Shoot The Moon Shaun Coleman THE MOON WILL NOT STOP SINGING! Launch rockets at him to make him stop. Hmm. That only annoyed him ... Good! KEEP DOIN… TouchArcade Rating: Free Buy Now Watch Media DetailsTHE MOON WILL NOT STOP SINGING! Launch rockets at him to make him stop. Hmm. That only annoyed him ... Good! KEEP DOING IT. Take an animated journey through the weirdest reaches of space... * Balance risk vs reward. Longer shots = more points. But do not miss! * Reach goal milestones for score-boosting bonuses and unlock a bunch of funny costumes! * Features two game modes: Classic Mode and Sixty Second Challenge. * How angry can you make the moon in this addictive single tap game? Can you stop the singing moon? It's you versus the moon. As you always knew it would be someday. ---- "A very approachable concept with a whole lot of personality and a surprising amount of nuance." - Touch Arcade "Anyone will be able to pick up the game and have a blast playing it." - Modojo "I had a lot more fun than I expected to, which is no small feat for a casual free-to-play arcade game." - 148Apps Information Seller:Shaun Coleman Genre:Action, Arcade Release:Aug 28, 2014 Updated:Feb 29, 2024 Version:1.90 Size:94.5 MB TouchArcade Rating: User Rating: (17) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal Andre Well-Known Member Apr 11, 2012 3,643 2 38 #2 Andre, Aug 27, 2014 Trailer: Echoen Well-Known Member May 16, 2012 2,114 3 38 USA #3 Echoen, Aug 27, 2014 Last edited: Aug 27, 2014 Edit: Andre beat me to it Gamingvideo Well-Known Member May 8, 2014 355 0 0 Sweden #4 Gamingvideo, Aug 27, 2014 Game Impressions Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Shaun C Well-Known Member Patreon Bronze Aug 28, 2014 70 0 0 #5 Shaun C, Aug 28, 2014 Last edited: Aug 28, 2014 Hi Touch Arcade forumfolk. My name's Shaun, creator of Shoot The Moon. I tend to visit these forums a lot for all my new release news, but I usually prefer to lurk from the shadows (shy retiring chap that I am.) However given that there's a thread here about my game, I thought I should step out from the gloom and introduce myself. First, however, I want to thank PeteOzzy for making the thread, Andre and Echoen for posting the trailer (even if Echoen was beaten by one tiny minute), and of course the enigmatic Gamingvideo for the gameplay vid. Next, I'd like to explain a little about the concept behind Shoot the Moon, as I've had feedback from players who saw the cartoon style and the singing moon and assumed it was a game for little kids, only to be surprised by the difficulty. I mean, It's not Flappy Bird level hard. Maaaybe more around Timberman level. (I admit it's difficult for me to judge after playing it so much.) But of course it's a very different game to both those releases -- far less twitchy, with more emphasis on judging of timing, movement and angles as you try to shoot the moving moon. In essence, think along the lines of trying to hit the UFO in Space Invaders, then really run with the idea to bring more depth to it. Here's how the scoring mechanics work. I'll try to keep it brief so don't wall-of-text this thread toooo much. ******** OK, so I just wrote a pretty detailed explanation in notepad that would have totally wall-of-texted the thread. And afterwards I realised two things: A) My wife said I was crazy because no one would read so much text. (The realisation part was I realised she's probably right because she usually is.) B) Maybe I should let anyone who might be enjoying discovering how to maximise their score as they play do so without me going " HAY GUYS LET ME TELL HOW THIS WORKS NO SERIOUSLY LISTEN!" ...So I've cut it out for now. But let me just say that the main focus is on risk vs reward. Longshots (as in full range shots, as in 10pt base score) are the key to getting juicy point bonuses, and are ultimately the winningest way to keep the numbers of those pesky Angry Red Guys to a minimum. (Missing the moon also reduces the Angry Red Guy count by one if there are any on screen, but this is definitely not the winningest way as you'll lose your second chance if you've earned one... and if you haven't, well, game over!) So! Basically (and perhaps unsurprisingly?) longshots are key. You just need the skill to get them consistently. Now I just spent so long writing my original version of this post that it's now 1:30am here (Australia), and I need to be up earlyish tomorrow, but I'll try to stick around a little before I fall asleep at my keyboard in case there are any questions. So... any questions? *crickets, muted coughs, tumbleweeds, the forlorn bark of a distant dog* OK, well let me share this little story with you: I was watching the leaderboard as the game went live in NZ last night, anxious to see what kind of scores players would manage. Initially there were only two players, and the top one had a score of over 400 - an unexpectedly high score to get straight off the bat! And the conversation with my wife went like this: Me: "There's two players! And someone's already got over 400!" Her: "Whaaaaaaat?" (Her best is about 80. She is no gamer.) Me: "Oh my god, did I make it too easy? Oh wait... no it's ok. It's Andy." Her: "Andy? Who's Andy?" Me: "On the touch arcade forums, when a new game comes out and people start competing for score, whoever's on top usually says 'I wonder how long before Andy knocks me off.' That's Andy." Her: "Oh." *Looks at Andy's score again.