With the advent of the smartphone came apps to fill any and every need for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry users. One of the most popular and successful arenas for apps is game development, with new ones being submitted for approval at a rate of over 100 per day. On the iTunes App Store, which provides apps for Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, or Google Play, which provides content for Android devices, you can find hundreds of thousands of games that provide amusement for millions of people daily. Most play these games with little thought about who is behind the magic they enjoy. Sure, you hear about behemoths making millions, but for every Zynga there are a thousand independent developers making their mark on the digital frontier. It so happens that some local folks are beating a path to fame and fortune with their app development here in Southwest Louisiana.
SouthernTouch Technologies is a local software company founded in May 2011 by Justin Robertson and Darwin Pinder, Jr. Justin and Darwin are lifelong residents of Sulphur and DeQuincy, respectively, and graduated McNeese State University with degrees in Computer Science. Justin and Darwin each have over a decade of professional software development experience, and have worked on many software projects for local industry and businesses. Their first retail application is SouthernTouch Spades, available on eight different mobile platforms, as well as the Windows 8 desktop app store. They have also developed Solitaire and Blackjack games, and are aggressively pursuing new app ideas. To date, their games have been downloaded over 30,000 times in 95 countries.
As it happens, Darwin and I attended some classes together while at McNeese and when our paths cross, I’m always eager to see what the future holds. When he first told me about SouthernTouch Spades, it was available for Blackberry Playbook, with other operating systems soon to come. Being an Apple guy, I waited until an iOS version came available and I promptly installed SouthernTouch Spades on my iPhone and my iPad. The game sports a simple and easy-to-use interface with gameplay and computer AI (artificial intelligence) being fun and challenging. My wife is a huge card-playing fan, and once I introduced her to this game, I find her playing it on her iPhone or iPad more often than not.
While I enjoy Spades, my interests lean towards casino-style games, so SouthernTouch Blackjack is where I spend my time. With similar graphics, this app brings Vegas action to your device and is easy to pick and hard to put down. Both games are free, and as such, are ad-supported, which detracts slightly from the GUI (graphical user interface). Aside from this, both games are eye-catching and keep players coming back for more.
If you own a smartphone, then you probably have a game or two installed. Do yourself a favor and download SouthernTouch Spades or SouthernTouch Blackjack and support a local business. Technology innovations seldom flow from Southwest Louisiana, so I’m eager to see what SouthernTouch Technologies will do next.
