''Blackbox'' is an

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

puzzle game A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...

developed and designed by Ryan McLeod, with sound design by Gus Callahan. In Blackbox, the player solves puzzles by discovering and exploring the device's hardware and operating system; rarely do solutions involve touch mechanics. As the player progresses more puzzles are unlocked. Blackbox won a 2017 Apple Design Award for innovation and excellence in design and accessibility and was recognized as a 2018

Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...

Honoree in the ''Puzzle'' and ''Best Visual Design'' categories. It has also won a Golden Apple from Apple Vis (an online community of blind and low-vision Apple product users) as “Best iOS Game” for 2017.

Gameplay

In Blackbox, players attempt to turn on “lights” by solving their associated challenge. Once a challenge is solved its light is turned on permanently. Lights are displayed on a “home grid” and are grouped in sets by challenge type (each represented by a unique color). Each set of challenges has a unique minimalistic visual and sonic representation that helps player understand and solve its puzzles. The game's grid and non-linear level sequence let players of varying skill and thinking styles to play and explore at their own pace. Each challenge has hints of varying degrees of helpfulness that can be revealed using an in game currency of hint credits which can be bought or earned in different ways. Blackbox is free to download, includes about 30 free challenges and one paid expansion pack, which unlocks all challenges.

Development

Blackbox was developed over 12 months beginning in late 2014 by Ryan McLeod. Its visual style was inspired by indie games such as Threes,

Monument Valley Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona ...

Letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker co ...

, and Grow. Its puzzles were inspired by indie apps and games

Machinarium ''Machinarium'' is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. It was released on 16 October 2009 for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, on 8 September 2011 for iPad 2 on the App Store, on 21 November 2011 for BlackBerry Pl ...

, Fez,

Braid A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...

Portal Portal often refers to: *Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin ''limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Europ ...

, Hatch, Clear, Peek, and Inception as well as augmented real world games,

geocaching Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific ...

, and physical puzzles. After a closed beta test, it was released for iOS on February 25, 2016; the game is under active development with new puzzles and features added regularly.

Reception

The game received favorable reviews from critics and players. Reviewers found the game “unlike anything”, “devilishly clever”, and “utterly diabolical” with many noting its novel breadth of mechanics using device sensors and system features. The game has received over 90,000 five-star reviews on the iOS App Store worldwide. It won a 2017 Apple Design Award, was named a Breakthrough Moment in Gaming, and was downloaded over 4.0 million times as of July 2017.

External links

* {{official website, http://www.blackboxpuzzles.com
Developer website

References

2016 video games IOS games IOS-only games Puzzle video games Single-player video games