New video for my new game

joey2e

Hello all

I have made a preview video for my first game to hopefully be released on the app store on Wednesday,

What do you fine folks think of this video:



Cheers

Joe

StormyStudio

Loving the cinema trailer style music and the opening line....

ONE CHICKEN...

Looks like there's a lot going on for your first game. Good luck on the app store...well done on completing a game...I know how much effort it takes to reach that stage...

Cheers for sharing the vid..

joey2e

Thanks Stormy

SingleSparq

One thing I would change is the levels where the enimies are all coming at the same time. Randomize them to move across from both directions at different speeds for more of a challenge.

scitunes

Here's my honest opinion (oh, and i have much experience with games that don't sell - I'm kind of an expert!)

Game idea 10/10 - I love the whole chicken crossing the road idea and the frogger feel.

Game play 8/10 - Obviously I don't know what the "feel" is from a youtube video but it seems like a simple D pad will work well and the chicks turning red along with the baddies is great (I do agree that they shouldn't all come in a straight line hence the 8 and not a 10).

Graphics 2/10 - Here's the big problem. Personally with 2D games graphics are the least important aspect in terms of what makes a game enjoyable for me (still love the GS game that uses GS squares!). The problem is that the buyer makes a decision about what games to buy almost entirely on graphics. You can SAY it has great gameplay and feel, but of course your the seller so of course you'll say that. So most buyers will only click on games with an icon that cathces their attention in less than 0.5 seconds (seriously) and has a catchy title. then they will usually scroll straight to screenshots. If those are good they may just click buy or they may read some reviews. The problem is that if you talk about the game play in the description and your reviewers talk about the fun gameplay in the reviews, that info will go completely unnoticed because the buyer has already scrolled past your game, or if they clicked on it they will see the graphics and go back to browsing. I don't mean to be negative. In fact, the reason I bothered with this diatribe is that I think you are on to something here. I really think you should think about spending some money on professional art. Preferably custom art or at least stock art. There is a ton of decent and cheap stock art and there are folks like Ian who do great custom art at an affordable price. I think this game could do really well with pro graphics. As it is I doubt it will do much sales wise.

Again, I hope you take this as a compliment. Most of the developers (myself included) who have games with great art paid someone else (I know there are some big exceptions to this rule) so when people criticize my graphics I never take it personally (how could I!) and I am hoping you see it the same way.

Best of luck - I hope you prove me wrong!

jessicaleahy

I really like the background music. It's makes the chicken look like an agent of some sorts.lol..:)

joey2e

SingleSparq yeah think your right buddy

lol, Jessica perhaps I should dress him up in a tux and give him a gun

scitunes, firstly thanks for taking the time to write such helpful feedback, unfortunately I just moved house when I started on the game leaving no money for art work (lol resulting in me doing my best impression of a 5 year olds art work for the game)

I am however gonna take ure advice on board and release an update just after xmas with some shiny new paid for graphics and slightly revised gameplay (with randomised enemies as suggested)

or am I better to pull it before it hits the app store, pay for some graphics then release it, although wont be in a position to do so till mid January (lol ohh the dilema!!!!)

scitunes

The problem is that you only get one shot on the new release list. Updates do not put you back on the top of the list. If you pull it and resubmit you will need a new name. Here is one possible middle ground solution. One of the very first GS success stories was a game called Kill the King. The game graphics were very simple (not bad, just simple). But, the developer made a very wise business decision and contacted a pro artist through deviant art and paid $100 for an icon and 480x320 splash screen. He did the other art on his own. So the icon looked awesome and the very first screen shot looked awesome. So you could try going that route. I would have the other screenshots that show your art in the iphone image so that it makes it even smaller when a potential buyer is looking.

The appstore is a crazy place and you never know. But it is definitely a crowded place so it is easy to fade into the background if your icon and screenshots aren't top of the line.

juzcook

I agree with scitunes. Graphics play a huge role on the appstore. Think of the number of times you've gone through the apps trying to find the good ones and come across games with amazing graphics for $1, then a game with half decent graphics for $1. For me personally, I tend to go for the one with the better graphics because it forces me into thinking that the game is of higher quality because it looks tidier. Sometimes of course the art can be really nice and the gameplay terrible, but at the end of the day they still got my $1!

gyroscope

Hi Joey2E: I also agree with scitunes and juzcook that graphics quality is important for games, but...

My opinion about your graphics is that I find them charming, in a naïve sort of way:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naive_painting

In fact, I'd go as far to say that if you changed the graphics to a more "traditional" style, you'll lose something. I think I'll be buying this game before you change the graphics....

I'd change the rolling boulders to match style though. Sorry to disagree on graphics score, scitunes, but I'd give the graphics eight and a half out of ten!

Whether or not you change the graphics I wish you the best of luck with it. It looks fun to play, a nice time-waster at an airport or train station!

:-)

scitunes

OK, so I watched the video again, this time full screen. Here's my new suggestion/criticism. The overall visuals need more consistency. So I agree that the rock is a problem for that reason. You may even want to play up the doodle feel of it even more. Maybe have a subtle graph paper effect on the background. You could just find a graph paper image on the internet and put it in behind your current background. Then set the alpha of the background 10 .8 so that you can see the graph paper through it just a bit. So I think this graphic style could work if polished up a bit.

The other major change I would make is with the HUD. I think the fact that there is no hud background behind the time left and chicks collected gives it a very amateur feel. I also think that you should use the GS fonts very sparingly and keep them small. So I would only use GS fonts for the time and chicks left and use png images with a custom font for any other text (game over, menus, etc.)

joey2e

Gyroscope thank you for your comments

scitunes yeah you are right I could probably polish it some more, something I will get working on, again cheers for the constructive feedback.

I have now been "waiting for review" for 11 days!!!! when apple hopefully finally review and place it onto the app store I shall be posting some promo codes for you guys to hopefully review.

jessicaleahy

I can simply imagine the chicken in a tux and a gun! LOL That would be cool!