EyeTricks – Review

Our rating:

By: George Giaslas

Version #:

Date Released: 2008-09-18

Developer:

Price: 0.00

User Rating:

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I discovered the free app, EyeTricks, one afternoon while I was soaking up on office  wi-fi and wandering around the App Store. Expecting it to be an app  that might actually teach me how to make my eyes sit, roll over, or  play dead, I ventured a tap on the mad-eyed cow icon only to realize that I needed only to associate ‘Eye’ with ‘optical’ and ‘Tricks’ with ‘illusions’ to know what this app could do, or not do for that matter. Sigh. Nevertheless, I installed it and gave it a try.

Truth be told, I liked it! But only for a good 15 minutes, which is  just the amount of time anybody would need to browse the entire  gallery of visual deceptions, all 30 of them.

It’s good to see such classics as Arrows, Cup or Faces, and Elephant  Legs. But these have been attached to many a forwarded email that they  don’t incite as much amazement as the relatively fresh ones included  in this app do.

Try Spongebob, which reveals a cartoon character–three guesses who– as you move the iPhone from side to side. Footsteps is also of note;  you figure out whether two objects move simultaneously or rather like,  well, footsteps. In both of these illusions, as in others, you may tap 
on the screen to see the real deal and verify that your phone is just  playing tricks on your perception of various visual aspects.

You can browse the collection by tapping on ‘Browse tricks’. Make a  selection from the alphabetically listed titles and the corresponding  illusion is wiped into landscape view, along with four navigation  buttons: previous, next, instructions, and home. A callout balloon  containing instructions for the illusion is shown by default; tap the  balloon to hide it and proceed with messing up your eyes and brain or  disable it entirely in ‘Settings’.

As stated in the developers notes as well as in the app’s ‘About’  section, some tricks may cause dizziness and epileptic seizures.  Needless to say, this warning should be taken seriously especially by  those who have experienced feeling sick when viewing certain illusions  or patterns.

Overall, EyeTricks is a simple yet enjoyable app. I have to say I  marvelled at every other visual phenomenon the first time I tried it.  After just a couple more viewings of the same 30 illusions, however,  the law of diminishing returns took effect and I’d almost deleted the  app for good. Luckily for the mad-eyed cow, his mug still resides on  my screen, silently waiting to be tapped by my officemates who can’t  seem to get enough of its tricks. Incidentally, they’re the same persons who have  forwarded me emails containing Bended Rectangle, Face or Musician, and  Shrinking Haze.

Quick Take

Value: Minimal.
Would I Buy Again: Yes, maybe.
Learning Curve: Microscopic.
Who is it for: People who like to see some new tricks, and their officemates.
What I like:  The relatively new illusions and the on-the-spot trick verification.
What I Don’t: Only 30?

Final Statement:  An app your eyes would grow tired of after only a couple of tries, but your officemates’ wouldn’t.