Atomix (for iPad)

As a gamer, I'm in constant search for publications that offer fresh takes on industry related-happenings. But in this age of quickie news pieces and link-bait articles, insightful gaming analysis has become rare. Atomix, the first video game publication designed exclusively for the iPad, is just what I've been looking for. The free iPad app—which is its own entity and not a digitized version of a pre-existing publication—aims to be a mag for the tablet age with its deft combination of well-written, well-researched articles, informative video, and subtle use of sound. Atomix' industry-wide coverage is excellent, easily worth the 99 cent per issue charge, but its janky interface could use some work.

The Digital Magazine
I had to download the entire first issue to my iPad before I could dive into Atomix's content. The upside is that the magazine lives on the iPad, so I could read even when the tablet wasn't connected to the internet. On the flip side, that means I had to endure a very lengthy 45 minute download. I considered that a (somewhat) fair trade-off as I paged through Atomix—and watched its video content—while riding a city bus. When I downloaded the app a second time on the fastest network in the office, it took just 10 minutes.


The "cover" of Issue 1, which highlights Rockstar Games' upcoming L.A. Noir, offers a glimpse of what's inside. A dramatic music snippet plays as the neon-light L.A. Noir logo crackles as though it's shorting out—a fitting intro for a digital magazine showcasing the hard-boiled crime story. Swiping from right to left doesn't open the issue; instead it brings you to a placeholder for the second issue, which should be "available soon." Tapping the Read icon opens the magazine.

Compelling Content
Atomix' staff claims that it aims to avoid generic news stories and instead focus on content that's deeper and more evergreen. The articles in Issue 1 reflect this approach, with stories about the rise of video game novels (and their narrative importance), how to play retro games on a HDTV, and in-depth feature about L.A. Noire. The writing is surprisingly good, too; the authors bring an air of professionalism and insight that you don't see on many gaming sites. That alone makes it worth the 99 cents (as if such a price tag were a dealbreaker).


Text is interspersed with images and traditional print-style pull-quotes, which gives Atomix a decidedly magazine-like feel. Video is also a vital component of the experience. For example, Right Controls For The Job—a story about iOS gaming—included three video segments that comprised the meat of the article.

High-Tech Magazine Features
Vertical swipes let you scroll up or down within an article, which is what you'd expect from reading content on an iPad. But Atomix offers some unexpected navigational elements. The Dead Rising 2 story, for example, has an information box that is revealed when you pull its edge out from the left side of the screen. Very cool. Another article, More Than Games: Interactive Narrative, features a "Download Here" button that launches the App Store so that you can purchase Passage, one of the games mentioned in the article.
Bringing a finger to triangle located in the upper-left screen corner opens the page index that lets you jump to another story with a tap. I found this a superior method of navigation, as I found swiping sometimes less than intuitive; many swipes just didn't register on the first go. Another knock—you can't resize the text using multitouch gestures so you're stuck with the default print size.

Atomix Dogged
My Atomix gripes stem not from the content, but from how it's presented. Stories such as "Border Hell" (which analyzes the gameplay mechanics and atmosphere of PlayDeadGames' haunting Limbo) should have been split across multiple pages, but instead exist in a single page that requires you to scroll down a lot. There's even a dotted horizontal line that offers an artificial page split. I really wish that Atomix would've used a multi-page format

In addition, some stories have multimedia intros that take a second or two for the music or animation to kick in, which makes for a jarring experience. For example, when I swiped to the Noir Adventures feature, I saw the image of a dark cityscape image. A second later the screen turned black, which made me think I encountered a glitch. Then a second after that, the page finished loading, adding text, background images, and some noir-like art that slid in from the right side of the screen. I like that Atomix has chosen to add multimedia pop to its piece, but when I'm reading about games, I don't need to feel like I'm in a game—I just want the information and evaluations. Also, you cannot share stories by e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter, which, I suppose, is to be expected when a company is attempting to make money from issue sales.

Should You Download Atomix?
Gamers with a thirst for hobby-related content that extends beyond repetitive news headlines and link-bait will find a lot to like in Atomix. Yes, the multitouch implementation has issues, and it's a length downloaded, but those who want very solid game journalism will find a lot to like here. 


Jeffrey L. Wilson
Junior Analyst, Software