Doodle Jump by Lima Sky is a very simple, yet incredibly addictive app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Since the most recent version’s release in the United States on September 28, 2009 it has been featured by in the Apple App Store in the “New and Noteworthy” and “What’s Hot” categories. Reviewers and users alike agree that Doodle Jump is fun to play and highly addictive for numerous reasons, but the primary feature that has users hooked on the game is its general simplicity. Many reviewers also consider the characters and animations to be charming and creative. Resembling the sketches nearly everyone has doodled in notebook margins, Doodle Jump’s animated characters bring simple scribbles and doodles to life.
Game play is surprisingly simple, which has had a huge impact on the game’s success. The object is simply to guide the cutely sketched main character – known simply as the Doodler – up as high as possible in a series of platforms. The character continues on his upward journey on his own. Sound simple? Hardly. The trick is to guide the character left or right to jump on the right platforms while avoiding landing on a crumbling platform or missing a platform all together. As the game progresses, there are also enemies such as black holes, aliens, and UFOs that can interrupt the character’s trip to the top. They must be avoided or shot by turning the Doodler character into a weapon simply by tapping on the screen. As you guide the Doodler higher and higher you can see other people’s high scores listed in the margin and you can watch the main character bounce past those scores on its way to setting a new high score.
Since its release, Doodle Jump has stayed high on the Apple App Store’s list of Top Paid Apps. In the United States it was the number one top paid arcade game app in April. It has also achieved number one status arcade game, app, and general game in various countries around the world in May, June, July, August, and September. According to many reviews on iTunes and from the media, it is the ideal micro-game, and it is extremely re-playable. As the Doodle Jump gains in popularity it has been referred to as the best game of its type, and with new updates being steadily released its clear that it will continue on its journey to the top.