32×32

When I saw this app in the review queue, I immediately sent an email back to Mobeen Fikree (developer at Caffeine Monster Software), saying that with 32×32, they had developed an app specifically for R. Stevens of Diesel Sweeties fame. This is certainly a niche app aimed at likely a small audience.

One might wonder then why I would review it for this site? It is entirely possible that most of the readers who read this review decide this app isn’t for them. Honestly, I’m fine with that. If I only reviewed the most popular apps, I wouldn’t be helping anyone discover newer or lesser-known apps farther down in the App Store rankings. Also, my job isn’t simply to tell you whether or not I liked something. I try to provide you with in-depth descriptions that better enable you to make a decision for yourself if this is something you’d enjoy.

And for the R. Steven’s of the world, this is an app they would enjoy playing with on their iPhones. 32×32 is a very simple pixel editor. The name describes the concept, that you have a grid of 32 by 32 pixels. I doubt this app will produce the next cover of the New Yorker. But for those who remember the earlier days of computing, or 8-bit console days, or simply people who prefer pixel art, this is an interesting find.

This would also appeal to users who can’t draw in the traditional sense, but who can assemble Lego into a recognizable shape. Pixel art is a different kind of animal. Figuring out how to best represent an image with a very limited number of pixels is a unique challenge. Anyone who has had to develop icons knows precisely what I’m talking about.

The controls/interface are also unique and were developed with the iPhone’s multi-touch interface in mind. One finger moves the cross-hairs around the screen to select pixels. But nothing happens unless you hold down a second finger. A two-finger swipe will draw in the traditional sense, but you can also swipe with one finger and tap with the second to select individual pixels precisely. If you make a mistake, there is a handy undo-feature with history, but you can also draw a pixel on-top of another pixel with the same color to erase it.

A separate erase tool exists if you prefer to use it. You can also switch to a fill tool.

It took some getting used to, but it beats merely tapping at pixels and missing. I really have to credit Caffeine Monster Software here with a scheme that really fits the hardware well.

The app comes bundled with a few sample images. You can use these as a reference point of how to best assemble an image with limited pixels. You can edit these, delete them, or do what you will with them. The opening menu shows you these images as small thumbnails, which is how you would typically see a 32×32 image. When you have the editing window open, the same thumbnail view is again present in the upper-right hand corner.

Compounding the challenge is the limit of 5 gray-scales to deal with. Personally, for those accustomed to console sprites, I think 8 colors would be appropriate. However, the limitation was intentionally to keep the app simple.

When you are finished with your creation, send it via email to your friends, or to your home computer to tweak it even more.

Overall this reminded me of using TheDraw back in the BBS days before the internet. Trying to create artwork out of limited DOS characters was a real challenge. It also reminds me a very bad pun from those days. If you ASCII a stupid question, you get a stupid ANSI. I warned you the pun was bad.

Thankfully Caffeine Monster Software is better at developing apps than I am with puns.