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Geek Culture
4 days ago
- Business
- Geek Culture
Asian Developers Make A Splash At Apple Design Awards 2025
Apple has announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognising innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement across app and game design. This year, Asian developers have taken the spotlight, making up four of the 12 total winners. Amongst the Asian winners, Singapore's very own Infold Games leaves its mark with the mobile game Infinity Nikki , clinching the award in the Visuals and Graphics (Games) category for pushing the boundaries of what mobile graphics can achieve. The four Asian winners of the Apple Design Awards 2025 include: Delight and Fun (Apps) Winner: CapWords (HappyPlan Tech, China) A language-learning app that transforms everyday objects into interactive stickers accompanied by real-world sounds. CapWords (HappyPlan Tech, China) A language-learning app that transforms everyday objects into interactive stickers accompanied by real-world sounds. Interaction (Apps) Winner: Taobao (Zhejiang Taobao Network, China) The shopping app provides 3D models when browsing with the Apple Vision Pro that are comparable to their real-life counterparts, enhancing the online shopping experience with the ability to view and even compare items more accurately. We highlighted this app in our review of the Apple Vision Pro. Taobao (Zhejiang Taobao Network, China) The shopping app provides 3D models when browsing with the Apple Vision Pro that are comparable to their real-life counterparts, enhancing the online shopping experience with the ability to view and even compare items more accurately. We highlighted this app in our review of the Apple Vision Pro. Visuals and Graphics (Apps) Winner: Feather: Draw in 3D (Sketchsoft, South Korea)A modelling tool that can transform an artist's 2D designs into 3D creations, featuring a minimalist interface that's accessible to all skill levels, alongside full touch and Apple Pen interactions. Feather: Draw in 3D (Sketchsoft, South Korea)A modelling tool that can transform an artist's 2D designs into 3D creations, featuring a minimalist interface that's accessible to all skill levels, alongside full touch and Apple Pen interactions. Visuals and Graphics (Games) Winner: Infinity Nikki (Infold Games, Singapore) A cosy open-world mobile game which boasts graphical innovations like detailed fabric texturing, beautifully realised lighting, and effects from advanced shading techniques like Global Illumination. This year's Asian winners mark a sharp increase from the Apple Design Awards 2024, which only saw one winner from Asia out of a total of 14, that being South Korea's NEOWIZ Corporation, which won the award in the Visuals and Graphics (Game) category with Lies of P for Mac. Additionally, the pool of finalists for this year's awards also saw a larger number of Asian developers, with five of the 24 runner-ups hailing from Asia, spanning developers from Singapore, Thailand and India. In comparison, only two of the 28 finalists for the Apple Design Awards 2024 were from Asian developers. With four winners and five finalists from Asian countries, the Apple Design Awards 2025 mark a major win for Asian representation. The full list of Apple Design Award winners and finalists can be found on the official Apple Developer website. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Apple Apple Design Awards Apple Design Awards 2025 Asia
Cosmopolitan
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Love and Deepspace Review 2025: Am I Falling for Xavier?
