Wikipedia

Temple Run

This article is about the video game. For the series, seeTemple Run (series).

Temple Runis anendless runnervideo game developed and published byImangi Studios.[2]The player controls an explorer who has obtained an ancient relic and runs from demonic monkey-like creatures chasing him. The game was initially released foriOSdevices on August 3, 2011, and later ported toAndroidsystems andWindows Phone 8.

Temple Run
App icon
Developer(s)Imangi Studios[1]
Publisher(s)Imangi Studios[1]
Artist(s)Kiril Tchangov[1]
SeriesTemple Run
EngineUnity(Android)
Platform(s)iOS
Android
Arcade
Windows Phone
ReleaseiOS
  • WW:August 4, 2011
Android
  • WW:March 27, 2012
Windows Phone
  • WW:March 27, 2013
Arcade
  • WW:November 2013
Genre(s)Endless runner
Mode(s)Single-player

The game was a commercial success with positive reviews from critics. The success of the game led to a sequel,Temple Run 2.Collaborations withDisney/Pixarled toTemple Run: BraveandTemple Run: Oz,and a third spin-off in development by Scopely titled,Temple Run: Treasure Huntersas amatch-threevideo game. Temple Run also received activity books and a board game. The success of the game also inspired multiple games that copyTemple Run's gameplay and branding.

Gameplay

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InTemple Run,the player steers the explorer across a maze, avoiding obstacles while also collecting coins, which fills up the coin meter on the top left of the screen. The top right displays the current score and beneath it the total number of coins collected in the run.

InTemple Run,the player controls either Guy Dangerous, an average explorer; Scarlett Fox, anescape artist;Barry Bones, a city police officer; Karma Lee, the fastest runner in theFar East;Montana Smith, the "second greatest explorer ever" (referring toIndiana Jonesbeing the greatest explorer); Francisco Montoya, a Spanishconquistador;or Zack Wonder, afootballstar.[3]The character chosen embarks on an adventure to seek an ancient and valuable goldenidolfrom anAztectemple,not realizing that the temple is inhabited by a family of demonic monkeys who want to devour them. As the game is an endless running game, there is no end to the temple; the player plays until the character collides into a large obstacle, falls into the water, or is overtaken by the monkeys, all resulting in agame over.

While the character is running, the player can tilt their device left or right to move the character to either side of the screen to collect coins and/or avoid obstacles. If the player wishes to turn left or right, thetouchscreencan be swiped in the corresponding direction. If the player wishes to jump over an object, the screen can be swiped upwards and if they wish to slide under an object, the screen can be swiped downwards. There are three types of coins to be found while the character is running: gold, red, and blue. A gold coin will only add one coin to the player's total number of coins. Red coins are worth two coins, while blue coins are worth three. The coins can be used to buy and then upgradepower-upsand/or other characters. Coins can also be bought by the player throughin-app purchaseswith payments of actual money.

Development

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Temple Runwas designed, programmed, and produced by husband-and-wife teamKeith ShepherdandNatalia Luckyanovawith art by Kiril Tchangov.[1]The game took a total of four months to develop.[4]Development began after the financial failure of Imangi Studios' previous game,Max Adventureand used that game to prototypeTemple Run's controls. Imangi Studios wanted to make a quick game with simpler controls in contrast toMax Adventure's dual analog controls.

Keith started the prototype by making a game where the character is always running and can be controlled by rotating the environment from a top-down perspective. This idea was scrapped due to causing extreme dizziness during testing. To fix the problem, constraints were added so that players can only make 90° turns and perspective be fixed behind the character. When it came to the game's aesthetics, multiple ideas were conceptualized but ultimately settled for the character to running on a pathway resembling theGreat Wall of ChinaorAztec temple.[5]

After the temple design was solidified, Imangi Studios questioned the player character's motivation for constantly running without any breaks and came up with the idea of having something chasing him. Imangi Studios originally had the aliens fromMax Adventureas placeholders.[6]Kiril created the design of evil demon monkeys and gave them skull masks due to his desire of adding skulls in games he's involved in.[4]Natalia initially did not like having evil demon monkeys chasing the player character and found them terrifying. Keith and Kiril, however, liked the evil demon monkeys and convinced Natalia to remain in the final product. Natalia later admitted that they were right and that it added immediacy and adrenaline.[5]

The coin and gem mechanic was originally intended to be a variety of colored gems where the player would receive different bonuses depending on what combination of gems was obtained, similar toPoker hand rankingsbut was proven too difficult to achieve and was scrapped.[6]Natalia mentioned coins and Gems were particularly frustrating to add into the game that at one point were removed during development, but were added back due to the team missing them.[5]

TheGuinness World Recordhighest score for Temple Run was 67,702,984 points, achieved by "Thymufasa707" on July 10, 2013.[7]

Release

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The game was released on theApp Storeon August 3, 2011.[8]The game was originally for 99 cents to download, but was switched tofreemiumprior to December 2011.[9] After the release of its sequelTemple Run 2,the game renamed toTemple Run: Classic.[10][11]

On January 12, 2012, Imangi Studios announced on theTemple RunFacebookpage that the game would be released for theAndroidplatform in February.[12]The game was released onGoogle Playon March 27, a month later than expected.[13]AsTemple Runwas originally released with an in-houseengineon iOS, there were some difficulties when it was ported to Android, primarily related to the use of theUnitygame engine.[14]The game frequently crashed,[15][unreliable source?]occasionally caused devices to overheat, and drained battery life extremely quickly.[16][unreliable source?]This led to generally unfavourable reviews.[17][failed verification]

On March 27, 2013, the game was released forWindows Phone 8.[18]

An arcade version was developed by Coastal Amusements and released in early November 2012.[19][20][21]The arcade version was discontinued some time after.[22]

