How an iPhone word game without blood, on-screen death or bad language ended up rated 17+
Hangman too much for the tweenies
Apple's approval process is something all iPhone developers have an opinion about.
The consensus seems to be the situation is getting better, certainly in terms of the turnaround time. But there are still some quirks in the system that can catch you out.
The latest company to run up against such issues is Freeverse, which has been working on Hanged, a version of the Hangman word game, combined with a gothic story about the tumultuous relationship of two mysterious lovers.
As Freeverse's description puts it: "Uncover the secret of their sordid history and help decide their fate by piecing together their story letter by letter."
Even taking into account the Tim Burton-esque style of the stop motion animation - from New York artist Patrick Dorian - that plays out the unfolding story, you'd think it would be a fairly safe game in terms of its age rating.
Indeed, looking at Apple's Content Description, and a game without blood, on-screen death or bad language, Freeverse came up with a 12+ rating, even with Realistic Violence and Horror/Fear themes listed as Frequent/Intense.
However, despite this the game came back to be re-evaluated as an 17+; something typically reserved for either Graphic Sexual Content or Simulated Gambling.
The word from Freeverse is they've taken it all in good heart - "more funny than upsetting or frustrating" - is the official line, but it just underlines how tricky the App Store approval process can be for certain games, especially those that fall between cartoon and realism in terms of art style.
