Kickstarter Watch: Bladepad

When we first got games on our cell phones, it was something to do to fill the time waiting in line at the bank or kill a few minutes when someone was late to meet you at the movies. There were only so many minutes you could stomach the slow moving and poorly animated versions of Snake or Tetris.

But as with all things tech, mobile phone games gave way to smart phone games which have the abilities to rival those of big screen content. While not everyone wants to keep a Nintendo 3DS or PlayStation Vita in their pocket, most people do have an iPhone or Android and they will play games on them. But the biggest weakness that some smart phone games still deal with are the controls.

While some games are perfect for touch or tilt controls like Angry Birds or Super Monkey Ball respectively, some genres don’t lend themselves to these mobile control schemes. Shooters and platformers require both twitch precision and a full view of the gaming environment but these are both lost when gaming comes to the mobile touch screen device.

Virtual D-Pads are constantly inaccurate and sometimes a game requires so many buttons that the player has to cover a quarter of the screen to access them all. The answer on how to remedy this is Bladepad.

Bladepad is a Bluetooth connected gamepad that attaches to the custom iPhone case that opens up by sliding down similar to the way the LG Envy line of phones used to slide out. Like a traditional controller, Bladepad will include the now standard button and control stick layout (except for that of Nintendo products). The pad will also be detachable for times when the added bulk of the controller is not necessary.

Bladepad Features:

• Dual Analog Sticks
• Full Console Controller Button Layout (D-pad, ABXY buttons, Start, Select, L1, L2, R1, R2)
• Full Back-Lighting (D-pad, Analogs sticks, ABXY buttons) that can be turned on or off during gameplay
• Premium Protective Case, which features a completely smooth back (no awkward bumps or raises)
• Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy Connection
• Micro USB Charging Port
• Dual Charging Cable; Charge both your iPhone and Bladepad at the same time!

The biggest question remains what games will support the device. Currently, Bladepad hasn’t be able to say but they promise known properties.

At its halfway timeframe, Bladepad is only just over 25% sponsored. Bladepad is offering early adopter pricing with $30 discounts of the expected $99 MSRP as well as a special edition Kickstarter version with a white case and green backlights. If you aren’t getting what you want from mobile gaming on your iPhone, Bladepad may be the answer for you.