Here's a crazy idea: let's talk about the game. Chipsets are fascinating, but not terribly germane to this thread.
It buys you time to attack other enemies while that enemy is getting up. Very useful when you're fighting 2+ other enemies. Would also work much better if the buttons that allow you to focus instantly on offscreen enemies would work...
Isn't that what I was trying to say? The fact that the buttons don't work is what makes it kind of pointless atm, and makes the whole killing process needlessly slower.
I basically use dodge & block a TON, and pick my attacks carefully, upgrading for maximum offensive ability. Where there are lots of enemies to deal with, I'll typically use Snake Oil or Viper Oil + Impale to target the main enemy (whose death will end the fight, regardless of the minions being alive or not), or Burning Blade / Unrelenting Assault to deal with more than one tough enemies like the Reaper (like in the Crypt). I end up recharging health with Minor Remedies pretty frequently, but I definitely come out ahead on the gold bonus from battles vs. use on consumables like remedies. We're going to post a video with some "Developer Commentary" showing a bit more about the various strategies you can use. That's one of the coolest things about Bladeslinger IMO. You can approach the game with a preference for a bunch of different play styles: defensive, gun-favoring, offense with the blade, health conservation (Second Wind), etc. They're ALL viable and ALL fun. I just happen to like to level up on the offensive side and try to ninja around the baddies with block and dodge a lot Brett @kerosenegames kerosenegames.com
We're on it! Watch for our first update coming before Xmas. Still wide open on this. Episode 2 (similar in length / content...hours of new play) will probably be about a year out. We're planning to do some pretty cool updates to Episode 1 prior. As for price, our preference is to get these games into as many people's hands as possible. For that, we'd like to be able to go out totally free, but it may not be viable without going overboard on IAP, which we're definitely not willing to do. So, possibly around the same price? What do you think? It seems that a lot of people hate IAP of any flavor, even if not required, so maybe we'll make an option in the game to simple turn IAP off, for those who'd rather play simple premium games. Brett @kerosenegames kerosenegames.com
What about two versions? One free w/ IAPS, and another totally premium with no IAPs to boot (this means no bickering over unfair balance for the paid version). I won't mind paying a little more for a fully premium and more balanced experience (up to $4.99 for this much content, no more). The free version should of course have things like 1) make it slower to earn money 2) lots of focus on consumables 3) maybe ads if you want to (and a $0.99 option to remove it) 4) ability to earn in-game currency from Tapjoy etc. Like that, no one will get angry. Also, your conscience remains clear - you gave players the option of choosing either one version. Trust me, you'd be amazed to see many people getting the game for nothing but end up spending upwards of $10 on IAPs! As some devs and I recall even Eli Hodapp has said, many a gamer in this modern day and age wants (I know, roll your eyes) IAPs...so they can go for the free version and spend like no tomorrow. Then the rest of us old-school noble men of the gaming realm can enjoy a peaceful non-IAP plagued (no puns guys) version. Win-win all around. What say ya? PS: I have not really seen many games implementing this idea...not sure why. It'd be a hit. I think one game that does though (not by choice but design) is Dark Meadow. See how the balance varies between the freemium version and the paid...you could probably learn some things from there.
I think what I personally don't like about IAP is when it's considered in gameplay design, and unless purely cosmetic then it is going to be. I would rather pay more for a non IAP version. While the idea of paying to turn it off sounds interesting, after some thought I don't see how it'd differ from a pay all pack, where IAP has still influenced gameplay? I don't like overly easy solutions like Second Wind or Regeneration to circumvent grind, I did a ton of blocking and dodging for the first 2 chapters, probably a bit too much, but it was more interesting than once I obtained SW. I could make more than I spent on heal through fights, but would have to do multiple to make the cost of a minor. I guess all I'm trying to say is IAP tends to have an impression on design if done effectively for a developer, I prefer challenge based on actual game design rather than a monetary one. If you switched it off what balanced challenge would it leave, or would it just be easier?
I like it! I think our goal I think would to be perfectly balance both experiences, so that the premium version would simply eliminate the ability to buy additional currency, and everything would be unlocked simply by playing the game. This way stats / achievements across both versions are comparable, and we don't fragment the user base. Will definitely give this more thought, but great feedback & ideas! Brett @kerosenegames kerosenegames.com
Men?? Ahem, women have been Gaming & using iPhones/iPads just as long as you. Don't forget the other half of the population
I really wonder who likes IAP? I mean... really? One day devs will also see there're so many freemiums these days that you can play them until you hit the pay wall and just switch to another one... most of the time, they do not contain any story line so why bother? The next free spare time game is already there... now, if you put IAP in a paid game and that it's hard to progress, the logical conclusion as a user is that the game is leveled for it... but now, would I pay for a game 6$ before even playing it? hard to tell. I guess, a free version with the 1st chapter free and a system to unlock each chapter upto a total of 6$ would be a nice solution. but please, stop the IAP plague where you buy potions,etc... now, the game is nice but I think playing it on an iPad offers a better experience. you really can't play this game when commuting because you would look like a moron with your fingers flying all over the screen like two small little nervous ninjas... That's a bad point for me as it makes it a home only game... I don't get any sliders on the volume settings on iOS6.0.1, iPhone5... perhaps need to restart my phone though. There're some lack of explanation though from time to time. I still don't know why a screen to draw a gesture appears while fighting. most of the time, my fingers tap it before I even realize and I get hit by the ennemy... The voice acting seems amateurish... especially the female narrative voice. I haven't seen any dialogues so far so the lips not moving isn't that a problem. He's just thinking to himself for now... if dialogues kick in, this could be weird though...
Those gestures on screen are when you get the enemy down to one bar, when they are, if you punch you enter a sequence of gestures to take them out immediately without having to fight them for that last bit of health. Lips don't ever move even in dialogue, woman's voice sounds a bit hollow due to way and wherever it was recorded I think.
I see. Thank you. I find it hard to get the timing correctly for now though. I always get hit and when my life is very low, it does not help at all lol... Yeah, the recording place & voice post processing are certainly not helping here It would be nice to have voice and subtitles on/off switches available in the settings menu. The combos available should stay "secrets" I think but adding a combo collection page system with 1 or 2 combos unlocked by default could be nice. Each time you find a combo, you get notified and it gets added as a card in the collection. Also, it would help to be able to tap on the cards in the help page as it is very small on the iphone...
I like the game a lot, I really do, but I'm starting to come over to the, "this is unbalanced for the purposes of selling IAP" side. In a paid game such as this, it really should never feel like one NEEDS to buy IAP to continue the game. It should only be for people who want to level up artificially quickly, or be overpowered in battle. Here, that sadly doesn't seem to be the case. I'm not complaining about the controls, I actually like them...I'd just like to be able to continue the game without buying IAP or grinding for an excessive time, and right now that's not the case.
...and although I don't agree with the complaints about the controls, PocketGamer also comments on the IAP problem in this review: http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Bladeslinger+Ep1/review.asp?c=46789
Ouch. Definitely disagree with that score. I would've probably said the same thing about the controls had I not taken a lot of time to get used to them, and trust me, once you do they're pretty darn good. I still would prefer a dual stick scheme to control the camera manually, but really their complaints about the controls show that they spent little time with the game. Eh, whatever. I don't really like pocketgamer anyway, rarely agree with their reviews.
"you'll block when you mean to dodge." I have to agree with that one. I've yet to find out how to block(I assume the character takes a defensive posture right?)
