So we recently had the chance to play around with a couple of apps which came out earlier this month for the iPhone and iPad which promise to teach all about the constellations in a non-coma-inducing way. For those who were in a coma during science class and don’t know what we are talking about, constellations are those epic star formations in the sky named after animals and Greek gods and things like that. And now you can brush up on them using your iOS devices.
Developed by LANDKA, the Kiwaka game and Kiwaka Story eBook for iPad and iPhone are a combination of education and entertainment, with over 120 uber-cool space images from the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and other scientific organizations that take pictures of space and stuff.
While slightly skeptical that these apps would hold our attention for long, as they seem designed for kiddies, they are actually rather relaxing and beautiful to mess around with. And, we LEARNED stuff while being entertained, how about that?
Gameplay on the game app itself is super-simple and not designed to be a tough challenge. Your job is to catch fireflies. The more you catch, the faster you will light up the stars in the night sky to reveal the constellations. Once they are revealed, you get to access more information about them through the provided star map, including ancient myths and notable facts. You also get to see the aforementioned cool space pictures here, plus some vids and links to more info.
Yes, its kind of fun, even for older people.
The Kiwaka Story app tells the story of the four characters from the game. Most teens wold want to skip this app, unless you want to use actor Diogo Morgado’s (Star of SON OF GOD) extremely soothing voice to help you fall asleep. Your little 6-year-old brother will like it though.
The verdict is: the game app really is a cool and easy way to learn the constellations. The app is well-designed and interactive. Buy it for younger siblings, and then borrow the iPad when you have nothing else to do and explore! As far as the Story app itself…its not quite as engaging and kind of thin on content, so we would skip it and just buy the game.
Here are some sneak peeks:
Kiwaka Game: http://youtu.be/uUAeMt_xt0Y
Kiwaka Story: http://youtu.be/yhlwjYB-j4I
and you can buy them here for $2.99 each:
Kiwaka Game: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kiwaka/id632759992?mt=8
Kiwaka Story: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id875149504