Late last year, I saw an ad on TikTok for a story-based romance video game called Love and Deepspace, a dating simulation otome game, a Japanese term that translates to 'maiden game.' It's targeted to women and follows a female main character who has lived dozens of lifetimes in a futuristic reality full of monsters called Wanderers. The twist? As you try to figure out the truth of the main character's many lives, you encounter five men she's had romantic connections with in her past. You go on dinner dates that turn into steamy encounters, you flirt over text, and at one point, you even fight battles in an alternate world. Thanks to aggressive marketing on TikTok and some sexy billboards in hot spots like Times Square, Love and Deepspace has become one of the biggest titles around the world. According to Sensor Tower, the game made $65.6 million in April 2025 alone. Love and Deepspace creator Infold Games revealed that 50 million players have joined the game in its first year. This was my first proper otome game and from the moment I downloaded it, I was hooked. It was so…simple. The relationships were established. The main character and her five boyfriends were soulmates. And even when the boyfriends end up in cages because they've been affected by a disease that makes them sexually feral, their history and loving characteristics were always still there. There were no hassles around dating and figuring out where we stand. The hard part of falling in love was gone. This could not be further from my actual dating experience. No matter how many times I reactivate my dating app profiles or attempt to talk to someone at a bar, I just never can seem to take dating seriously. It takes so much time and effort to find someone special. I don't have a long list of must-haves or wants. I'm simply looking for someone to put me first, take a genuine interest in me, and make a decision or two instead of saying, 'It's up to you.' While I'm known as the romance queen with my love for the genre in books (I'm an editor for Cosmo Reads, our romance imprint), TV, and movies, I've never actually felt wanted or desired by anyone before. So I figure if it's never happened, why chase it? And yet, here I was 'talking' to five different guys. The love interests in the game (Xavier, Zayne, Rafayel, Sylus, and Caleb) all have their distinct personalities, jobs, and storylines. The main character is not exactly dating them all at the same time, but rather the user is going through five different storylines. This means that each time I open the game, there's something different. Want to play with a virtual claw machine to win some plushies? One of the guys will use their special powers to help you. Need to study or work out? They'll be right by your side, motivating you along the way. Some memories feature romantic moments like the first time you spent the night together. You can even listen to recorded audio that includes spicy double entendres. One of my favorite moments in the game isn't a date at all. In one of Sylus's storylines, the main character comes to one of his houses (yes, he has multiple homes for his own safety because he runs a black-market organization) after getting injured on a mission. He not only bandages her up, he also helps get rid of the enemies who are following her. Maybe it's because, as an eldest daughter, I'm usually the one taking care of everything and holding it all together. But seeing her getting protected, feeling safe, and fully trusting someone else? To me, there's nothing hotter. While I know these guys aren't real and that they're not actually interacting with me, the game does fill a void. Dating in New York City often consists of little more than one-night stands and basic conversations. It can feel impossible to get to know a person. The boys of Love and Deepspace, on the other hand, actually listen to the main character's problems and yearn for her. Chatting with them feels similar to the moment when my favorite 'ship gets together in a TV show or the enemies-to-lovers are forced to share a bed in the book I'm reading. Only this time, it feels tailor-made for me. That's because the main character, who I named Tammy (my nickname), looks like me. While fiction created a safe haven for me to experience romantic feelings through the eyes of different characters, as a 5-feet tall, size 12 Latina, there is almost no representation of women like me in these stories. In Love and Deepspace, however, I am the sexy, desired love interest. I am also a feisty fighter, unafraid to stand on my own and never deterred by monsters or even a bad day at work. Besides a confusing backstory about reincarnation, the character is a blank slate, which means almost anyone can place themselves in her shoes. You know that you're not actually her, but when a sexy doctor is confessing his love, well, you start to get some feelings. That's not to say that I'm actually falling in love with these guys nor do I feel like they could ever replace an actual dating life, but the game give me something my romantic side has always longed for. It's also a lot easier to stay in bed, log onto my account, and replay one of their scenes than find an actual person on a dating app to go on a very likely disappointing date with. I am definitely not the only person who feels this way. High spenders in the game get special VIP perks including a gift box with 'handwritten notes' from the love interests and many women have said they'd rather spend their money on the guys in the game than go on actual dates. In China, where the game originates, players have the option to talk to the guys via their microphone and get AI-generated responses. It's another example of AI as an open, nonjudgmental ear for our problems. Some players say the game has helped them realize what they were missing in their own real-life relationships. According to one redditor, the game helped them learn what it 'means to be loved and treasured.' Some players are lobbying for the game to be rated 17+ so they can get even more explicit (it's currently rated 12+ in the Apple Game Store). While, for me, the game won't be an actual replacement for dating, it did help me realize that when it comes to relationships I want more of that yearning. I want a supportive partner who will be with me in both the good and the bad. I want someone who truly loves me for me. Who is excited for my wins and can comfort me during my losses. It even showed me that while I love dark, broody characters in fiction, I might actually be interested in shy, sunny personalities IRL. It also showed me that I deserve someone who desires me and it gave me hope that someone might be out there. It took the main character several lifetimes to be able to find the loves of her life again, so I can definitely be patient. In the meantime, I'll be playing with my five fictional boyfriends. So if you happen to be a hot cardiac surgeon named Zayne, well, I've been waiting for you.
