Too Many Curious Cats Seem To Be Killing The Curiosity Cube



It seems the world is indeed curious about what’s inside the cube. 22 Cans, the new experimental studio headed by Peter Molyneux (Fable, Black & White, Populous), launched their much-discussed new mobile app Curiosity today.

By 9.30am this morning, yours truly was already the 32,277th person to download the app and “embark on this unique experiment exploring the power of curiosity,” as the splash screen told me. As of right now, Curiosity is already up to the No. 3 spot on iTunes free “entertainment” apps.

Naturally, of course, players immediately began tapping out rude words, because people. Still, over the course of the day the rude words, tiny drawings, casual greetings, and straight up rows of cube removal have gone a long way toward substantially demolishing the outermost, black layer of the cube. The green layer beneath is tantalizingly visible, with one side almost completely bared.

But launch-day server woes aren’t just for big-budget shooters. Connecting to Curiosity can be a royal pain in the rear. Of the dozens of times today I’ve tried to launch the app, maybe five have presented me with the cube. As for the rest, well, I’ve become intimately familiar with the grey-on-white minimalism of a certain error message.

The cube tapping itself is a weirdly soothing experience, and a good way to channel any excess anxiety or nervous energy one might have. (If, say, for example, one is part of a family and circle of friends who are positively obsessed with the political process, on Election Day.) Getting a chance to go poke the cube, on the other hand, is currently an exercise in frustration.

The team at 22 Cans are very clearly aware of the issue, as their Twitter feed has begun to fill with apologies to users.

The answer to “What’s inside the cube?” (other than a video link) will be up in the air for quite some time. The answer to “who cares what’s inside the cube?”, though, seems to be, “just about everyone.” Hopefully the folks over at 22 Cans will be able to get the servers sorted sometime soon.

In the meantime, for those who do get in, consider leaving something other than rude words for fellow players to find.