They Came From Another World! - Web Publish

chrstahl89

My first game is up on the web now
http://gamesalad.com/game/play/53979
Let me know what you think, it's waiting approval from Apple so hopefully i'll be able to announce the iPhone version soon!

quantumsheep

Any screenshots?

Not on a mac, but I love the title and I'm curious to see what it looks like!

Cheers,

QS

chrstahl89

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab133/stahlkid/ScreenShot1.png

and

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab133/stahlkid/ScreenShot2.png

Classic space shooting action, still haven't decided if I made it to hard or not though.

chrstahl89

Any suggestions I think the enemy shooting needs tweaked some, but it could just be me.

quantumsheep

Hey fella,

I thought I'd give you some friendly tips!

Tip no.1:

If you're going to show people your game, don't bother with title screen shots - people want to see what the game looks like when they'll be playing it. Unless it's spectacular, of course

Tip no.2:
This isn't aimed solely at you, as I've seen MANY people do it. But why can I move my ship out of view? It'd take less than a minute to constrain it to the visible screen, or put barriers at either end to stop the ship disappearing. Didn't you notice it? I did...

Tip no.3:
When you beat the aliens, have a 'Stage Complete' message pop up before you restart the scene. When you start a level, have a 'Stage 1' message appear. Even if it's obvious what's happening, it helps give the user a sense of progression.

Tip no.4:
You need a credits scene. Even if it's just to say 'I made this'. More importantly, you're using two pieces of music by Kevin Macleod. He gives his music out for free. The least you can do is give him credit for it!

Edit: Ok, I just checked and there's some credits when you get killed (game over). However, I'd still recommend having a separate credits screen.

Tip no.5:
When you get to about the 5th restart (when the aliens are very close to the ground) your ship stops firing. You cannot defeat the alien scum as you've run out of ammo!

Tip no.6:
Consider adding variety to the aliens. That way, after four restarts, a fresh bunch of aliens could arrive and you could move their start position to the top of the screen again. Make them move a little faster, perhaps, or shoot more often.

Tip no.7:
Consider making your controls a little smaller. Alternatively, change the controls so they take up less real estate on the screen. For example, in one of my first iPhone games, Bugzone ( http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bugzone/id335133675?mt=8 ) most of the action happened in the centre of the screen (much like yours game). I tried a few control methods, and came up with large left and right buttons on the edge of the screen, and 'change shot' was activated by tapping anywhere in the centre of the screen.

Tip no.8:
Play your game TO DEATH. I play my current games on my journey into work, and I always find something that could be improved, or is just a bug. Even then, when I get someone else to look at it (a fresh pair of eyes) there's always something they'll notice that I completely missed!

As a first game, and considering you only joined a couple of days ago according to your profile, you've done well I think, so congrats. And these are just suggestions - I hope they help, but if not, no worries!

Cheers,

QS

chrstahl89

Thanks for the tips! Some of this I have already started changing because like you said...i've been playing my game to death lol. I'll let you know when a newer version is up! Thanks for the input I really appreciate it. Like tip 2 I restrained it on the iPhone but forgot about it for the web version . The biggest issue I seem to be having is that if I add any more actors it seems to get a little laggy on the iphone, I'm not sure if it's because I have way to many checks going to make sure only the bottom row fires or not.

quantumsheep

No worries, happy to help!

Space Invaders is one of those concepts that seems very simple at first glance, but can be a huge hassle to actually re-create!

How they did it back in the 70s I'll never know!

QS

chrstahl89

Alright like a good CS major I worked on programming instead of studying for Calc II . Huge update on the web version. I think I might add a total of 20 stages after finals and then have it loop back to stage 1 for hard core players, but this should be fun until Tue! Let me know what you think...always open to suggestions.

firemaplegames

Hey,

I played your game, here are some first impressions:

First of all, it plays well, and there aren't any bugs as far as I could tell.
So it has a nice solid base to work off of, which is nice!

Some thoughts:

Right now, every level is exactly the same, some variety in the layouts of the aliens would be nice.

The big ship definitely needs to be more exciting when you blow it up! Right now there's not even a sound effect.

The bullets are small and tough to see on the web version, I can only imagine that they are near impossible to see on an iPhone.

There's also an imaginary border two inches in on either side. It seems unnecessary to cleave off that much screen real estate for no reason.

The game starts out with the classic 40's newspaper about martian invasion, but after that, the game just takes place in space.
It would be nice to have some cut scenes in between the levels, maybe pages from a 40's style comic book?

I think it would be nice if the battle took place in the night skies over earth, to make it seem like you are defending the planet.

I think that the game should get harder as you progress.
Right now it's just the one level, over and over.
Plus I get another bonus ship every level, so it pretty much never ends.

I would love to see more alien types, more alien patterns and movement, more weapons, etc.

More backgrounds, different types of sound effects, explosion graphics, particles, etc.

Moar!

I just think it needs some sizzle!

Plus you're directly competing against the new Space Invaders Infinity Gene, which is a pretty cool game.

Anyway, I wish you good luck in the App Store!
Joe

chrstahl89

Shizzle adding process has begun! Thanks for the input.

chrstahl89

Alright
http://gamesalad.com/game/play/53979

I have revamped the game completely. Please try it out again, let me know any suggestion before I attempt to upload it to the app store.

I did have to take off the title song to fit it on the web, and I am trying to find some better sound effects...but other than that I'm really trying to figure out if you would buy it...or what I should change to get you to buy it.

Thanks!

quantumsheep

Now THAT is a big improvement.

I won't go into too many details here as I'm pretty tired. First impressions are that the first boss (I think) looked a bit jerky animation wise (the rest looked fine I thought).

Now that you have diversity in enemies, try adding things to player ship. Faster rate of fire, perhaps. Shields maybe.

Consider having certain enemies randomly drop a powerup when killed that give you a temporary boost as mentioned above.

It's coming along nicely though, so well done for buckling down to it and making the improvements!

QS

chrstahl89

Thanks QS, I am sprinkling power ups randomly throughout the game and that should be done tomorrow

quantumsheep

Hey fella,

I think it's awesome that you're trying to make your game better. At the end of the day though, it's your game, so you can release it whenever I guess

I don't know how big of a market there is for a standard shooter such as the one you're making. Hopefully a reasonably large one if you do it well, but please don't be disappointed if the game doesn't sell!

Your primary goals should be to have fun, be creative, and LEARN. I think you're doing all three right now!

I like the planet background, but it seems to be just that - a background. Why not have the stars scrolling downwards. Then have a second set scrolling downward at a slower speed to give a 'depth' effect.

Good luck - if I get time I'll see what else I can recommend, though the list of improvements (as with ANY game really) could be endless. Make something you like, that's the key

Cheers,

QS

chrstahl89

Yeah, I agree it probably won't make me a bunch of money...although my girl friend enjoys testing it so I have one happy customer! lol Every time somebody suggest something I learn probably 20 new things about Game Salad so I think driving this project further and further will help me in the long run.

Thanks for you're time!

chrstahl89

Player power ups sprinkled throughout the game, more active background, better controls for the iphone, optimized for higher frame rate and lower project size...I think it's about ready for its stab at the app store! If anyone else comes up with any other suggestions I am all ears, I think its pretty fun and I hope you do to. So hopefully in a week or so I will be announcing an iPhone version, following up with a High Score contest!!

Thanks