Download from AppStore
Free
iPhone / iPad
Genres:
  • Music
  • Book
App profile

Subscribe to our newsletter:

Follow us on Flipboard
Flipboard

TooFar Media app review: a magnificent fusion of art, fiction, and music-2020

Reviews

Introduction

In today’s rapidly changing world, the limits of our creative capacity are only set by our own lack of imagination, but for the lucky ones with creative minds there are virtually no limits. We can use our tablets, smartphones, and computers to expand the definition of art and creative people are doing exactly that every single day especially in the form of interactive stories.

The best interactive books for iPhone-2021

The results are nothing short of astounding and chances are if you can think of a new and innovative way to use apps to enrich our lives somebody else has already thought of it – that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make the effort though as there’s always room for some improvements or if you prefer another chapter in our creative journey through life.

If you’re looking for ideas to spark your own imagination, or even if you just like a great story you should check out TooFar Media: An Immersive Story Experiences.

This is an inertactive story app that explores one man’s vision of storytelling, Rich Shapero, through the use of art, fiction and music. It’s a stunning visual adventure that you simply have to experience for yourself to truly appreciate. The interactive book app is free, although you do have to download content from within the app as most of the stories are not preloaded, and it’s compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

TooFar Media

Free

Choose which story you want to experience. 

Fiction

The essence of the app is of course Shapero’s storytelling as everything else is a product of the creative and imaginative adult fictional worlds that he has created. The stories explore unseen worlds of imagination that are hidden to us in our everyday lives and are clearly the unique product of his experiences in life.

Best iphone and ipad apps

He’s certainly not the only author to ever tell an imaginative tale, but it’s his fusion of three different artistic genres that really separates him from the crowd and establishes him as a pioneer.

With this app, you don’t just flip a page and continue on to the next one – you transition to the next page with a visual and audio experience that takes advantage of the rich multimedia world available today. Each page is like tearing open an unseen window into his world as you actually swipe from the center to the edges with both thumbs to flip pages and experience the artistic impressions that accompany each song – it’s very unique.

When you’re finished with your immersive exploration of any one page then it’s time to swipe left to right to get to the next point in your journey.

If I have one criticism of this app it’s that there aren’t any real clear instructions of how to navigate your way around. There’s actually a navigation menu that you can use to jump between chapters, but I found this by accidentally tapping near the top of the page – I was never directed to do so by any guidance in the app.

One of the 3 stories to read.

Art

Shapero’s app uses stunning and haunting visual art to help make his fictional world come to life right in front of your eyes. If you remember reading picture books as a child, don’t mistake this for anything like that – this is definitely an adult story told in a style that will appeal to the adult mind.

Not only are there powerful visual images there are also excellent visual transitions from one page to the next that help to enrich the experience for the user further. It’s as if someone transformed a young adult from the 1960’s and asked them to comment on the darker side of life.

TooFar Media

Free

Music

The final artistic tool in Shapero’s arsenal is music and there are 33 original tracks included within the app that help to tie everything together in a synergistic style that quite simply works. It doesn’t feel like something that’s been slapped together, each part fuses together nicely to create the overall story experience – music, fiction, and art. In fact, at times, the lyrics actually tell the tale being portrayed in the story.

It probably won’t surprise you to discover that Shapero helped to write the music himself in collaboration with Orenda Fink. This app isn’t just an investment in time it’s a labor of love and a true immersive experience.

A view from within one of the stories. 

The Next Page

The standard version of the app includes one book preloaded, but if you want to access the rest you will have to download them separately. So, you’ll want to make sure you have reliable access to the internet before you attempt the download.

Once you’ve downloaded multiple books in the collection, you can scroll through to find the one you want to experience by swiping right to left or left to right on the screen – this library screen is almost as visually stunning as the actual immersive book experiences are themselves.

Interactive story app has a little description of one of the most popular interactive stories. Arms from the Sea: A young sculptor from the State of Salt swallows a poison pill that transports him to a watery heaven, whose monstrous, seductive creator reveals to him what it might mean to redeem a desolate world.

Another story to choose from. 

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Immersive story experience
  • Combines Fiction, music, and art for a unique experience
  • Imaginative and intuitive page transitions
  • Includes a navigation window to jump between chapters
  • The menu for scrolling from book to book is simple and intuitive

Cons

  • Navigation menu is somewhat hidden

Lose Yourself in The Story

There aren’t too many apps that actually make your life a little richer for having experienced them, but TooFar Media: An Immersive Story Experiences is definitely an exception to the rule. This app lives up to its name as it allows you to truly immerse yourself in Rich Shapero’s own little world.

The music is haunting, the artwork is stunning and the story itself will allow you to explore the boundaries of your own imagination. If you’re looking for an app that’s different in a good way then you’ll definitely want to open this one up and take a look.

TooFar Media

Free
Share this article:

Allan Calder

Allan is a freelance writer who loves scouring the App Store for exciting, intriguing and unique apps.