* "I wonder if you made it too hard?" Then not long after than Andy scored 725, and I was like... no, it should be ok. I just need a few more Andys. Edit: Holy crap, I still totally wall of texted the thread. See, this is why I usually lurk in silence. EvilDucktator ð® Spam Police ð Sep 28, 2011 490 0 0 Walt Disney World Cast Member Brisbane, Australia #6 EvilDucktator, Aug 28, 2014 Last edited: Sep 1, 2014 Edit: n/m Shaun C Well-Known Member Patreon Bronze Aug 28, 2014 70 0 0 #7 Shaun C, Aug 28, 2014 hahah. Don't tempt me, seriously. In the planning stages, once I decided that a moon would be the target, I actually considered using that as the reference for the art style throughout the whole game, no joke. It would have been something if I could have pulled it off properly, but I'm not sure if I could have tbh. EvilDucktator ð® Spam Police ð Sep 28, 2011 490 0 0 Walt Disney World Cast Member Brisbane, Australia #8 EvilDucktator, Aug 28, 2014 Last edited: Aug 28, 2014 Would be great to see sometime. Even as a second IAP. ROGER-NL Well-Known Member May 21, 2012 4,030 340 83 Male Gamer. THE NETHERLANDS #9 ROGER-NL, Aug 28, 2014 This game is brilliant in it's own simplicity. I am totally hooked. I always try to beat Andy but not in this lifetime Ha Ha. Shaun C Well-Known Member Patreon Bronze Aug 28, 2014 70 0 0 #10 Shaun C, Aug 28, 2014 Last edited: Aug 28, 2014 @Zendorphin Oh gosh... that is an appealing idea. It's just that I tend to work preeetty slowly. Carefully, I mean. Carefully. I might have to put that on the 'dream feature' list. I know I can't post inline images here due to < 20 posts, but here's a thumbnail of the very first titlescreen mockup I made way back when I started the game. http://i.imgur.com/CywjhUW.png You can sort of see the direction I was considering. Hmm.., maybe I shouldn't show such secret stuff. People might only say, "Yep, definitely should have done that." @Roger. Oh man, thanks so much! I saw your name when I was obsessively watching the leaderboard earlier, and I was like, that's another touch arcader!! Is it weird that I'm spending most of my time checking the leaderboard? edit: PS, Roger, I strongly approve of your GC avatar. Andy C83 Well-Known Member Oct 20, 2010 3,630 25 48 Over the Rainbow #11 Andy C83, Aug 28, 2014 That's a whole lot of Andy's. Thank you for posting Shaun, and for making me smile. I like Shoot the Moon a lot; the game seems pretty unique and that is becoming harder to achieve. Of course it also helps when everything in the game is quality. I agree that it might be better to let players find their own way in terms of learning the scoring; of course me being me I immediately went for the long shot (I hadn't read the App Store description yet, which is also quite funny). Andy C83 Well-Known Member Oct 20, 2010 3,630 25 48 Over the Rainbow #12 Andy C83, Aug 28, 2014 Ooh, shiny! sink_or_swim Well-Known Member Feb 4, 2012 3,504 5 38 Germany #13 sink_or_swim, Aug 28, 2014 Enjoying the game a lot I can't compete with Andy but Rogers Score is beatable Shaun C Well-Known Member Patreon Bronze Aug 28, 2014 70 0 0 #14 Shaun C, Aug 28, 2014 Last edited: Aug 28, 2014 It seems there might be at least one Andy in China. And quite a lot of Andy wannabes. But thank you for being basically the first person to hit the leaderboard. (It refreshes periodically, so I don't actually know who got there first, you or sink_or_swim) But you guys popped up right about when I was saying, omg... no one's going to even try it. So even though there was only the two of you initially, it was very exciting. And yeah, I think I probably already explained too much. I mean, the way things work should become pretty readily apparent during play. It's not like it's super complex... just perhaps not immediately obvious. Especially to those poor players who keep going for 1 and 2pt shots. I saw your gameplay vid on youtube, btw. I was like, *nods*, yep, he knows what's what. edit: Hey, look who's here! Thanks for playing sink_or_swim!! Your score's not too