Regarding the mechanism -- The prototype I had sent you indeed was made several months ago. The new prototypes are much better but I don't have enough of them... My intention is to make the first release with magnets, so this early edition will be great for experimenting and learning.
I...
My prototypes are made with 3d printer, not wood. Or are you referring to something else?
As to solving -- sure. It is a lot of fun! Very nice twisting experience... I even enjoy getting lost every now and then.
Thanks, Filipe. I have a little doubt it will be a success! Even with the setback, good things are happening... Some big entities are starting to pay attention.
I think I did approach Qiyi -- there was no answer... But that's OK. Betting on big companies is always asking for a mirracle -- too many people knock on their door all the time and the standard operating procedure is to reject. If, as an examiner of submissions you make a mistake rejecting...
Just an update after a few months of silence. My first preference, licensing path for making RotoSphere wildly available is still on the table, but I am also taking another path -- I started a company Brainy Toys, LLC with the intention of marketing and possibly manufacturing RotoSphere.
There...
RotoSphere is pattern-based, so it has multiple "solved states" with "half and a half" being the easiest... (you just need to move the colors to separate hemispheres without the need for precise location for each tile).
As you start the puzzle you pick the destination you want to go to --"half...
I don't have to have the patent approved for starting production and marketing (patents take 2+ years to be approved) -- The main delay is in manufacturing and getting into distribution... In my case since I am giving it a chance to try the licensing route before I commit to starting a company...
It is possible... However, solving RotoSphere is quite a different experience than cubes or even megamix -- you always rotate half of the puzzle -- not 1/3rd of a cube or 1/6th of the megamix. Honestly, I do not know how speed-solving would work with RotoSphere and if you even could use...
I've seen this concept when I did patent searches... It is among a few spherical concepts for twisty puzzles. I think is even possible to project a cube onto a sphere if roundness is the goal...
I have a plan to bring it to life -- Either I license it to big guys and let them manufacture and market, or I will manufacture it and market myself.
I will give it half a year to see if the elephants are interested in partnering with an ant. If not (or they attempt to squash the ant) I will...
For the last half a year, I've been developing RotoSphere(TM) -- this time no longer as a conceptual mobile/browser game, but a real-world twisty puzzle. Now, after the patent and trademark filings, RotoSphere officially has the "Patents Pending" status, and I can move to the next stage...
When...
Finally, I am able to move along with the Rotosphere game. I know how to solve it, so I can test my programming.
I've read that it took Erno Rubik about a month to solve the Rubik's cube for the first time. Well, level 4 of Rotosphere took me longer than that. Just like Rubik before me, I...