So I have finished the game with 100%, some comments: - loved that game, very well crafted. Contrary to the review in this site, It took me way more than 3h to finish the game, more like a week of playing every night. - I had a few issues with the controls, sometimes the jump didn't respond or the left and right didn't either. This was not a frequent occurrence and not a big deal. Because otherwise the controls are spot on and quite enjoyable once you resize them from the default configuration. - I found the game quite challenging at time, but it is never impossible! Those birds are a pain though - I found the background to somewhat not quite fit the overall heavily pixilized design, too much of a contrast not sure how to explain it. I guess it is just a personal preference. This is a minor point of course! - music is great and never too boring - once you understand the hint the map gives it makes navigating easier: items that are unlocked glow, stars that need to be collected appear "empty", etc. I didn't realise this until late in the game as I usually only briefly look at maps and prefer to wonder. - again, I didn't pay enough attention but I didn't realise that going to the fairy and pressing the action button actually check your progress with diamonds collection. In fact I didn't pay too much attention to what she said in the first conversation we had... Which means I was trying to find star dust (the White dots used to open certain gates) and though the stars were just optional. I also didn't see I could come back with x amount of diamonds... Lot of things I didn't do/notice indeed! . But I did finish the game... Why? Because I really loved it! The atmosphere, the gameplay, it's length, the challenges... So even if I was a bit lost at what I had to do, I ended up collecting all the stars... Then going back to the fairy only to found I could check my progress and basically saw my house constructed in one go - level design is very clever, and the audio dampening underwater is just one example of the nice little touches you can find through the games - I also found the monster in the cave the most challenging and somewhat frustrating, I would encourage people to persevere... There is a way that is... Right - the last monster isn't too hard to beat once you get the right rythm. - and the ending... Classic! I cried Max (I think it is your name), well done! I shall look forward to your next game!! Please tell me you are already working on it! PS: do you have a blog that we can follow on your news? Or something like that?
I'm only at 30% and I must say I enjoy this game very much. Definitely worth the price! The music is so euphoric, especially when you're in the clouds. I can just fall asleep to it. I would like to ask those that completed the game, NOT TO GIVE ME ANY HINTS, but is it possible to pass this way like in the picture. I would like to figure out on my own, but I just want to know if its possible to get to the right side without being shredded to pieces. Thanks EDIT: Nevermind, I just figured it out. So DUMB of me Once again, LOVE THE GAME!
Hey! Yes, my real name is Max! Really great comments from you, thanks! I'm currently handling all the post-release stuff and try to start a greenlight campaign to release Nubs' Adventure on Steam. Also, smaller things like localization. Believe me, I have SOO many game ideas that piled up in the two years I've worked on Nubs' Adventure alone. Can't wait to get to them! I have been relatively active on Twitter (@IMakeGames_), posting screenshots of my current project every other day. I also kept development blogs on various sites and will definitely do that again for my next project(s). But in the starting phases of working on a game, I tend to be rather quiet as there's not much to show/tell and ugly screenshots of half-baked prototypes are not that interesting! I'll tell the composer! That can be a tricky one, yes! If anybody else is struggling and wants a hint: Spoiler the teleporters work like they do in Portal: speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out
OMGOMGOMG!!!! Nubs' Adventure is featured on the App Store! I'm SO happy right now! Big thanks to all who played, rated and reviewed the game!
Congrats Max for the well deserved TA review and being "better late than never" featured on Apple \o/ !
Great game! Well worth the money. So happy you are getting some attention!!! Thanks for your hard work on this one!!!
This game hadn't appeared on my radar until the Touch Arcade review - thought I'd give it a go after reading that and boy, am I glad I did. This game is fantastic. Environments that have a dream-like 'Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery' feel to them and some of the most exquisite pixel art I've seen - it feels like a living breathing world with all the pixel-particle effects and way the world reacts as you walk through it. Each area is a joy to explore and investigate, each puzzle satisfying without being too frustrating - and even the many times you die is fun with the great rag doll physics and grisly ends that Nubs comes to! The music is spot on as well, so kudos to the composer. A question to the developer - did you really create all of this game (apart from the music) yourself? The artwork, gameplay and programming all seem so spot on it's quite an achievement for one person. Thanks for creating such a great game Max...
Thanks for your praise! It really lifts my spirit. Yes, I created Nubs' Adventure alone. Took me two years of work in my spare-time. If you're interested in a more detailed discussion of the development, I've written an article about it here: http://gamasutra.com/blogs/MaximilianCsuk/20150602/244894/PostMortem_for_Nubs_Adventure_an_exploratory_platformer_for_iOS_and_Android.php Speaking of working on the game alone: since the App Store feature started, so many people have downloaded and played the game, which is awesome! But not everybody was happy. Some iPhone 6 Plus users reported that the game only showed in a quarter of the screen. Can anybody with an iPhone 6 Plus confirm this?
Can't confirm the 6+ glitch, but I noticed that some of the negative reviews were based around having to pay for the game. Really a stupid thing to do, considering how good the game is. Might I suggest making the actual game $5, along with a free lite version. Getting negative reviews for having to pay for something is beyond me.