shabby. It's the ones who don't even get to 70 I'm worried about. Much less 140 or 210. (I kind of feel bad when I see someone with a score of 68 or 69. Even worse when they've bombed out on 70. hehehe.) edit 2: I'm dubious about that outlier top score though. I don't see how that could be legitimately possible, but I don't want to be hasty. Can never rule out a bug. Will have to look into it. Andy C83 Well-Known Member Oct 20, 2010 3,630 25 48 Over the Rainbow #15 Andy C83, Aug 28, 2014 And of course a big thanks to PeteOzzy, without which I doubt I'd have discovered the game. Shaun C Well-Known Member Patreon Bronze Aug 28, 2014 70 0 0 #16 Shaun C, Aug 28, 2014 Totally. Discoverabilty is such an obstacle for newbie/indie devs, and I reckon the new release threads must be hugely helpful in that respect. omg, it's 3:50am already... no wonder i'm having trouble forming sentences. ok, i think i'd better hit the hay. Thanks again for playing guys. Oh, and in case you were wondering, that is my beautiful singing voice coming out of the moon, so feel free to read all my posts in that voice. bear-man Active Member Aug 10, 2014 33 0 0 #17 bear-man, Aug 28, 2014 That singing moon totally makes the game. Love it! dixie Active Member Mar 22, 2009 30 0 0 #18 dixie, Aug 29, 2014 This is a cool game my husband loves it Andre Well-Known Member Apr 11, 2012 3,643 2 38 #19 Andre, Aug 29, 2014 Sorry, Echoen. I only saw that the trailer is good, so I posted without seeing anything else. Collin Well-Known Member Jul 29, 2010 719 46 28 Graphic Designer/Illustrator/Art Director Colorado Springs, CO https://www.theislandsofmisfitcreativity.com/ #20 Collin, Aug 29, 2014 Love the art, love the sound and love the humor. Great job, and I look forward to whatever you do next. (You must log in or sign up to post here.) Show Ignored Content Page 1 of 5 1 2 3 4 5 Next > Share This Page Tweet Your name or email address: Do you already have an account? No, create an account now. Yes, my password is: Forgot your password? Stay logged in
Hi Touch Arcade forumfolk. My name's Shaun, creator of Shoot The Moon. I tend to visit these forums a lot for all my new release news, but I usually prefer to lurk from the shadows (shy retiring chap that I am.) However given that there's a thread here about my game, I thought I should step out from the gloom and introduce myself. First, however, I want to thank PeteOzzy for making the thread, Andre and Echoen for posting the trailer (even if Echoen was beaten by one tiny minute), and of course the enigmatic Gamingvideo for the gameplay vid. Next, I'd like to explain a little about the concept behind Shoot the Moon, as I've had feedback from players who saw the cartoon style and the singing moon and assumed it was a game for little kids, only to be surprised by the difficulty. I mean, It's not Flappy Bird level hard. Maaaybe more around Timberman level. (I admit it's difficult for me to judge after playing it so much.) But of course it's a very different game to both those releases -- far less twitchy, with more emphasis on judging of timing, movement and angles as you try to shoot the moving moon. In essence, think along the lines of trying to hit the UFO in Space Invaders, then really run with the idea to bring more depth to it. Here's how the scoring mechanics work. I'll try to keep it brief so don't wall-of-text this thread toooo much. ******** OK, so I just wrote a pretty detailed explanation in notepad that would have totally wall-of-texted the thread. And afterwards I realised two things: A) My wife said I was crazy because no one would read so much text. (The realisation part was I realised she's probably right because she usually is.) B) Maybe I should let anyone who might be enjoying discovering how to maximise their score as they play do so without me going " HAY GUYS LET ME TELL HOW THIS WORKS NO SERIOUSLY LISTEN!" ...So I've cut it out for now. But let me just say that the main focus is on risk vs reward. Longshots (as in full range shots, as in 10pt base score) are the key to getting juicy point bonuses, and are ultimately the winningest way to keep the numbers of those pesky Angry Red Guys to a minimum. (Missing the moon also reduces the Angry Red Guy count by one if there are any on screen, but this is definitely not the winningest way as you'll lose your second chance if you've earned one... and if you haven't, well, game over!) So! Basically (and perhaps unsurprisingly?) longshots are key. You just need the skill to get them consistently. Now I just spent so long writing my original version of this post that it's now 1:30am here (Australia), and I need to be up earlyish tomorrow, but I'll try to stick around a little before I fall asleep at my