Contre Jour

Contre Jour
Contre Jour iOS title screen
Developer(s)	Mokus
Publisher(s)	Chillingo
Platform(s)	Standard web browsers (HTML5), iOS, Windows Phone, Android, Windows 8
Release date(s)	August 24, 2011 iOS
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single

Contre Jour is a physics-based puzzle video game for standard web browsers (HTML5),^[1] Windows Phone,^[2] Android, Apple iOS and Symbian. It was developed in 2011 by Ukrainian developer Mokus and published by Electronic Arts through its label Chillingo. The art for the game Contre Jour was created by artist Mihai Tymoshenko. The soundtrack for Contre Jour was composed by David Ari Leon.^[3] The game focuses upon a little blob named Petit, (a reference to Le Petit Prince) whose only means of locomotion is to be manoeuvered around by manipulating his environment through the various areas of the game using the touch screen.

History

Contre Jour

On 3 November 2011 Contre Jour for iOS was made available through the App Store. A native (HD) version for the iPad was released on the same day. This was followed by the release of a free version with fewer levels for each device on the next day, called Contre Jour Lite. The game won Best Mobile Game of E3 in 2011 by GamePro^[4] and reached #1 on App Store sales charts^[5]

Art

Concept Art

The art of Contre Jour was created by artist Mihai Tymoshenko. The first concept art sketches for the game were done in two hours. The main character was inspired by the yin-yang. The black character appears in chapters 1-3, the white (blue) one in chapters 2 and 4. All the artwork was finished in six weeks. Over ten versions of the game environment were proposed. The stylistics of the art derive from black-and-white pictures. Animation and visual effects were made by Mokus.

Level packs

Contre Jour

Contre Jour contains five different level packs, each containing 20 levels. These include:

• Chapter 1 - Monsters: included with the original release, August 2011
• Chapter 2 - The Night: included with the original release, August 2011
• Chapter 3 - Machine: included with the original release, August 2011
• Chapter 4 - Moonlight: included with the original release, August 2011
• Chapter 5 - Jungle: included with 1.1 update, November 2011

Soundtrack

Contre Jour
Soundtrack album by David Ari Leon
Released	November 3, 2011
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	8:44
Label	SoundMind
David Ari Leon chronology
'Thor: Tales of Asgard' (2011) Contre Jour (2011) N/A

The Contre Jour soundtrack, composed by David Ari Leon, comprises the following tracks.

Reception and awards

Reviews of Contre Jour were very positive for both the game and the music, among both critics and the game's audience. Blake Sabatinelli of ABC Action News called the game a masterpiece of mobile gaming, saying, "the game is so well designed that it almost feels like you're playing a piece of art,"^[6] and David Carnoy from CBS News said the game, "has spectacular art design and music, along with creative imagination."^[7] In December 2011, Contre Jour HD received the "iPad Game of the Year" award by Apple in their annual "iTunes Rewind."^[8] Also in December 2011, Contre Jour was named the "Best Physics" iOS game of the year in Touchgen's Editor's Choice Awards.^[9] In March 2012, the game won an Appy Award for "Best Puzzle Game."^[10] Also in March 2012, Contre Jour was honored at the International Mobile Game Awards (IMGA) in Barcelona, Spain with the "Jury's Honorable Mention" prize.^[11] In April 2012, the game received a Webby Award nomination for "Best Tablet Game.".^[12] In September 2012, the game won "Xbox Live Game of the Week.".^[13] Also in 2012, Time Magazine included the title in their list of "25 Best iPad Games for Your New ‘Resolutionary’ Tablet.".^[14]

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Chillingo.com

References