I'm not implying they used any scam, if that's what you're afraid of. It's a common and perfectly legit practice in the industry to acquire users, there are many very good services to do so but it's very expensive nonetheless. Your reply also sounds like it should be a shame to have monetary support? I'm not sure. Anyways, it absolutely confirms the idea that no good game should get launched without any serious backing if you honestly want to give it a chance in this extremely crowded market. I like these guys' style and I'm confident the next game will be a thunder (probably better imho). They're currently ranking in the top 30s in the highest grossing apps in several main countries; including the US, so if they don't screw up for the next product (on which they can take more risks), things should be good for them and fans (hopefully).
You didn't answer my question. What is your source that this developer used paid user acquisition to achieve their chart position?
Exactly what I was thinking. The game is addictive and good enough to get "viral-spread" throughout players. In the Spanish App Store it has loads of great reviews from legit users. I bothered to leave one and purchase one character because I like the game a lot and one purchase supports the devs a bit at the same time that leaves me with 49 remaining to achieve in-game the "gotta have 'em all" Pokemon feeling that the game leaves. I think this has been another "Tiny Wings" success: a simple yet addictive game that hooks you as soon as you play. I remember reading something at the beginning of the thread from the devs saying that depending on how it performed, they would be able to make updates. I guess this means their resources were/are very limited to promote the game to the top charts by the system mentioned... @Devs: you could add the option of scenery randomization in future updates. Playing with a night scenery is much more difficult than mid-day lighting.
Maybe, it's just hard for him to believe that a well made game is the best way to acquire users. This whole market has sprung up around "teaching" indie devs to market their apps or optimize search terms or any other number of things. Some people have lost sight of the fact that making a good game is the key factor. Look at the public developers section and the amount of threads about how to get more downloads. Anyway, I've unlocked/bought some of the characters that add some variety to the visuals in game. Really enjoy the change of scenery and the lack of effect on the gameplay. As others have said, the F2P "push" is so inobtrusive and really of no consequence to the overall game (ie has NO effect on gameplay), I really hope this game is a huge success and can maybe even alter the way that some companies treat free games. Kinda thinking of EA here. If you can get cash or ad views out of players without being aggressive about it, F2P would be much less of a dirty term. Thanks, Hipster Whale, for the game, and hopefully being a good influence on other developers out there.
Regarding the discussion above: The game was featured big time by Apple. It was listed under best new games and also got the big banner at the top. Furthermore this game got only but good reviews and was spreaded fast by the users. It's quite possible that for once in a while a well made arcade game with charming presentation, best free-to-play content and reminiscence to frogger might get its deserved success.
The tool I rely on doesn't provide info about feats (I don't think it's even supported anymore tbh). I admit the numbers seemed totally crazy so my only explanation was that it could be promoted by CPI; CPA and else without relying on the web per se. If that's the thing, then it actually explains it much better and makes more sense. Although my point about getting massive $ support remains true for 99.99% of devs out there, there's nothing that can be discussed when it comes to Apple's feats. It's literally being Apple's chosen ones, to put it simply. A kind of super duper luck. At this point, the reviews are totally irrelevant. The game gets that many precisely because it's been featured. Do you know how many countries it was featured in? From a business point of view it's a very interesting information. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a "best ftp content", honestly, but the game objectively is polished ... well, the concept is 25 years old so that part wasn't the hardest either, was it? It's just not my cup of tea.
That's a fair assessment of the situation, but it's actually simpler than that. I don't have access to the tools I usually rely on, so I got skewed data and drew very surprising conclusions from that. I'll check next monday for the feats, that should definitely clarify the reading. It truly must have burst everywhere though. I think if it's featured in Apple's US store, a good number of other regional App Stores more or less feel obligated to kinda mimic the judgement? I can't wait to know though so I'm gonna ask. Was it on day one?
Currently it is featured in 135 countries for iPhone and iPad. 160 times on the iTunes Homepage. (Last Saturday: 284) 916/914 times in iTunes. (Last Saturday: 1104) Not too bad
It's likely viral spread. When I saw the real aspect that its free and that good I shot it to easily fifty contacts. Ive dumped a few character bucks because I felt not pressured.
Helloo! Sorry everyone I had a few days away. So to answer the debate, no, we've not spent a cent on user acquisition. That would be very unwise for a game as gentle on your wallet as ours is! It costs a LOT of money to advertise a game. King.com and Supercell can afford to this as their games make a lot of money per user. Ours is just a teeny fraction of what they would be earning. The idea all along was to make a game that would be popular and fun and viral and worth sharing with friends. And this is the result, a game that carries on its own momentum. (And of course an awesome Apple feature was a huge help!)
In the canadian appstore this game is second place and above Candy crush soda saga, It mean people enjoy it!
I am now getting nothing but animals/monsters I already have As much fun as I've got for $0.00 - I can't really complain. I just wonder if this is a design choice or a bug? Anyway, I am going to buy one character, what are you guys favorites? So far mine are Doge, Epoch, and forget-me-not. Another question (sorry if these have already been covered in this massive thread I haven't read), but do all characters have the same attributes, or are some faster, are there different size hit-boxes, etc? I'm sure that is in the main downloads chart, not the top grossing one (which basically shows the amount of money it's making).
The Dev acknowledged the repeat characters as a bug, and said they were tracking the repeats...although, a follow up on this would be nice. I'm assuming it's something that will be addressed in an actual update. If you don't have Lovely Bunny, Penguin, The Dark Lord, or Specimen 115, they are all pretty cool. I also like the feel of Wolf, Ghost, and Gravedigger...they are fairly similar. Flea is fun and simple and has a cool moving sound...it's the only character I can think of that might have a game play advantage because of it's size. It could be all in my mind. The top character I can't wait to get is Lucky Cat...so cute those 3 legs. I've gotten Tabby Cat at least 5 times. 44/50 characters so far and I still can't get enough CR!
Objection! The multi-store featuring and the press immediately jumping onto the wagon is what creates the vast majority of the exposure. Besides, an obvious reference to (obnoxious) PewDiePie's pet triggers another video from said person, which just adds more to the exposure. PS: and just to argue the point, you don't need to be as rich as King or Supercell to pour money into user acquisition. These guys are the extreme over the top examples that just turn out to be non-examples in the end, since they're so... "up there".
They said that they are tracking repeats and have something in mind for what to do with them, but I don't think they called it a bug.
Ive got about ten left and rip nonstop repeats. I don't even bother watching videos as it leads to more repeat characters. Ive bought four for support but that's enough for now
This statement acknowledges that the duplicates were unintentional and while KlickTock did not specifically use the word "bug" in their response, I am left to infer that it is indeed a bug. Maybe there will be further clarification from Klicktock?
It's either a bug or an oversight; both of which can be fixed. The other idea, from the quote above, is that you may be given those "prizes" back to re-roll.
It's a little bit annoying, but it would be too easy, if you could unlock a new character everytime. From a gameplay point of view the current lottery keeps you playing way longer. From a players point of view a new unlock each time would be great of course.
