Barclaycard / Waterslide Extreme Game.

2009 iPhone game UI Design.

This project is a milestone in the iPhone game app hall of fame. It was a pleasure to work on it at the time. And an honour to watch it's popularity sore, and inspire many other future projects in the game app world.

The year is 2009. Apple's iPhone has paved the way to a mobile connected world, through the hardware capabilities of their mobile device and their wide spectrum of newly termed 'apps'. Apps for anything and everything in your life.

Most popular and immediately expanding was the game apps. At last a single mobile pocket device that can play high quality arcade style games, and make phone calls.
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Pioneering 3D capability.

There were tonnes of games back then, so many re-runs, re-launches of old classics. But also notably new original games using the iPhones revolutionary in-built accelerometer, this was ground-breaking, reducing the further need for physical buttons. Instead sensing the way the user is holding the iPhone as a reaction.

Also brand new at the time was the ability for the very first iPhone to handle real-time 3D graphics. This was a huge game changer... so to speak.

I was lucky enough to own the brand new iPhone back in 2007, and I remember being awe struck by this level of tech, the power, and the of course the never-seen-before Apple's touch UI... All in this super tiny device.

Based on Barclaycard's digital brand guidelines at the time. All in glorious 480x320px. Very lo-res by today's standards, and pre-dating the popularity of swipe gestures.
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Game overview.

It's simple really. Slide down the huge waterslide, collecting points, avoiding the crabs (why not?!)... and of course try not to fall off the edge. 2009 was a simpler time. The game was quite addictive for quite a while, and completely free download.

Many fans.

Geeky kids with Youtube channels shared their thoughts and reviews. Even as late as 2015. This one below is pretty entertaining.

All good things...

I know what you're thinking... "I want this game on my phone right now". Sadly, for all of humanity the app is no longer available for download from the app store... too old now I guess.

In just one week this app was top of the charts in 19 countrind held the number one spot on the free download chart for three weeks from 24 July 2009 to 07 August 2009.

Total downloads in excess of 10 million worldwide. I'm glad to have been a part of it.