I think it's easy as an old timer myself to be patient about bug fixes and stuff on retro inspired pure indi games. The community here between gamers and devs is a huge part of what keeps me involved in iOS as a serious gaming platform. Sometimes though it can get scary. Not every dev is out to make actual games first so when one comes along that is more about game design and making something fun rather than monetization and the games appeal to me then I'm more than happy to throw some support. It's hard to support every indi. Especially when there's so much bait and switch in this maket which makes it hard to blindly trust a new dev without some assurances. But having good devs like you and many others makes wading through the Wild West of gaming that is the AppStore market worth it.
Thank you for that, what a great comment! I love coming here and talking about the game, and about people's reactions to it. To how it makes them *feel*. Actually, that's the most important thing. How does this game make you feel? Most developers that contact me want to know: 'How did you get featured by Apple?' 'How much money have you made?' 'How did you get reviews?' 'How many downloads have you had?' These kinds of questions are not interesting to me. In fact, they are deathly dull. It shows a stunning disinterest in the game itself, and more a kind of 'me too!' attitude. The truth is, I don't make much money doing this. At all. I'd make about 10x more if I made them free and charged people for the unlocks. But that is not who I am! The kind of questions I like, the kind of conversations I enjoy, revolve around the game itself. That's what's important. I want to hear how people are finding it lots of fun! The little things they enjoy. The small nods here and there that people 'get'. The stuff that makes them *feel* something, what it was they felt, and why! THAT'S interesting! Even if people don't like it, if they can articulate why then we have the basis for a conversation (preferably over a cup of tea!). And through the course of chatting to people on here, you get to know people, you get to talk about *their* lives (because honestly, people are really interesting when you get to know them), and you get to understand each other better. Which is lovely QS =D EDIT: I am the world's worst business person btw - I see that as a plus sometimes
It's been my thoughts that indi game development (at its purist) is something to be done on the side of a real job and the point should be to make games that entertain people rather than make money since making actual money is so hard with so much competition. If things work out financially then great if not it doesn't mean the family doesn't eat as you still got a real job to get a check from. It's like being a writer, actor, or painter or something. The best ones usually are poor until they get discovered. The modern indi game dev world is a lot like that. I'm glad you've managed to craft fun games and build a fanbase full of real gamers that see the gaming beauty below the surface. Ok now I'm off to sleep.
*twiddles thumbs* *sips tea* *twiddles everyone else's thumbs for them* Ba(aaa)h While we wait for an update, here's a link to something that made me smile! Lots! http://iphone.qualityindex.com/charts/19860/top-5-iphone-games-for-zx-spectrum-fans QS =D
Wow, to come second behind Lords of Midnight is huge. Heck to get recognition this early after launch like that is really nice. Hopefully apple will get that update approved soon. Seems like this would have qualified as a major bug fix that could have been expedited.
I am honoured to have been considered for that, and it was a special thrill to see! And just to prove how awful at marketing I am, I had NO idea that was coming - in fact, MOST of the coverage the game has got has been a complete (and lovely!) surprise You are absolutely right, but 'expedite requests' are limited. Otherwise everyone would just chuck something up on the app store, see it doesn't work, fix it, expedite it, see it doesn't work, fix it, expedite it etc etc I honestly didn't think it would take this long either. In the past, updates have gone through in much less than week. This has been *over* a week now. There's also the possibility that this update might have its own problems. So I wanted to keep the 'expedite request' in hand in case of that. So to clarify, the plan in my head was: Send update. Wait around 4 days till it's out. See if it's ok. If it's not (eek!) expedite a fix for the next day. In my mind, you'd have waited less than a week for the update, and if it had a bug in it, I could fix that and expedite to get the fix out the next day. I'm really sorry about this. It just goes to show that while yes, I'm playing with the big boys and sit with them on the app store, I am in reality just one person trying his best. I will make mistakes, but I will always own up to them and try and fix them as best I can Thanks! QS =D
I've seen updates take 10 days or more. I guess with all the updates to fix games for iOS8, it's probably overworked some of the peeps at apple that handle this stuff. Heck Donut Games just got done getting updates posted for a huge chunk of their library to add controller support (and I think iOS8 compatibility). And though people say that they don't work on the weekends, I have seen updates hit on Saturday night... so maybe there's a chance we'll get the update this weekend. Either way, I've got more than enough to keep me busy. Heck I went back to Air Supply Infinite last night for a few short runs.
I really like the mental image in my head of the other two games saying 'don't worry, Mister, we'll play with you!' while their brother is catching his breath QS =D
Just quickly popping in to say spaceman Sam is having a blast in magaluf look forward to catching up with the thread when I'm back in uk.
Don't worry about the update, oh sheepy one. It's been mentioned here and there that updates have been taking up to 2 weeks recently.
Hello! Sam gets more holidays than I do! Curses! Hope you're having a fun time in the sun Blimey. Two weeks? TWO WEEKS? I feel a bit like this right now: I hope it gets done quicker! :O Have a top weekend, all QS =D
XD I would've never expected a Total Recall reference as a reply when posting that. Always on the tip of your hoofs QS, aren't ya?
I'm all about the references Indeed, if you follow me on Twitter you might have seen the #smartbomb series I've been posting Here's an example: Every level, if you let a smartbomb land on the ground/platform, they'll say something! QS =D
Hah! I'd completely forgotten about that scene. Been ages since I watched the original. The the bad taste in my mouth that the remake left is still there, so I guess it's about time I rewatched the original
I don't really feel like it held up too well. The nostalgia I had for it was somewhat ruined by trying to watch it again. It's like tryin to watch the old Robo Cop movies... It's easy to see this stuff was b grade compared to Aliens, Predator, Terminator 2 and other big scifi flicks of the day. Still there are some memorable lines from those movies like "I'd buy that for a dollar!" Which fits right in with iOS gaming I topped my highscore in Infinite last night after getting my first trophy. It felt good. Looking forward to giving SOS some serious time.
Now see, I really love all those films you mentioned! To me they're classics, and I still love them dearly, and watch them pretty often, perhaps due to nostalgia! I think the problem with rebooting or updating old franchises is that people forget what made them fun in the first place. The Total Recall reboot took itself far too seriously i thought. It was just a bit dull for my tastes, especially when compared to the crazy fun original Same goes with games. Jetpac Refuelled was an Xbox Live update of Jetpac. It had a much bigger screen area that scrolled around, or the camera would zoom out so you could see more. I liked it, but for me, it failed to capture the fun of Jetpac - the single screen action really was a big part of the original I feel. I've been playing the Beta of Elite: Dangerous recently. It's rather lovely, and I feel it captures the spirit of the original tremendously. So I think reboots/updates can work, but unfortunately it's rare that they do! Ooh! Congrats! Just seven more cups to get on that character. Then eight with all the others. Should keep you busy QS =D
Exactly! And it's the way it's delivered too! The way *all* Arnie films are. Back in the 80s who Arnie was playing wasn't important - just that it was Arnie --- Just checked iTunes again - still 'In Review'. The game's been out for a couple of weeks now - I know that's *forever* in app store circles, but I hope people are still having fun with it. Hopefully when the GC stuff appears it'll get a bit more play time I'm off out tonight to see some friends I haven't seen in several months - it will be good for the soul Hope you all have a fab weekend! QS =D