Yes, a few people left 1-star reviews because the game asks them to pay for the full version. And some of them even said they really enjoyed it. I guess it's an issue of expectation. Many people will never pay any money for apps/games. And that's ok! These people will browse the App Store and only download/try games that are free. I suspect that many downloaded Nubs' Adventure in the hopes of just getting the complete experience without paying anything. And then when the pay-gate comes, they are disappointed. If the game had a price-tag, they wouldn't even download it in the first place. In these times, where the free-to-play business model of Candy Crush is prevalent, people think less about how games are made and that they actually cost money to make. The way I wanted monetize Nubs' Adventure definitely was an experiment. I'm personally coming from a PC gaming background, where having a free demo is (or at least was) a good way to try out a game for absolutely free. And if I liked it, I bought it. If not, then not. Combining this with an IAP purchase seemed like a good idea as it offers the best of both worlds. Players who are unsure whether they like the game or not can test it for free. And if they do, unlock it from within the game and continue playing without any hassle. Apparently, I underestimated the amount of players who feel "cheated" when they are asked to pay for the full game. Maybe in hindsight, I made a mistake in going the IAP-route. But my thought process was this: I'm a single indie developer, very few people know me or my games. By making the game free-to-try, I reach a LOT more people than going the premium route. Which is definitely the case, but I didn't expect so many negative responses from that. Changing the monetization model now will probably not be much use. The game is featured in its current form, very few people will even see a new paid version. I guess I have to just lick my wounds, learn from my mistakes and move on.
Honestly Max I am not really sure these 1 star reviews matter. Who cares about reviews for a free game? Why would I take the time to read the opinions of entitled imbeciles when I can download and try the game in a minutes time. I can tell you that honestly I was on the fence about your game and only tried it because it was free. I wasn't even sold after the first play. By the time I got a little way in I grew to appreciate everything about it and ended up unlocking the game. If it had a sticker price of 4.99 I can guarantee that I would have never tried it. This is not because I don't spend money on games, I spend between 10 and 20 dollars a week on apps generally, it is because there are so many paid apps on my buy list that would have been in front of it. New apps get added to this list all the time. As an indie developer I am not sure that I would try to create a business model to please the entitled dbags on the app store who don't want to pay anything for apps.
I concur. Got some cry-baby whiners. I can also confirm no issue on iPhone 6+ On another note, I just finished the game, and I'm so delighted to have played it. It was really a fun game and definitely worth the price. I wrote a review detailing the pros and cons (more pros then cons Max, don't worry and they were minor cons ). It should be available for viewing in a day or so. I did have some very frustrating times, especially with the STUPID WORM It was so hard controlling it in one of the boss scenes. I don't know how many times I died because I ran into those red bombs. But like you said, "Frustrating at times, but ultimately a lot of fun!" I did have some issues I like to address: 1. I did have a BUG...I think to report? This scene occurred when I was trying to place the 3 color crystals in the holders? Apparently when the yellow light drifts down right at that position shown, the whole screen turns black for just a split second. That picture was taken as the screen "slowly" turns black. It was hard to take 2. I seem to be getting a lot of these logs while playing Nubs. 3. I had an issue where the game was crashing frequently immediately after I died in one of the clouds scene. I don't have a picture at the moment but basically I was standing on the right side, and I was jumping into one of those water shapes? It was a circular shape that wrapped around and at the far bottom left was a teleporter. Do you remember the scene I am describing? Thanks for this great game. I hope you make another great one!
That's good to know! I can confirm that, thanks! Will fix it ASAP! Yeah, those. While they sound extreme, they are not really a problem! It basically just a notice from the system, nothing more. I should still try to get rid of them though. Yes, I know which place you're talking about. I'll look into it, thanks! Thank you! It still breaks my heart a little to have my game be a 3.5 star rated game. Some people rated it 1-star because it - for some reason - didn't work for them or because they felt scammed when being asked to pay. I've always seen the ratings as a measure of the game's quality. But right now it's in fact a mixture of people who played and (for the most part) truly enjoyed it and those who didn't actually play it properly or not at all. But their vote counts just as much and makes it seem like the game itself is that bad... Trust me, I won't! It's impossible anyway. But if I had released Nubs' Adventure as a paid game from the beginning, I wouldn't have to deal with them at all. That's what I regret.
Wow.. Got to take a break. Frustrating mine boss attack. Hard to control wormy to hit the exact place. wormy gets very twitchy and fast Will attempt again later on! Very good game
Any tips to kill those mines with shield? I can only tried to run away. Think there is a bug at Far Away. I was running away from the two mine shields, I ran to the portal/ Beamer, when they are close to me, i press B, those mine shields are destroyed and I am brought to the map screen, I,hit cancel, and went back to game screen, those mine shields gone, but button B will not work anymore, unless I restart/ killed myself at that level.
About the shielded mines: Spoiler You can hit them from behind. You can either be fast to get behind them or you can try to get the boomerang to hit them from behind. For example, try hitting them, then jumping over them without catching the boomerang. The mine will then be between you and the boomerang, which will come back to you, hitting the mine from behind! Also, thanks for the bug report! I'll look into this! I suspect its because of the interaction between Nubs and the mines while being inside the portal.
Hi, This game is really amazing. It's the kind of platform i've waited for. I spend very fun time playing it with my kids. Thank you, IMakeGames, and bravo !
