Cargo-bot, the first app created entirely on the iPad, hits the App Store

Seth Weintraub | Apr 23 2012 - 10:50 am PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mPWWDOjtO9s#!]

Using a development environment/ app called Codea (formerly Codify), Two Lives Left created a free iPad game called Cargo-Bot. It is now available in the App Store.

Cargo-Bot is a puzzle game where you teach a robot how to move crates. Sounds simple, right? It features 36 fiendishly clever puzzles, haunting music and stunning retina graphics. You can even record your solutions and share them on YouTube to show your friends.

The app itself looks good but where it gets interesting is that it was made entirely on an iPad using Codea ($9.99 App Store). Codea uses the Lua programming language and has called the GarageBand of iPad coding for its visual ease of use. Until now, apps built using Codea were only able to play inside the app. Using a preview of a new Open Source exporter tool, Codea exported the Cargo-bot app and submitted it to the App Store where it was recently approved.

It’s the first game of its kind, prototyped, programmed and polished on iPad. Cargo-Bot was created by Rui Viana, a Codea user who developed his initial prototype and shared it with the Codea community. Two Lives Left reached out to Rui in order to turn his prototype into a published App Store game. They also enlisted the aid of Fred Bogg, a composer who developed a music library for Codea, to create the music for Cargo-Bot.

Coinciding with the release of Cargo-Bot, Two Lives Left is releasing the Codea Runtime Library source code under the Apache License Version 2.0. Registered Apple iOS Developers will be able to export their Codea projects into the Codea Runtime Library in order to release them as standalone apps, just like Cargo-Bot.

How long until iPad game creation is mainstream? Xcode for iPad certainly couldn’t be too far off?

Press release follows:

via

[tweet https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/194479143843409920]

Cargo-Bot

The First Game Programmed on iPad

Adelaide, Australia – April 24, 2012 – Two Lives Left and Rui Viana have released Cargo-Bot, a puzzle game where the player commands a robot to sort crates. Cargo-Bot presents players with fiendishly clever puzzles and features stunning retina graphics. It is available for free on the App Store.

Cargo-Bot was programmed entirely on iPad using Codea, a touch-based programming app for iPad created by Two Lives Left.

It’s the first game of its kind, prototyped, programmed and polished on iPad. Cargo-Bot was created by Rui Viana, a Codea user who developed his initial prototype and shared it with the Codea community. Two Lives Left reached out to Rui in order to turn his prototype into a published App Store game. They also enlisted the aid of Fred Bogg, a composer who developed a music library for Codea, to create the music for Cargo-Bot.

Coinciding with the release of Cargo-Bot, Two Lives Left is releasing the Codea Runtime Library source code under the Apache License Version 2.0. Registered Apple iOS Developers will be able to export their Codea projects into the Codea Runtime Library in order to release them as standalone apps, just like Cargo-Bot.

Cargo-Bot can be found on the App Store at http://itunes.com/apps/Cargo-Bot, videos and additional media can be found at http://twolivesleft.com/CargoBot.

The Codea Runtime Library source code and documentation can be found athttp://github.com/TwoLivesLeft

About Codea

Codea is a platform for game designers, educators and students to use to create games and experiment with visual ideas. It is an iPad app that allows users to create and play interactive games and simulations directly on their devices.

Codea can be found on the App Store at http://itunes.com/apps/Codea, more information can be found at http://twolivesleft.com/Codea.

Codea is a trademark of Two Lives Left.

About Rui Viana

Rui Viana is a Brazilian-born MIT Computer Science graduate who works in the financial services industry. He is an avid coder and he creates game prototypes in his spare time. Codea has allowed Rui to develop Cargo-Bot, his first iOS application.

About Two Lives Left

Two Lives Left is an Adelaide company that was formed in 2009 by Simeon Nasilowski, John Millard and Dylan Sale while they were studying their PhDs in Computer Science at The University of Adelaide. They create fun and interesting games all the time.

Their website is www.twolivesleft.com and they can be found ontwitter.com/TwoLivesLeft and facebook.com/TwoLivesLeft