Apple chooses the most creative apps and games

Apple chooses the most creative apps and games

Every year, Apple honours particularly innovative and creative apps with the Design Award. This year, eight applications for the iPhone and iPad received the coveted award – including both games and functional apps.

Developers who receive the Apple Design Award for their app do not receive a prize, but the iPhone manufacturer highlights the award-winning application and prominently advertises it in the App Store. This gives the developers and the apps increased attention, which in turn benefits marketing. “Winning an Apple Design Award is a special and commendable achievement,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of worldwide developer relations. “Previous award winners have created some of the most remarkable apps and games ever. Through their vision, determination and high standards, the winning developers inspire not only their peers in the Apple developer community, but all of us at Apple.”

Eight apps receive the Apple Design Award in 2020

This year, the Apple Design Award 2020 was awarded online due to the corona crisis. At the WWDC developer conference, Apple selected a total of eight apps – four games and four applications – for their special design and innovative functions. Not surprisingly, some of the award-winning apps can also be used via Apple’s gaming subscription Arcade.

These games have convinced Apple

In mobile games, Apple has paid particular attention to the graphics, but also to the idea behind the games. The winning apps score less with action-packed stories, but rather with ingenious puzzles, picturesque landscapes and well thought-out stories.

Sayonara Wild Hearts

The app, developed by Simogo and publisher Annapurna Interactive, is a somewhat different arcade game in which players have to move through vivid and surreal landscapes on a motorcycle and skateboard. The soundtrack was composed especially for the game and gives it a very special atmosphere. “Sayonara Wild Hearts” is available for the iPhone and iPad as well as a game for Apple TV. Sayonara Wild Hearts” can also be played on the PS4, the Nintendo Switch or via Steam.

Sky: Children of the Light

Those who have already enjoyed the game “Gris” will also like “Sky: Children of the Light”. In the indie adventure game developed by Thatgamecompany, players travel alone or in multiplayer mode to a magical kingdom to help heavenly beings find their way back into heaven. Apple especially likes the imaginatively designed landscapes and the generally nice graphics. The game is released in July 2019 for iPhone and iPad. Since April 2020 “Sky: Children of the Light” is also available for Android. A switch version of the game is also planned for this year.

Song of Bloom

Since December 2019 there is “Song of Bloom” for iPhone and iPad. The game was developed by the German developer Philipp Stollenmayer. It tells a non-linear story, which is told in ever-changing art styles. The story behind the game can’t really be explained, but players repeatedly come across different art objects and have to find out how to integrate them into the game.

Where Cards Fall

A game full of puzzles that tells the story of growing up. Using maps, players must build houses and paths in this adventure game, developed by The Game Band and publisher Snowman, in order to create and process pictorial memories from life. Supported by an original soundtrack, a game has been created that stimulates the imagination. It can be played on the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, but is also available via Apple Arcade.

The award-winning functional applications

Not only games, but also practical applications have been awarded by Apple. Not only a photo editing app and two applications for music composition received the Design Award, Apple also honoured a technical drawing app.

Darkroom

The download of the photo and video editor “Darkroom” published by Bergen Co. is free of charge, but Apple users need a Darkroom+ membership for full use. The app was awarded above all for its clear and easy-to-use interface and good performance with intuitive controls. Among other things, the app allows RAW editing, offers various color tools, an integrated video editor and allows users to create their own filters.

Shapr 3D

With the “Shapr 3D” app, on the other hand, users can create architectural and technical drawings, for example of models. The application is fully compatible with the Apple Pencil, which makes it even easier to use. The app is therefore intended exclusively for iPad owners. It uses the ARKit and Drag & Drop, among other things, and in the course of the year it should also be able to use Apple’s LiDAR scanner to automatically generate an accurate 2D floor plan and 3D model of a room.

Looom

“Looom” is one of the two Apple award-winning apps for composing music. The application offers a particularly creative interface for playing hand-drawn stop-motion animations in a loop, making the app interesting for beginners and professional users alike. Apple particularly liked the intuitive user interface, which is complemented by new types of user-defined controls. “Looom” was developed for iPadOS and makes full use of Apple technologies like Apple Pencil and Dark Mode.

StaffPad

The “StaffPad” is intended more for classical composers. The app allows you to convert handwritten music notation into digital scores. The app is designed for composers who are looking for a simple solution for writing and composing music digitally. It uses Apple technologies such as Apple Pencil, Drag & Drop and Core ML is easy to use thanks to the Pencil tools.

Elite Casinos: How to choose the most reputable online casinos in 2020

Elite Casinos: How to choose the most reputable online casinos in 2020

For casino fans it is not always easy to find a serious and reliable online casino.

We throw the spotlight on Germany and show how the current legal situation regarding casinos on the Internet looks like and what players should look out for when choosing a new online casino.

The current legal situation of online casinos in Germany

The legal basis for online casinos in Germany is unfortunately diffuse and difficult to understand. Even if Germany otherwise regulates almost all areas of life clearly by law – with online casinos it looks different.

So legal experts do not agree whether online casinos are legal or illegal, because strictly speaking the gambling treaty prohibits gambling for money on the Internet. The fact that this law cannot be enforced is shown not only by the many active players in Germany, but also by the sales of over 5 billion euros in the online casino industry.

Thus, the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein has officially renounced gambling income and enforced its own much more liberal regulation. And now the federal state of Hesse is also following suit with its own law.

The European Court of Justice had also ruled that gambling for money on the Internet could not be completely banned.

Several attempts to change the national gambling treaty – most recently in 2018 – have failed so far and so the online gambling industry is unfortunately still in a grey area.

Moreover, many aspects of online casinos are only imprecisely regulated by the Criminal Code – more legal certainty would definitely be desirable. At the moment, online casinos in Germany operate in a grey area, which makes many operators and also players feel insecure.

One can only hope that the pressure from Hesse will ensure that a better regulation is also introduced nationally soon. At the moment, however, it fortunately does not look as if a complete ban on online casinos is in sight.

How to recognize a dubious online casino provider

In order to circumvent the unclear legal situation in Germany, many casino operators rely on a European gambling license – the most popular is clearly the license of the Maltese gambling authority MGA.

So anyone looking for a serious online casino should make sure that the operator has an official EU license. Meanwhile, in addition to licenses from Malta, licenses from Curacao, England and Germany itself (mostly from Schleswig-Holstein) are becoming more and more common.

Players should also make sure that an online casino has predominantly positive reviews and has not been noticed by a case of fraud. Many players will find new online casinos for 2020 on renowned casino rating portals, which look closely at which online casinos are reputable and safe.

What else online casino players should pay attention to in order to protect themselves
Since most online casinos require you to provide your personal details and payment information, a secure online casino must meet the following criteria:

  • SSL Encryption
  • Security-certified payment methods
  • Reliable customer service
  • Transparent random number generator
  • Fair bonus and turnover conditions

It is therefore helpful to check these aspects before registering with a new casino and look for test reports and reviews of an online casino. Because you should not take any unnecessary security risks when playing with your own money and only entrust your data to reputable providers.