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In November 2013,The Hollywood Reporterreported thatWarner Bros. Picturesand producerDavid Heymanwere in talks with Imangi Studios to make a movie version ofTemple Run.[23][needs update]

In July 2014, aTemple Runfiction series and an activity book was published byEgmont Publishing.The series is calledRun For Your Life,with the first four titles calledJungle Trek,Doom Lagoon,Arctic RescueandPyramid Peril.The series is a "choose-your-own-ending" series aimed at fans of the game and books likeBeast Quest.The activity book,Temple Run Downloadedis shaped like atabletand includesTemple Runinfo, character profiles, mazes and brain teasers.[24][25]

Reception

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Milestones and accolades

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Since its initial release on theApp Store,the popularity of the game has soared,[26]to the point that Imangi Studios became more popular thanZynga.[27]In theiTunes Store,the game was included in the top 50 most-downloaded apps in December 2011,[28]and eventually became the number one free iOS app in the Store. It also reached the position of the top grossing iOS app.[29]The Android version was downloaded one million times within three days of its release.[30]By June 2014,Temple Runand its sequel were downloaded over 1 billion times.[31]

Temple Runreceived an honorable mention for the Best Mobile Game category during the 14th annualIndependent Games Festival,in 2012. The game was voted as the Favorite App in the2013 Kids' Choice Awards[32]and was also nominated for the same categorya year later,which it lost toDespicable Me: Minion Rush.[33]The Arcade version won the 2013 Best of Show Awards bronze medal for the "Videmption Arcade Games" category.[34]

Award nominations forTemple Run
Year Award Category Result Ref
2013 Best of Show Awards Videmption Arcade Games Bronze [34]
Kids' Choice Awards Favorite App Won [32]
2014 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite App Nominated [33]

Critical response

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Temple Runhas been generally well-received amongst critics. The iOS version holds an aggregate score of 80 out of 100 onMetacriticbased on 10 reviews.[35]Phillip Levin of148Appspraised the gameplay but criticizing the backgrounds; "my big qualm withTemple Runlies in the fact that the majority of the game's scenery looks the same. Yeah, the scenery does change here and there, but most of the time, gamers are running through ruined, temple pathways that look consistently the same. It all starts to blur together after a while. "[40]AppSpy'sAndrew Nesvadba was more impressed, writing "Temple Runtightens up and polishes the endless-runner for the3rd dimension,giving players a unique and fun challenge that controls like a dream. "[41]TouchArcade'sNissa Campbell praising its move away from the "one-button jumping control system" of most endless runners, as well as the game'smilieu;"Any endless runner worth the name will give you high-tension situations and that" one more time "compulsion. ButTemple Runis probably the only one that also makes you feel like a daring archaeologist with a penchant for deadly situations. "[38]

Gamezebo'sArt Green called it "an instant iPhone classic," and writing "addictive doesn't even accurately describe the game. Enthralling gameplay as the game speeds up. Objectives add goals that keep you playing."[36]Slide to Play'sAndrew Webster praised the upgrade system, 3D graphics, and controls, concluding "Even if you think you're sick of automatic runners,Temple Runproves there's still much life left in the genre. It matches the sheer thrill and intensity ofCanabalt,but with a completely new theme and perspective. We've all wanted to beIndiana Jonesat some point, and now's your chance. "[42]

IGN'sJustin Davis praised the game's depth and upgrade system, which he felt distinguished it from other endless runners, such asCanabaltandRobot Unicorn Attack.He concluded that "Temple Runis a fast and frenzied iPhone experience. The combination of swiping and tilt controls give each session a frantic feeling [...] Gamers craving a new iOS time waster should giveTemple Runa long look. "[37]

PC Magazine'sLaarni Almendrala Ragaza called the initial Android version "crisp", with "snappy" navigation.[43]They also included it in their "Mobile Apps to keep Kids Happy" list.[44]

Legacy

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Imitators

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In the wake ofTemple Run'ssuccess, other developers created games of a similar style, such asTemple Guns,Temple Jump,[26]Piggy Run,Zombie RunandPyramid Run.[45]Imangi Studios co-founder Keith Shepherd found it flattering that developers were inspired by the game to create interesting games that make them unique.[46]However, Shepard also found it frustrating when developers took exact gameplay, branding, and assets from their original game.[46]This led to many of those games, including one from indie developer Anton Sinelnikov being removed from theApp Store.[47]

Sequels and spin-offs

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Further information:Temple Run(series)

Temple Runwas followed by several sequels and spin-offs, becoming the first game in theTemple Runseries. The second entry in the series isTemple Run: Braveand is a spin-off based on thePixarfilm,Brave.It was released on Android and iOS on June 14, 2012.[48][49]The third entry in the series isTemple Run 2and serves as the direct sequel toTemple Run.Temple Run 2was released on iOS on January 16, 2013.[50]The fourth entry isTemple Run: Ozand is the second spin-off in the series, now based on the film,Oz the Great and Powerful.Temple Run: Ozwas released in early 2013.[51]The fifth entry in the series isTemple Run VRand released for theSamsung Gear VRheadset on December 23, 2014.[52]After a seven-year absence, the series returned with a match-three spin-off,Temple Run: Puzzle Adventure,released exclusively for Apple Arcade on September 17, 2021.[53]The sixth game in the seriesTemple Run: Idle Explorerswas another spin-off, this time an idle game, also exclusive to Apple Arcade, released on June 6, 2023.[54]The eighth and most recent game,Temple Run: Legends,returned to the endless runner genre, but with a simplified approach, taking inspiration from other endless runner games such as Subway Surfers. It released on Apple Arcade on August 1, 2024.[55]

References

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