keyboard in case there are any questions. So... any questions? *crickets, muted coughs, tumbleweeds, the forlorn bark of a distant dog* OK, well let me share this little story with you: I was watching the leaderboard as the game went live in NZ last night, anxious to see what kind of scores players would manage. Initially there were only two players, and the top one had a score of over 400 - an unexpectedly high score to get straight off the bat! And the conversation with my wife went like this: Me: "There's two players! And someone's already got over 400!" Her: "Whaaaaaaat?" (Her best is about 80. She is no gamer.) Me: "Oh my god, did I make it too easy? Oh wait... no it's ok. It's Andy." Her: "Andy? Who's Andy?" Me: "On the touch arcade forums, when a new game comes out and people start competing for score, whoever's on top usually says 'I wonder how long before Andy knocks me off.' That's Andy." Her: "Oh." *Looks at Andy's score again.* "I wonder if you made it too hard?" Then not long after than Andy scored 725, and I was like... no, it should be ok. I just need a few more Andys. Edit: Holy crap, I still totally wall of texted the thread. See, this is why I usually lurk in silence.
hahah. Don't tempt me, seriously. In the planning stages, once I decided that a moon would be the target, I actually considered using that as the reference for the art style throughout the whole game, no joke. It would have been something if I could have pulled it off properly, but I'm not sure if I could have tbh.
This game is brilliant in it's own simplicity. I am totally hooked. I always try to beat Andy but not in this lifetime Ha Ha.
@Zendorphin Oh gosh... that is an appealing idea. It's just that I tend to work preeetty slowly. Carefully, I mean. Carefully. I might have to put that on the 'dream feature' list. I know I can't post inline images here due to < 20 posts, but here's a thumbnail of the very first titlescreen mockup I made way back when I started the game. http://i.imgur.com/CywjhUW.png You can sort of see the direction I was considering. Hmm.., maybe I shouldn't show such secret stuff. People might only say, "Yep, definitely should have done that." @Roger. Oh man, thanks so much! I saw your name when I was obsessively watching the leaderboard earlier, and I was like, that's another touch arcader!! Is it weird that I'm spending most of my time checking the leaderboard? edit: PS, Roger, I strongly approve of your GC avatar.
That's a whole lot of Andy's. Thank you for posting Shaun, and for making me smile. I like Shoot the Moon a lot; the game seems pretty unique and that is becoming harder to achieve. Of course it also helps when everything in the game is quality. I agree that it might be better to let players find their own way in terms of learning the scoring; of course me being me I immediately went for the long shot (I hadn't read the App Store description yet, which is also quite funny).
It seems there might be at least one Andy in China. And quite a lot of Andy wannabes. But thank you for being basically the first person to hit the leaderboard. (It refreshes periodically, so I don't actually know who got there first, you or sink_or_swim) But you guys popped up right about when I was saying, omg... no one's going to even try it. So even though there was only the two of you initially, it was very exciting. And yeah, I think I probably already explained too much. I mean, the way things work should become pretty readily apparent during play. It's not like it's super complex... just perhaps not immediately obvious. Especially to those poor players who keep going for 1 and 2pt shots. I saw your gameplay vid on youtube, btw. I was like, *nods*, yep, he knows what's what. edit: Hey, look who's here! Thanks for playing sink_or_swim!! Your score's not too shabby. It's the ones who don't even get to 70 I'm worried about. Much less 140 or 210. (I kind of feel bad when I see someone with a score of 68 or 69. Even worse when they've bombed out on 70. hehehe.) edit 2: I'm dubious about that outlier top score though. I don't see how that could be legitimately possible, but I don't want to be hasty. Can never rule out a bug. Will have to look into it.
Totally. Discoverabilty is such an obstacle for newbie/indie devs, and I reckon the new release threads must be hugely helpful in that respect. omg, it's 3:50am already... no wonder i'm having trouble forming sentences. ok, i think i'd better hit the hay. Thanks again for playing guys. Oh, and in case you were wondering, that is my beautiful singing voice coming out of the moon, so feel free to read all my posts in that voice.
Love the art, love the sound and love the humor. Great job, and I look forward to whatever you do next.
