Today a new game was released for the iPhone and iTouch called Wildfire Fighter, which allows the user to attack fires on the screen with helicopters and air tankers. Here is a video showing the game in action.
(VIDEO NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
It only costs $.99, so even though I’m not a big gamer, I thought I’d try it out on my iTouch. I purchased the application through iTunes, downloaded it, synced iTunes with the iTouch, but the game did not show up on the iTouch.
I have contacted support at the developers of the application, “People Operating Technology” in an attempt to resolve the problem, but for now, it looks like a wasted dollar. You can get more information about the game at the iTunes store (the link will open your iTunes program).
We will update this post if we hear from the developer about how to resolve the problem. In the meantime, save your money.
UPDATE at 11:10 M.T, Nov. 24
Jason Petralia of People Operating Technology called me, responding to the email I sent them. He told me to delete the application from iTunes, then using WiFi on the iTouch to go to the app store and “buy” it again. The app store recognized that I had previously purchased it and allowed me to download it for free–and it installed on the iTouch easily on this second attempt.
While the app was downloading, Mr. Petralia provided some information about the program. He said the key developer was, Chris Skaggs, whose father was a Captain with the Lake Arrowhead Fire Department in southern California, an area with many wildland fires.
On the home screen, there is an image of Smokey Bear with a link that says “Get your Smokey On”. Clicking on it takes you to a page dedicated to Smokey which also has the logos and links for the U. S Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters, the Ad Council, and of course Smokey’s site. The iTouch’s Safari web browser can’t open the State Foresters’ site, but the others opened without a problem.
Right now there is no version of the game for the Android operating system, such as the one on the new Motorola Droid I just purchased, but they may develop one in the future, Mr. Petralia said.
So I have it on the iTouch, and will try it out later today. But without reading the on-screen manual, I experimented with it briefly. Under the concept of hitting a fire quickly with overwhelming force, I directed an air tanker and a helicopter to drop on the fire. They were about the same distance from the fire, but thinking the helicopter would have a slower air speed, there would be no conflict. I was wrong:
Wildfire Fighter Mission Failure. Good Job Firefighter – you managed to put out 2 fires in Idaho on Cool (difficulty level) before a tragic midair collision destroyed some of your fleet.
Well, “Good Job Firefighter” is putting the best possible spin on a mid-air collision, I suppose. I will try it out in more depth later, hopefully without crashing too many air tankers and helicopters.
And, thanks to Mr. Petralia for responding so quickly to our request for support.
This game is great fun and quite challenging! Thanks for posting.