One of the most detailed apps that I have ever seen. It's so intricately designed and beautifully portrayed that you will become swept away in this thrilling story!! Imagery is spectacular and vivid. Incredible storylines and plot unveiling at the most accurate moments to keep you engaged and enchanted by every tiny moment you spend with "Pry".
This app is incredibly detailed. I love that the reader transposes their position and is made an active member of the story and how it progresses in a way that is incredible unique. Just so very cool.
This app is a pure accomplishment in design by balancing publishing with digital new media and film / it's an incredible story and a remarkable experience!
Remarkable piece. I’ve been a fan of Tender Claws since VVR on Google Daydream and loved every virtual reality experience they’ve made since then; I find their work playful and delightfully weird, though never so abstract that it lacks a human core. It was fascinating to dive into PRY and see certain themes and mechanics found in their later work peeking out in the context of my iPhone. For example, what in VVR becomes worlds within worlds through removing a chain of VR headsets here becomes pinching in and out through time, space, text, and memories. PRY tackles more serious subject matter than their later work, but just as successful within its own established rubric: is this a story that could only be properly told and understood in this format? Absolutely yes-- I’m particularly struck by the empathy generated through various media forms as different states of first-personness. If I had to give PRY critique, it would be that I love the sense of the relentless passage of time even when there are multiple simultaneous narratives, and it feels like cheating when videos loop at the end. I’d prefer them to always blur out, as some moments do. Also just an element of confusion: I can’t figure out why the Appendix lists the total number of red diamonds I’ve collected-- I thought maybe new content gets added to the appendix as I collect more red diamonds, but that doesn’t seem to be the case unless I’m misunderstanding how to access the full appendix (I’m scrolling and pinching). To conclude, no one explores interactive narratives quite like Tender Claws, and PRY is a wonderful exploration of internalness through the various affordances of a touchscreen interface. Highly recommend.
Absolutely stunning. If you are on the fence about buying this app, choose take the dive, you will thank yourself later. Never have I been more mesmerized by an app. I only wish I paid for it, and I will keep an eye out for ways of supporting this team. I will spend hours delving into the secrets it has. Anything less than 5 stars indicates the rater did not want to understand the app, but it is the best gem I have ever found on the store. Any description, no matter how eloquent and positive, does this story injustice. My attempt would be to call it enigmatic, engaging, enchanting and absolutely immersive. It is ecstatic poetry come to life. Please, continue your profound work. I want to see this series succeed. And what a marvelous start indeed. Wow. Thank you for this gift.
This is the future of e-books and interactive media. The video clips are beautifully done, the story is moving and well written, and the interactive controls are smooth and intuitive. You will get as much from this story as you are willing to give to it, which is likely the reason behind some of the low reviews. If you are looking for a quick read with everything spelled out for you, this is not for you. It makes you think, work together pieces of the story for yourself, and is often cryptic and disjointed. You really feel as if you are looking inside someone else's mind as it is unraveling. Bravo. I can't wait for the next chapters to come out!
The best artistic/interactive experience I've had on iPad over 5 years. Makes great use of writing, visuals, and the phone/tablet interface to tell a story brilliantly. The story gets bigger and smaller like an accordion when you pinch or expand, all the while remaining evocative and coherent. Thus you end up reading different versions of a story (the themes and mystery is common to all ), and see accompanying, associative visuals (reminiscent of Brakhage movies). The story is of military trauma, unrequited love, and unexpected violence, and feels utterly authentic and relatable. Kudos devs, you took interactive, storytelling to new, unprecedented heights.
Pry is neither an ebook nor a game, though it shares features with both. It is an entirely new genre that takes full advantage of the possibilities of the touchscreen interface to tell a story. Melding beautiful visuals with an intriguing mystery, it draws the reader into its narrative through a series of interactive scenes that use the reader's eager fingers to pry out the story and its subtext. It's immersive, thought-provoking, visually and sonically rich, and produced completely independently. This feels like the future of storytelling -- a must-read for anyone interested in the changing nature of the book.
PRY is truly a game-changer. I’m blown away by the beautiful use of moving images, text, and really innovative interactivity. At first I was worried that the “interactive story” thing would feel gimmicky. It isn’t! Over and over again I find the pinching-and-pulling elements to be really natural and well-integrated into the story about memory, PTSD, dreaming, etc. The story itself is interesting and the fact that I use the interactive gestures to reveal the story feels incredibly fresh and really seems like a paradigm shift for this kind of e-literature.
A mixture of text, film, and game, PRY is an incredible experience. Engaging with this story and these characters is like exploring the depths of your own subconscious. The creators have done an incredible job to encourage and reward such exploration, making each chapter unique in style while keeping the overall vision consistent. I'm eager for more chapters to be released! In my opinion, trans-media work like this is the future of storytelling.
It's hard to describe. It's not like anything I have ever experienced. I felt scared, happy, afraid, and shocked. You have to experience it to understand. I can't really explain it. I don't like reading books and I couldn't put this down. If all books were like this I would read every day. Trust me on this you need this app it's outstanding, you will not be disappointed.
Sick of stupid apps that crash, crowd, complicate, and clutter your life? This App is different. It launches instantly. No login bull#%^* You will be stunned by its intelligent aesthetic and moved by its elegant engineering... you effortlessly swipe and tap into the fascinations, dreams, and memory snapshots of ones life story in progress - by way of investigating and dissecting their psyche. You slip and slide - in and out of control and sequence if you so choose - on a synaptic subconscious carrousel crafted to evolve and divulge in response to your level of engagement... Escape the mundane. Throw your psyche a bone. Super-dynamic subtly interactive Slippery meta movies - you touch to search and rescue each moment from the boundaries of time and space. Esoteric for sure. Super way to tell a story. Here's to the future!
