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Roller Polar
App Store
Google Play
Unity
Roller Polar is an endless game created by Nitrome and released on iOS on the Apple App Store and Android on the Google Play store on December 4th, 2014 for mobile and December 9th for browser.
The player controls a Polar Bear on a snowball as it avoids other animals and objects while trying to outrun an avalanche.
Controls[edit | edit source]
- Tap the screen (mobile)/Click or press
(browser) - jump - Tap the screen twice (mobile)/Click twice or press twice (browser) - Double jump
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
Players control a polar bear trying to stay on balance atop a snowball as it rolls downhill. Rocks, trees and other creatures can be caught by the snowball and roll to the top. The polar bear must jump over these obstacles to keep on the snowball. From time to time, snowballs may also collide with each other, forcing the player to transfer the polar bear to a new snowball. Each obstacle jumped over increases the score by an increment of 1.
The game's aesthetics change to match the time the game is played in, e.g. playing Roller Polar in the day time displays a bright coloured sky, while playing in the night time displays a purple one.
In app purchases[edit | edit source]
The game contains an in app purchase that allows players to remove ads.
| Item | US ($) | EUR (€) |
|---|---|---|
| Remove ads | ? | ? |
Development[edit | edit source]
The main idea behind Roller Polar was to create a quality game in four weeks[1][2]. All of Markus Heinel's art for the game was finished on November 17th, 2014.[3] By November 29th, 2014, the game had been submitted and approved on both the Apple App store and the Google Play store.[4] The game was released on December 4th, 2014, on Google Play and the Apple App Store[5], with a browser release following on December 9th[6].
By December 1st, 2015, work on update 1 had started[7]. Update 1 was released on December 10th, 2015, for both platforms[8].
Credits[edit | edit source]
| Art | |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Music |
Announcements[edit | edit source]
Blog posts[edit | edit source]
| Date | Title | Author | Category | Description | Media | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Title | Author | Category | Description | Media | |
| 28 Nov 2014 | Roller Polar - Coming Soon - Mobile & Web! | Nitrome | Mobile | Nitrome shares a trailer for the upcoming game Roller Polar for mobile and browser. | ||
| 04 Dec 2014 | Roller Polar - Out - Free on Mobile! | Nitrome | Mobile | Roller Polar is released on the App Store and Google Play. |  | |
| 05 Dec 2014 | Roll on the weekend! | Nitrome | Mobile | Nitrome announces that they currently hold the number 1 spot on the iOS and Android leaderboards for Roller Polar and add a reminder that avatars will be released every day in December. |  | |
| 09 Dec 2014 | Roller Polar - Web Version - Released! | Nitrome | New! | The browser version of Roller Polar is released. |  | |
| 10 Dec 2015 | Xmas Rollar Polar Update! | Jon Annal | New! | Nitrome releases a content update for Roller Polar, which includes unlockable bears and gold coins to collect. |  |
Other announcements[edit | edit source]
- December 2nd, 2014 - Two teasers are shown, one by John Kennedy[7] and one by Nitrome[8]
Versions[edit | edit source]
Release version[edit | edit source]
This version was released on December 4th, 2014, and is labelled Version 0.1 on the Apple App Store and 1.0 on Google Play. This version was the initial release version of the game.
Apple App Store update version 1[edit | edit source]
Released on December 12th, 2014, this version contains interface improvements for iPad and bug fixes.
Google Play version 1[edit | edit source]
This version is labelled version 1.0.2 and adds interface improvements and fixes a glitch that caused the game to fail to retrieve the "Remove ads" in app purchase.
Google Play version 2[edit | edit source]
This version is labelled version 1.0.3 and adds immersive mode support and fixes some bugs.
Update 1[edit | edit source]
This version was released on December 10th, 2015, on both the Apple App Store and Google Play and is labelled Version 2.0 on the Apple App Store and version 2.0.2 on Google Play. This update adds coins, Bearwear with six unlockable characters, and changes some hazard patterns[8].
Promotions[edit | edit source]
Upon release the game was featured in the "Best New Games" section of the Apple App store.[9]
Roller Polar along with 8bit Doves was featured on the Apple App store on December 29th, 2014, in the section "Best Game's You've Never Played". [10]
Glitches[edit | edit source]
"0" snowball[edit | edit source]
If the player dies at the very start of a respawn, the game enters a loop that causes the score to remain at 0. The only hazards that appear during this glitch are single rocks, which the polar bear is invulnerable to. The title audio can be heard, but upon pausing the game and resuming it with the glitch still in place, the in-game audio will play.
It is possible to die upon respawning if the player enters into a new game immediately after slipping on a hazard while an eagle is passing the screen. This can cause the polar bear to cross the eagle's path, thereby initiating its death.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- The first released version of the browser version retained from its mobile counterparts a button on the credits screen that allowed the user to purchase the in app purchase to remove ads, though when clicked in the browser version it does not work.
The button in the browser version
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Pixelfuel: Main page, ?, retrieved 11 Aug 21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: [3]: Trailer for my latest #nitrome game with @JK48K [John Kennedy] This was our four week project. http://youtu.be/gigS5wSXqw8 #mobilegame, 28 Nov 14, retrieved 28 Nov 14.
- ↑ Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: [4]: Ahh! Finished all art on my new game project for #nitrome can't wait for all to see it., 17 Nov 14, retrieved 28 Nov 14.
- ↑ Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Roller Polar - Coming Soon - Mobile & Web! → comment by Nitrome: Roller Polar is first but they [Roller Polar and Gunbrick mobile] are both submitted and approved so it's more a strategic move than them not being ready., 29 Nov 14, retrieved 29 Nov 14.
- ↑ Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Roller Polar - Out - Free on Mobile!, 4 Dec 14, retrieved 23 Dec 15.
- ↑ Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Roller Polar - Web Version - Released!, 9 Dec 14, retrieved 23 Dec 15.
- ↑ Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Friday! → comment by Nitrome: and work hard to get a game and update [Roller Polar update 1] approved before Xmas., 1 Dec 15, retrieved 23 Dec 15.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Xmas Rollar Polar Update!, 10 Dec 15, retrieved 23 Dec 15.
- ↑ Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: [5]: Woop! Look who's game made it to the featured best new games section on appstore. Game is called Roller Polar btw ¬_¬, 4 Dec 14, retrieved 4 Dec 14.
- ↑ Jon Annal on Twitter: [6]: #8bitdoves and #Rollerpolar are in best games you never played., 29 Dec 14, retrieved 29 Dec 14.
| v • d • eRoller Polar | |
|---|---|
| General | Roller Polar • Snowballs • Polar bear • Bearwear |
| Hazards | Penguin • Beavers • Mooses • Birds • Snowmen • Rocks • Trees |