Two weeks ago, when I was playing 2048 (I am a big fan for both 2048 and Threes!), I suddenly came up this idea -- instead of merging numbers, merging polygons; and then use the polygon with most edges on the board to calculate the approximate value of Pi, just like what ancient mathematicians did. I thought it would be a cool idea to explore.
I quickly finished the programming of the algorithm and basic game play. Since each tile is a polygon, the numbers start from 3 (triangle) and 6 (Hexagon). So the number series is more like Threes', but game play is more like 2048.
However, I had a hard time to convey the message of how the value of Pi was calculated, which I think really cool (check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi#Polygon_approximation_era). I tried different ways but they all look too cluttered on the small iPhone screen. Eventually I settled with the current solution: animate the polygon with most edges and value of Pi together to hint the connection between them, and show a tip of how Pi is calculated when the game is played the first time.
I am still not satisfied with this approach. If you have better idea, please let me know. I’ll try to make it better in following updates. But on the other hand, I found a few of my friends do like play this game a lot – they told me they like the sound effect (I made the sound effect a little musical – the higher score you have, the higher pitch it plays) and the subtle animation when two tiles merges. I would love to know what you think. Any feedback is welcome.
