm not sure robick (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/robick/id417016186?mt=8) qualifies, it might deserve a look.

Games which probably qualify:

* One Dot Enemy: https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/one-dot-enemies/id306930506?...

* Passage: https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/passage/id300702040?mt=8

* Uzu (iPad only) and Little Uzu: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/uzu-generative-design-playgr... and

* Kometen: https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/kometen/id371244586?mt=8

* nobynobyboy: https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/noby-noby-boy/id355479163?mt...

* Kura Kura Maze: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kurakuramaze/id447017018?mt=...

Ridiculous Fishing may not be weird enough to qualify

Uehreka• 12 years ago

Thanks a bunch! This made my day.

gprasanth• 12 years ago

When the site has more content and good traffic: Kenny.sendMessage Apple app store has an affiliate program.

kennywinker3• 12 years ago

Already in place. It's nice for the stats, but unfortunately most of the apps are free, so it's unlikely to be a big earner regardless of traffic.

qzervaas• 12 years ago

You'll get a kickback on IAPs if the free app is downloaded against your affiliate ID.

whiddershins• 12 years ago

I really loved upgrade soul! Haven't tried any others yet. Since you asked for suggestions, my shameless plug: the (gr)album app has some explorations of app-as-medium by musicians and visual artists http://gralbumcollective.com/ hit me up if you want a promo code for The Book of Sarth, the rest are free.

shaunpud• 12 years ago

fennecfoxen• 12 years ago

Five a Day.

http://killscreendaily.com/articles/reviews/bullish-stupidit...

(Also, for something a little more serious in terms of gameplay but still zany: Grid Runner.)

nicholassmith• 12 years ago

This is great, I love that for every big budget weather app there's something like RapMushi just doing their own, weird thing.

diegoloop• 12 years ago

This is also a great weird app: I made this app, which tells you where to find the seat with more shadow for your trip, when you are traveling by train, car or bus! https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/sunny-boy/id587098423?mt=8

jgv• 12 years ago

Anything by Quikding http://quikding.com/games.htm

jonifico• 12 years ago

Quite an interesting list! Some of them are so absurdly specific it just cracked me up. It's insane how obsessed we are with our phones and connecting them to our daily lives at every moment. Hell, there's even apps for when we sleep!

Show HN: Weird iOS, a list of the weirdest, most artful or unexpected apps

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