Attack of the Kraken - Coming (very!) soon! Old-school 2D shooter from Quantum Sheep!

Firstly, congrats on getting an iPhone! They're lovely aren't they?

And you will only need to save one of your earth dollars to get Kraken for the first few days of release!

As to your retina display question, well, that's a good one - and it depends!

I make games on my own and pay an artist (ian in this case) to make the game look purdy!

This costs money.

Now, I just love making games that I would like to play myself. I honestly think the appeal for this kind of game is therefore quite limited. I'm not doing it because the market is flooded with games of this type that sell well. I'm just doing it for me, really. That other people are interested in it is amazing to me!

It's not going to do Angry Birds numbers for sure (I'll save that for the next game )!

I'm also a big believer in putting back some of what I might get in sales into the game to help improve it. If the game sells reasonably well, I'll certainly look into getting the graphics re-drawn to accomodate the new retina display (which came along *after* all the graphics were already done!).

So the short answer is: Not at launch, maybe in an update!

Hope that helps!

QS


PS - as an aside, testers with an iPhone 4 say it looks awesome on it already, which is very kind of them. So it should still look good, even without modification

EDIT - PPS - I also have to consider if making it retina display compatible will have an adverse affect on optimising the game to run on 2G - it's all a question of balance!

 

Thanks for that, that's very kind. But there's no need for you to buy a game you can't play. Look out for my next one, which I hope will be 2G compatible as well as Retina Display ready...

Here's a very early sneak peek at an asset:



Very different, eh?

And sorry for the tardy response - I've been neck deep in Kraken :O

Still finishing off certain aspects, but hopefully will submit to Apple tonight/tomorrow morning :O

This is what the icon will look like on a device:



Now, back to work!

Thanks again all for the interest - helps keep me going

QS

 

Thank you, Sammy - I hope you enjoy Kraken!

That's good to hear, PoL - I'm in the same camp as you!

I think you and Sammy will LOVE the art style of my next venture. It's done by a professional games artist, who can do the gritty and realistic stuff, but is just as awesome if not more so, when doing cute 2D

I've already made a lot of headway with it already, just need to finish Kraken! The next game is a relaxing shooter with cute graphics that I like playing between 'making Kraken kick ass' sessions

Go figure!

Will keep people updated closer to release - I can't even tell you the name yet! :O

Thanks again guys!

QS

 

I'm going to have to buy one off ebay aren't I?

Currently I have a 1st gen ipod touch, and that can't run ios4 stuff So useless now for testing purposes really.

@Sammy
I can't say anymore than that. I just haven't seen anything quite like it before. I'm probably wrong. I mean, there's 200,000+ apps available, right? Someone will have done something like it for sure...

But..

Anyway - Kraken - still working on it and will be through the night!

Onward, time travelling sheep! Onward!!!

QS

 

Sooooo tired...

Hi guys,

It's been a really really busy few days here! I haven't slept much :O

You'll be glad to know though that the game's come on leaps and bounds. I implemented a new control system after a couple of the testers found they had to 'get used' to the controls.

There's also been a bit of tidying up done on some of the levels, graphics wise!

The new control system is now the default control system. I still prefer the original, and that's an option in, er, the 'options' screen

The game is done. Last minute fixes and fun additions not withstanding. Easter eggs ahoy!

I'll be testing one last time tonight and hopefully submitting! I'll make a new vid and post it up in this thread for those of you that are interested (five? six? I lose count when the numbers get too big! )

I'm happy it's done, knowing at the same time that there needs to be a lite version and that I have a few additions planned for updates..

Thanks again for the interest!

QS

 

Control Systems

Hi there!

Well, I may as well show you (and I get to show off the upgraded city backgrounds )!


Below is the new control system which is the default now.



You can see it's pretty standard - left and right buttons (to rotate - you guessed it - left and right) and a nice obvious fire button on the right.

All lined up like lovely little ducks along the bottom!

Now, below, is the original system:



BIG buttons on the side, which means you can touch the screen anywhere along the edges. You're not 'fumbling' so much for the controls.

The fire button is invisible as it's the middle part of the screen. All of it. Again, no fumbling around.

You can adjust the alpha of both styles of control in the options screen to suit what you want to see - subtle buttons, or bold ones, or anything in between!


I personally prefer the original system with the alpha at 0 so there's no visible buttons on screen! While it's true most people find it hard at first, I just personally think it suits a touch device much better.

There's also a fun kind of 'dance' your hands do. If you're rotating left, your left thumb will be on the left button, and your right thumb poised above the middle of the screen.

A quick change to rotate to the right and your right thumb moves onto the right button, your left thumb over the screen.

You don't really think about it. It just kinda feels cool the way your thumbs switch around like that.

I'll probably be in a minority in liking the 'B' system, but if you buy the game, or check out the upcoming lite version, please do give it a go. You might like it!

Anyway, I really must get a couple of hours sleep so I can test properly!

Again, thanks for the interest!

QS