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PopCap releases Allied Star Police

Make-A-Wish project on App Store now.

Allied Star Police, an RTS game for iOS devices devised by 10-year-old leukemia patient Owain Weinert, is now available for free on the App Store, PopCap Games has announced.

As reported back in April, young Owain was teamed up with the casual gaming powerhouse by the Make A Wish Foundation - a non-profit organisation that helps grant the wishes of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

His wish was to make a video game and the Plants vs. Zombies studio, brilliantly, duly obliged to help him out.

As detailed on PopCap's Owain's Wish site, the 10-year-old first pitched the game during the developer's regular PopCamp brainstorming week.

"On the first day of PopCamp the team - a producer, several developers, programmers and a musician - invited Owain to our Seattle office to learn more about his idea for a video game.

"They were blown away when he came with a PowerPoint presentation and basically walked them through the game.

"He had mapped out pretty much everything - storyline, unit types, firepower, shields, respawn times. We were blown away. Clearly, Owain was not your average fourth grader. He knew everything about this game."

In regular consultation with Owain, PopCap chose to mould the concept into a real time strategy title, creating the basic game in the week that had initially been set aside. However, things soon escalated.

"We had such a great time working with Owain that we couldn't stop there. So our team agreed to keep going, fine-tuning the game with each new build, adding music and lots of little touches. And now Owain's game is ready for the world!"

The finished title is being released under PopCap's experimental 4th & Battery label.