PRY is a poignant, thought-provoking narrative that weaves the mechanics of interactive storytelling and fine cinematography into a work of art. It demands the reader to do more than read about main character's thoughts and memories - it makes you live it as if they were your own. I can't wait to read future chapters.
Man, this sounded like the coolest thing ever. There is something about the written parts that make it very hard for me to follow. Maybe it's the writing style, maybe it's all the interactiveness distracting me, or maybe it's just too slow for me. Also, sometimes it doesn't pick up right where it left off. It brings you back to the beginning of the section. If someone else were to try this concept...I would be willing to try it again.
PRY is pushing interactive storytelling forward leaps and bounds with this app. It's evocative in both form and content. It's worth exploring how the different modes of presentation change the experience of the narrative. Even if it doesn't always make obvious sense, that's more akin to how life is or someone else's mind might be.
I like the idea, and the mechanics of this "book". But like others I just got bored by the random unlinked thoughts that went nowhere. I do like to think a bit, and tried to nut out the story, but the writers are trying too hard to be flashy at expense of what looks to be a solid story. This kind of format would really suit a book of poems, or short stories. As a novel it's just a fukd mess of ideas and strobe lights.
At first I tried to follow the story line. Then I was intrigued by the hidden details (more than the actual story); memories and POV. You can read multiple times and discover new details every time. Looking forward to part 2.
Creative, creative app. A mix of book, movie, game, interactive story. And in most instances it is nicely executed. However the lack of completion to the story line at this point is a deal breaker. Wait and purchase this app after they complete the narrative and all portions are released. Otherwise the feeling you are left with at the end is unsatisfying at best, and possibly even disappointing. Stay tuned for the update.
What a mind trip! Simply incredible! I can't wait for part 2! This is the way stories should be told! A stunning, enthralling, addicting edge of your seat story that keeps you coming back for more and wanting to know what happens next!
Very powerful, stunning story. Absolutely riveting and a totally new experience with interactive "characters". I was totally immersed and deeply touched by the story. Very powerful...thought provoking, emotional, scary, thrilling, heart breaking storyline. It was achingly real and forced you to acknowledge your own life and priorities. Impressive
I adored this story/app/experience and have gone through it several times to try to get all the chapters completed. I'm impatiently waiting for the 'coming soon' sections!
I can’t recommend this app highly enough. It’s beautiful, haunting, poignant and like nothing I’ve every seen. Incredibly well done and well worth the download!
I'd PRY or BUY the nexr five things these folks do.
This is the first thing I've seen that has stretched the idea so pleasantly and tells a story so riveting. Start today, and linger a good while to savor, pause, ruminate, and return.
This is a great experience, but it is incomplete. Chapters 1, 2, & 6 are the only ones available. If it was actually complete I would probably give it 5 stars but if you're expecting a full experience, wait until all chapters have been released.
Definite possibilities. Too much info and not enough storyline. Didn't hold my attention. Like being shown pictures of Yoda and Obi-Wan, then being told that someday we'll make a movie with these characters in it. Call me when you make the movie.
The amount of effort and work that went into this app is impressive. Unfortunately it falls short. The story is incomplete, chapters 1,2 & 6? What happened to 3-5? The story is extremely confusing to follow. The "interactiveness" of chapter 6 convoluted the story so much I just gave up on PRY altogether.
One of the neatest apps I've ever had the pleasure of interacting with, it's smart, really well done, it is art and story and thought provoking, wild, bravo! More please!
The concept of this app is interesting, and I think this type of media has potential, but it was confusing and was at the same time very finite and seemingly endless. I'd like to see something more coherent and cohesive done in a similar manner.
This app is really something. From the delivery of the story to the short clips to the story are really thought out. Expect great things in future chapters.
The visuals are great. I like how they integrate real video with text and give user a few unique control options that move things along. This is very innovative and welcome. However, the story/game/experience is a mess. I couldn't follow it and realized I didn't want to.
Immersive, eerie and intriguing. Keeps popping into my head at odd moments. Non-linear storytelling that manages to remain fairly intuitive so the mechanics are non-intrusive.
The chapters seem to be random talking and don't connect from one to the next. Plus it's not even a full book. Says new chapters will unlock soon so have to wait to see if the book ever makes sense.
Pry is a book to watch and film to touch: a story revealed by opening a character’s eyes, pulling apart his memories and grasping his infinitely scrolling thoughts. Six years ago, James–a demolition expert–returned from the First Gulf War. Explore James’ mind as his vision fails and his past collides with his present. prynovella.com ====== "Everyone interested in the contemporary state or future of literature as a hybrid tactile mediated experience should experience Pry." — Los Angeles Review of Books "The narrative is fragmented, the visuals atmospheric: Charlie Kaufman by way of an acid trip." — LA Weekly ====== **Future of Storytelling Prize** **2015 Independent Games Festival Finalist for Excellence in Narrative** **IndieCade 2015 Digital Selection** **New York Film Festival: Convergence Official Selection** **Slamdance Digital, Interactive and Gaming Official Selection** **19th Japan Media Arts Festival Jury Selection** **Winner of the Robert Coover Award** **Winner New Media Writing Prize** **FWA Mobile Award** ====== PRY runs on iPad 2 and newer, iPhone 4s and newer, and iPod Touch 5th Gen. Small text optimized for iPhone 5 and above. **Epilepsy Warning: project contains moments of flashing text and strobing imagery. Reduced flashing mode available in PRY settings.**
