''Typoman'' is an

independent video game An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...

developed by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

indie studio Brainseed Factory for

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and PC, and mobile. The game follows a hero named HERO who crafts words to alter the environment around him.

Gameplay

''Typoman'' features a number of environmental

puzzles 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 ...

that are solved by crafting words that are relevant to the situation. For example, players can spell "up" to activate an elevator, or "open" to open a door. Situations become increasingly complicated as the game progresses, requiring the player to come up with puns to manipulate items.

Development

The idea of ''Typoman'' was born out of a desire to experiment with

typography Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...

and

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...

. Brainseed Factory founder Bilal Chbib explains that the original plan was to "have objects and monsters shaped out of letters, and nothing else." As development continued the team eventually decided to implement puzzle based gameplay using letters and words. The game was originally a Wii U exclusive, and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

showcased the game at the Nindies@Home program during

E3 2015 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015 (E3 2015) was the 21st E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It took place from June 16 to June 18, 2015, with 52,200 total attendees. Major exhibit ...

. The game launched for Wii U in 2015. A year after release, Brainseed Factory announced an updated version of the game called ''Typoman: Revised'' would be released for PC, Xbox One and PS4. The revised version implements several

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

and graphical improvements. The PC version launched in 2016, with the console versions following in February 2017.

Reception

The original Wii U version of ''Typoman'' received mixed reviews from critics, with a score on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

of 57/100. ''Typoman: Revised'' for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 was better received, scoring 73/100 and 75/100 respectively. Critics generally praised the game's concept, atmosphere and art style, but directed criticism towards the game's length.

Accolades

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.typoman.net/ 2015 video games Indie games PlayStation 4 games Wii U games Single-player video games Windows games Xbox One games PlayStation Network games Side-scrolling video games Microsoft games Platformers Puzzle video games Video games developed in Germany Nintendo Switch games