Touchgrind: Kids these days, I tell ya...

I don't get it.  Fingerboarding makes no sense to me.  I see kids doing amazing things with mini skateboards on their fingers, but it just doesn't jive with my world view.  Maybe because I'm just no good at it.

So maybe you can appreciate how difficult it is for me to do a review of Touchgrind from Illusion Labs.  When I first heard about the app, I was ignorant to all things fingerboard related.  When I tried to play the app the first time, it vexed me totally.  I thought it was crap.

Notice my lack of score.

Then squarerhino pulled me into his office and showed me a youtube video.  Or ten.  In it, I saw young lads and lasses doing some of the coolest things I'd ever seen with small skateboards on their fingers.  They did flips, jumps...grinds and tricks whose names I will never know.  

Only then did I understand.  Touchgrind is a video game made for these kids...who actually have talent.  And not for me.

The app is a virtual skate park.  Your fingers act as feet.  Put two fingers on the board, and it accelerates forward.  Push to one side, and the board turns.  Pull back quickly, and the board jumps into the air, complete with sound effects, and you can do a number of tricks.

I got frustrated and gave up.  I have to be honest about that.  

I can say, though, that the controls are ingenious.  Illusion Labs has harnessed the multi-touch technology of the iPhone in a great way, really mimicking the experience of fingerboarding (to the extent that the uninitiated are hopelessly lost).

You can't ride like this, but it gives a good sense of context.

You can zoom out to see the whole skate park, and little icons pop up to show you upcoming obstacles you can interact with.  

Everyone who gets into this game loves it, and who am I to rain on their parade?  If this is your kind of thing, go for it.  Really.  Me, I just can't do it.  And I'm honestly not willing to put in the necessary time to get good at this.

One suggestion I will make, though...maybe we should get some different options for skate parks?  The park is pretty homogenous without any real creativity to the obstacles.  We get ramps and rails, but how about giving me the ability to skate in a more urban area with people diving out of the way.  It's just a thought.

A cool feature, though, is the ability to customize your board with cameras from the photo library.  Neat-o!

In the end, I will probably never understand this app.  But for those who "get it," I'm betting this is the best video fingerboarding experience out there.  For $4.99, though, I'd make sure I was into this before buying the app.

You can buy Touchgrind HERE.

Comments

[mike]

I'm using iPhone 16Gb, and i drive a lot, so i bought G-map series in app store.
This application basically GPS Navigation app and provide real time guidance. It is 24.99 $ and free to upgrade every version.They almost provides TBT and beep sound when you are using G-map. Also i think best thing of G-map is 3D view. They provide 3D view in intersection and highway. I think they need to add voice guidance and texts. This is pretty good app. Good work!!