iPhone game of the day: Space Laser Race

Game: Space Laser Race
Size: 11.8 MB
Price: $0.99 / £0.59
Buy it now on the iTunes store:US/UK

We already had an iPhone game of the day for today, but this one’s worth a bonus mention. Space Laser Race, a rather unassuming new addition to the App Store, was developed by a young coder only 13 years of age. But the story doesn't stop there – he did it to earn money for charity. So. What were you doing when you were in eighth grade?

Garrett Tanzer, the creator of Space Lazer Race, suffers from food allergies (which doesn't sound horrible, granted – but people regularly die from it, so it is) and wants to contribute to the search for a cure. Therefore, a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the game (a sort of aiming lasers with reflectors affair) will be donated toward efforts to help prevent food allergies. Honestly, the only thing that would make this more heartwarming is if he was donating the contents of his piggy bank to get the ball rolling.

So if you're interested, do your good deed for the month and pick up a copy of Space Laser Race. The game itself is a simple thing – you guide a red dot onto a green dot using a radar screen and virtual onscreen controls that mimic those of an arcade “crane” game. But it’s got several levels and OpenFeint support, complete with global leaderboards, and the iPad version adds split-screen multiplayer. And it’s a fully worthy cause.

So far it's unclear whether the young game designer will be putting his share of the proceeds towards his college education, or if he'll blow it all on candy when his mom isn't looking.

Dec 9, 2010