The developer of Games for Cats has been forced to make its DLC menus less feline-friendly.
As the title implies, Games for Cats isn't for you, unless you're very easily entertained. The iPad title is essentially a collection of "chase a thing around the screen" mini-games designed to keep your feline family members from shredding the curtains.
The game offers an additional level for a mere 99 cents, easily accessed and bought via a user friendly menu. Very user friendly. So user friendly, in fact, that even cats can use it. Perhaps you can see how that might be a problem.
Hiccup, the game's developer, received a ton of complaints from upset customers whose cats had managed to purchase the the aforementioned DLC. Some even went as far as to suggest that Hiccup was deliberately trying to fool the cats into buying the DLC.
"We got in a lot of trouble," said TJ Fuller, the artist for the title.
Rather than submit to the raw purrchasing power of the Felis catus, Hiccup instead implemented a simple test to make sure the user is a member of the right species. Now, before buying DLC, the user has to place their hand on the screen and keep their fingertips in the same position for a couple of seconds.
Dexter111: EA is probably going to adopt this practice with all their games soon.
They're always looking to broaden that audience, why not teach cats and dogs to buy DLC? xD
"We felt that our Dead Space 3 series was too uncomfortable for our audience and so to broaden our market appeal with the franchise we're going to focus more on the chasing the ball and fetch quests as well as making it four player friendly. This will no doubt be the most thrilling installment of the series. We expect to sell at least 10 million copies to break even." -EA Marketing Dept.
Seriously though THIS IS THE MOST ADORABLE STORY EVER! I want to get an Ipad just so my kitty will purchase these levels without my knowledge and then I can wave my fist at the sky because she charged me a dollar so she could keep playing her game.
Who the hell lets their cat play with their iPad? Otherwise... I kinda like this idea. Seems neat. And this is a really cool news story. Cats buying DLC? Oh the humanity! :D
Spoiler: Click to ViewPHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHA6Ly9tZW93Y2hlZXNlLmNvbS9maWxlcy9sb2xwaWNzLzIwMDgvMDcvbG9sY2F0LXBvd2VyLWFjdGl2YXRlLmpwZyIgYWx0PSJpbWFnZSIvPjwvcD4=
In other news, cats are furious with the unsatisfactory ending to 'Games for Cats' and demand souls.
Spoiler: Click to ViewPHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHA6Ly93dGZjb250ZW50LmNvbS9pbWcvMTMwMjAwOTI2NzgzLmpwZyIgYWx0PSJpbWFnZSIvPjwvcD4=
Well if a cat can enter a, minimum of, six character iTunes password needed for in app purchases then I think they can break through the new security measures.
thenumberthirteen: Well if a cat can enter a, minimum of, six character iTunes password needed for in app purchases then I think they can break through the new security measures.
They crack iTunes codes, soon Facebook passwords, then government websites! Cats shall conquer the planet with the power of computers.
Some even went as far as to suggest that Hiccup was deliberately trying to fool the cats into buying the DLC.
Yeah.... Hiccup managed to finally figure out the feline mind. Doesn't this earn them some sort of Nobel prize? I mean, in order to fool someone/thing you need to know how they/it think, right?
Developer Accused of Selling DLC to Cats
The developer of Games for Cats has been forced to make its DLC menus less feline-friendly.
As the title implies, Games for Cats isn't for you, unless you're very easily entertained. The iPad title is essentially a collection of "chase a thing around the screen" mini-games designed to keep your feline family members from shredding the curtains.
The game offers an additional level for a mere 99 cents, easily accessed and bought via a user friendly menu. Very user friendly. So user friendly, in fact, that even cats can use it. Perhaps you can see how that might be a problem.
Hiccup, the game's developer, received a ton of complaints from upset customers whose cats had managed to purchase the the aforementioned DLC. Some even went as far as to suggest that Hiccup was deliberately trying to fool the cats into buying the DLC.
"We got in a lot of trouble," said TJ Fuller, the artist for the title.
Rather than submit to the raw purrchasing power of the Felis catus, Hiccup instead implemented a simple test to make sure the user is a member of the right species. Now, before buying DLC, the user has to place their hand on the screen and keep their fingertips in the same position for a couple of seconds.
Catastrophe averted.
Source: Gamasutra
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