Hello, On fall 2015 we'll release on AppStore the game Knotmania. Hi everyone, throughout this year we (a team of two) have been making a knotty puzzle game we decided to call Knotmania. WebSite:www.2think.it/knotmania Video: Knotmania Gameplay The Game Knotmania will be released as one-time purchase with no ads or in-app purchases. We decided to start a developer blog at Gamasutra so some history can be found here: Learn to untie a Gordian Knot and from now on I think it could make sense to post here as well. Just in case there are people interested in knot teory and puzzle game. We have for now 55 levels ready and working on game user interaction, levels design, bug fixes... We open for beta test on TestFlight, if everyone is into puzzle game and knots, let me know. You can also ask me about anything. The levels are procedurally generated - both the rooms and the knots. I will keep this topic updated with more informations. Would really love some feedback if anyone has ideas they'd like to share regarding anything they'd like added to the game that would be awesome. All the suggestions are mostly welcome Thanks!
I checked the video and screenshots and it seems very innovative, I love it! I love the visuals too!!! I wonder how premium moneytization model would work for you - it is a bold move in current times. I signed for betatest as well. Will you be writing about the design process?
We're very happy you liked it. We sent you an invite on TestFlight and we hope you'll post your impressions here or send us an email. We would like,if possible, to know your device as we had some troubles with iPad 4, troubles we intend to solve in the next beta version. About moneytization, our intention is to propose the game as a one-time purchase with no ads or in-app purchases. We want to continue the Knotmania Diary dev blog to cover the problems and the choices made to create this game. It takes time to write the diary as we're already short-handed but we're trying hard. The upcoming part should cover the physics engine implementation. Thanks!
Hi there, I will write an email report to you guys but so far my feedback is: I am on Ipad Air 1st gen. Techical: - During tutorial two finger gesture didn't work. Untying a puzzle didn't get recognised for long time. - during the play game feels unresponsive, manipulating puzzles is hard - it feels as if you need to press hard to move but there is no such thing in touch control so i would think there is a lag? - The way game checks if puzzle is solved or not is pretty slow, very often it takes 5 seconds before it says i won even though I don't touch anything anymore. I think this is not a time issue but the problem is condition may be parts of the puzzle are not suppose to touch each other then you conclude I win, but it should be that once it is untied I win not when parts don't touch - hard to explain hope you know what I am talking about. Design / UX: - Onboardign (tutorial) is very long, it feels like it leaves no freedom for experimentation. - Sone gestures are redundant - two fingers can be replaces with the touch outside of puzzle - swipe background to rotate... etc - Typography - I hope this is temporary, choice of fonts etc I would suggest bringing it more consistent with awesome 3d visuals you have. + Really love 3d visuals. Backgrounds. and Game idea. * Not really a suggestion just an idea if you thought of making 3d things you play with into some sort of snakes or cute sausages? My advice is that unless you have a big PR budget do not go with premium, do free to try and pay wall after certain level. This is based on my experience with release of Shapist last year.
Thank you very much for your lengthy feedback. These are very useful tips and hopefully we'll begin to work on the issues and suggestions you made about the design of game. The fonts are temporarily, we were already working on it. It's very difficult to find a font that blends well with the visuals. Thanks!
we would like to know your impression about the sounds and the music. We designed the strings to emit a note of a different pitch when touched whilst in background a low-res drum beats to keep high the rhythm (as the the time goes on). Do you like it?
Thank you! We are still in open beta test on TestFlight. If you are interested and you want to participate to our beta test, send me a PM with your email.
I have to say that I keep playing the game from time to time, I installed new update two days ago I think? First of all it is more responsive to dragging now - wohooo this is great! It still has problems detecting if puzzle is solved or not. Sounds... Main screen sound is ... ridiculous Its so cheesy and fun as if it is a cartoon. I like sound of rotating wall when you enter the level, i like FX on button click etc, I am not sure music really fits the visuals but you shouldn't really ask my opinion as I struggle with sound design.
Thanks! We are working hard to enhance the user interaction and other various aspects of the game. We have just released the new teaser: Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel
Hello TA users! From your feedbacks we prepare a new beta release that is in review in this moment. The new beta have the following features: - Physics: simulation is faster. - Unknot condition: more precise on single strings. - Gestures: enhanced control of strings, swipe and drag are more precise, rotate is more effective. - UI: redesigned to reflect game atmosphere. - Tutorial: shortened version, rewritten messages, - Font: choosed a sci-fi style (maybe), the internal discussion about font is still open. - Supported more devices: iPad 3rd, 4th generations - Strings Design: more enjoyable. We love to hear your suggestions and ideas! Thank you very much for your help. Some screenshot that reflects changes in the UI:
Hello, it has been a while. We have some exciting news to share with TA users. First of all, Knotmania has been selected to compete in The Very Big Indie Pitch!. The competition is part of Pocket Gamer Connection event at Helsinki. Anyone else going to the event ? In the meantime, there are some new features that we added: - extension to 76 levels - resolved performance issues - bug fixes - holographic map of completed levels - new icon and logo What do you think about Knotmania Holographic map demo? Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel
Hi everyone, after a long time from the last post, here I am with the latest news. We have been working hard to make the strings alive and define their behaviours with AI. We try to enhance better the graphics and controls and thanks to Rob Fractures, we have a new soundscape for Knotmania. Were finally making preparations to launch Knotmania in the App Store. This is a huge milestone for us and were all extremely excited. Let's hope everything going to turn out ok and when we have it, we'll let you know the final date to release Knotmania.
Hi TA users, the Knotmania new game preview is ready with the new sound. Enjoy the "Strings" ballet. Music by Fractures Audio. Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel We like to announce that we submitted Knotmania to the Indie Games Festival (IGF). Thanks to all for your support.
I would like to give a big embrace like our Strings to TA users that help us with their suggestions and advices. We consider that the core game is almost complete. We are working now to enhance the logo and menu and all refinements necessaries that we neglected before. Thanks to all!
We are working to improve the graphics of UI and the logo of the Knotmania game and we need your help and suggestions about it. The video show the new concept of menu and logo and the menu is not in the finally form. What do you think about it? Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel We love to hear your suggestions and ideas! Thank you very much for your help.
Hi TA users, these days we have working to enhance better the award scene and main menu screen. About the award scene we added a ribbon that represent the score classification. The ribbon goes down or goes up according to the score and during this time the points that are added or removed are falling down in the ribbon from the score and timer signs. In the home screen we have changed the logo of the game and we added the tadpoles of the "Strings" to represent the life cycle of the strings. We want to share with you some screenshots with the award scene and main menu scene and we hope to hear your feedback about this! If someone will want to try it, we will distribute the beta with these updates.
Hello, we're delighted to finally announce the date of the release of Knotmania. On January 26th all of you that wanted to have a go at those pesky knots you'll get your chance. For those who want to examine in depth our game and not only, Knotmania has been selected at the Casual Connect Conference in Amsterdam this year for the Indie Prize Showcase. These days we have prepared the new experimental site of Knotmania made in WebGL, where screenshots, trailer are showen in a WebGL viewport and procedural animated using a flocking algorithm. Hope you like it. http://knotmania.eu
Hi TA users, we are preparing a new update of Knotmania,after the release of Zen Mode. Here are the features: - 60fps - a sensor accelerometer parallax effect to enrich the player experience. - German and French players will experience Knotmania in their native language. If someone wants to partecipate at the beta test, could send us an email to receive a TestFlight invite when we are ready. Thank you all!
