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Sunday March 18, 2012

Draw Something is app-solutely addictive!

By ONG KAY JEN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my


KUALA LUMPUR: Although it is examination time, medical student Timothy Cheng, 24, is hooked on his iPad and a new app craze Draw Something.

The app has taken Apple and Android users by storm and Cheng is no exception.

“It's a convenient break from studying and excellent for de-stressing.”

Seemingly an overnight hit, the game has had more than 20 million downloads in the first five weeks since its launch, compared to the many months it took for pop-culture sensation Angry Birds to attract one million users.

Digital doodle: A tablet computer user whiling away time playing Draw Something.

More than a million users are joining the fun everyday, and more than one billion pictures have been drawn on the app to date. On March 11, a record 3,000-odd pictures a second were drawn by gamers.

The appeal of the game seems to lie in its simplicity.

“Playing Draw Something feels like going back to pen and paper, reliving our childhood when we would draw stuff and pass it around class,” said Cheng.

“The fact that it has no rules makes it attractive. It's up to you whether you want to be honest and enjoy the game, or spoil the fun by leaking the answer.”

The game invites users to draw one of three items which other users can guess. If the user guesses right, the drawer earns gold coins and they then switch places.

Draw Something does not keep traditional score but it does keep track of the sequence of correct guesses.

OMGPOP CEO and Draw Something game designer Dan Porter was reported to have said that the game was more of a social communications app masquerading as a game.

Porter said part of the success of Draw Something was its emphasis on social interaction over game mechanics, going back to simpler things like playing catch or rock climbing cooperative activities that do not declare a winner.

Hospitality student Lee Boon Cheng, 19, agreed, saying the game was not as stressful compared to others.

“I can play whenever I want with no pressure, I just leave it and wait for whoever wants to play with me,” he said.

Some updates planned by OMGPOP for Draw Something include chat functions and the ability to store and share pictures, in line with its social aspect.

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