This gamebook is way better than the Fighting Fantasy offerings on the iPhone. The story is much better, and much more of a story rather than just a dungeon crawl. Plus the interface is much more refined and it's just a more nicely designed package.
We may require beta testers soon for Necromancer. Was really impressed with your contributions on the Assassin beta Somerandomdude so you're definitely on the list. We'll also add you to list too, TheSporkWithin although I can't guarantee who will get chosen as we've been approached by quite a few peeps. I'll let you both know nearer the time. Cheers!
Thanks for the nice comments Jase23. We really did pour a lot of love into Assassin and hope that it shows.
Haha...now we just have to convince the many people who chose the FF offerings over us! Licenses will always draw the crowds, and it is my hope that over time people will come to recognise our brand in the same way too.
I'm sure you'll pick up steam. I think one thing which may be holding you back compared to them may also be the price point. Having read through them I feel your price is entirely justified, but when you're in the app store and the famous license is a full two bucks cheaper, you might just go with that. Also your update left you void of reviews for the time being, I'll be sure to post a nice one tomorrow after class. Also thanks for putting me on the list for potential testing; I understand if you end up not having room, I know the ad-hoc limit can be quite harsh.
Yes you're completely right about that. For now though it comes down to economics though in that its quite a niche product without a license and it costs us X amount to develop, and that ultimately dictates our price. You have to remember FF books were written 25 years ago and have made a ton of money already, whereas our books are newly written with new illustrations which takes a very long time. Time will tell. If the series prove popular then that will help us lower prices. Thanks for the review too - much appreciated!
Game Impressions Review has been posted. If anybody is poking their heads in here and still hasn't been convinced to grab this game, maybe this will help to sway you: I totally realize the conundrum posed by the app store pricing model, and I applaud you for choosing a reasonable price and staying with it. That said, it may be a good idea to have a temporary sale on the first book when the second launches; nothing drastic, but dropping it to $2.99 for a week might see sales increase for the second volume. I know that I had been very hesitant to drop $5 on Assassin in Orlandes after my experience with the somewhat slapdash Fighting Fantasy "ports," but after playing it I can't imagine anyone not being willing to spend that much for the second installment.
I would actually say to drop the first book's price to $2.99 for about 2 weeks, and to start the second at the same price for the same price, but go up to $4.99 after a week. That way you can gain attention for both books, so that way if someone wants to try one book and enjoys it, they would be even more convinced to buy the second, and vice versa. And I agree on the second part. I might have overlooked this one had I not seen (and tested) it beforehand, simply because of price. That said, the price is extremely reasonable for a book like this. The FF books can afford to be priced so low because they have a large following and have made money from past books. On top of that, the port really isn't that great. It's pretty buggy, and up until the second book, the dice were really cheap looking. These guys had to build their own dice engine and implement it with a great story and combat system. The price is actually incredbily cheap considering what went into it. And I'm sure the second one will be even better.
Really touched with your kind words and suggestions guys. TheSporkWithin - love the review so much I'm going to add it to the Tin Man Games blog if that's okay with you? Regarding the pricing discussions, a lot of what you have mentioned is already being considered in one form or another, but it's great to hear it direct from the customer, as its validates any decisions we make. Very much appreciated.
By all means. And I realize that you have your own marketing people, I just like to take advantage of having the developer's ear on this forum and throwing in my two cents.
Yeah, same here. Nothing better than hearing it from the people who will actually buy the game, rather than someone who makes an estimate on these sorts of things.
im having trouble getting a good ending.. i dont want to give away anything on the forums, so I was wondering if someone that has beaten the game would pm me and i could ask a quick question.. though im fairly sure all i need to do is find that vial of acid, but I cant find it anywhere
I don't understand this "save" feature. You're allowed to save three times in the entire game?? So that means you have to finish the game in 3 sittings? Oo How is that considered a "cheat" feature?
It took me around four hours to beat, though I still haven't found a lot of the endings. Aurora: you get three bookmarks to place per read-through, you are then allowed to return to any of those points at your leisure until you reset the book and start from scratch. The book's state is saved any time you exit, the bookmarks act as checkpoints from which you can choose to continue when you get a "game over." The cheat feature is different and is only unlocked after you get the best ending, and it lets you manipulate all of the dice rolls, instantly pass or fail any check or battle whenever you want. Any other questions? I'm happy to answer.
