Pictionary on the iPhone? It’s a lot more enjoyable than it sounds, as JOE sampled the crude doodling delights of Makeshift Software’s Depict.
Despite the Apple App Store’s vast and ever-expanding multitude of games, it has been often said that many iPhone games lack the social interaction and knockabout laughs of their console brethren, such as the Nintendo Wii’s array of party titles.
Depict is one such title – a concept as basic as iPhone Pictionary – and manages to become easily one of the funniest, most addictive and unexpectedly enjoyable experiences on the device.
So what is Depict? Simply put, Depict employs the same fundamental principles of Charades or Pictionary – an online player is told to draw a shape while his rivals (including us) try to guess what it is, with six available answers on-screen as we witness the player beginning his crude sketch.
The real-time multiplayer aspect of Depict really helps overhaul the much-trodden core mechanics of its gameplay, and ensures that rounds can become ruthlessly competitive – the quicker you answer, the more points you receive, with each round followed by the current leaderboard.
Unless the top-right guy guessed ‘Mermaid Baby’, he really has no excuse
As the guesser, your points are drawn from how quickly you guess correctly, while as the drawer, you receive points relating to how many players have guessed your drawing correctly – thus it’s always important to draw as well as possible.
Not that that’s always the case, and I often found myself staring blankly when presented with simple items to draw, such as ‘bagel’ or ‘vacuum’. Depict has no mercy and within seconds forces you to begin using your finger to draw an incredibly crude variation of the item in question – which is hilarious when you’re the one doing the guessing, but not exactly when you’re meant to be the one in control. The difference between a ‘doctor’ and ‘nurse’ is apparently tiny horizontal yellow lines to signify blonde hair.
Once you’ve tried a few rounds, you can also personalise your avatar for your next doodling session by using the same canvas for your on-screen battles. However, it’s already clear that developers Makeshift Games are being vigilant in preventing any obscene images to trickle into their beloved title – or at least they were pretty strict with our well-endowed stickman creation.
Much like Words with Friends did for Scrabble, Depict uses online multiplayer interaction in a way that allows well-cherished and universal games to feel fresh once more. Addictive, riotiously funny and ambitious – we can’t think of any reasons to find fault with Makeshift’s title, but we can think of plenty of reasons to recommend this doodling diversion.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Conor Sketches | Tiger Woods loves Ger Loughnane and cosplaying as Charles LeClerc
