Power Heroes - A Brand New Adventure Awaits!

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by i-kari, Sep 6, 2013.

  1. LastNinja64

    LastNinja64 Member

    Dec 6, 2013
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    I love the art and Zelda references. Looking forward to it!
     
  2. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    Happy 2014! I hope you had relaxing holidays, got some rest and ate well. I'm sure I did! I was away from home and the internet for almost 2 weeks, and along with all the relaxing I also managed to do some coding. Here's the latest dev update.

    AOTY Results

    My biggest excitement during Christmas was not what presents I would possibly get, but how Power Heroes would rank in the SlideDB App of the Year voting. I got my first surprise in early December when my game had made it into the top 50. After that, a 10 day voting period began to find the best of these top 50 games. Believe me, those 10 days felt longer than ordinary 10 days. So when the last second ticked off the timer I kept refreshing my browser on the SlideDB page to see the final results, but they were not published until one or two days later.

    The first feature they made was the "Best Upcoming App of 2013". The only thing I knew was that I was in that category in the top 50 voting.

    Excitement building up...

    I carefully clicked the link to see which games were picked, and...

    THIRD SPOT!

    Yes that's right! Power Heroes ranked at the 3rd place! I was so thrilled. I don't know if it meant anything but nevertheless, for a guy making his first game I take this as a merit.

    Side-effect to being featured was of course more eyes on Power Heroes. I saw a rise in view counts on my SlideDB page and probably doubled my followers there. Once again I must thank everyone who supported and voted, I appreciate this highly!

    Hero Level-up System

    I have decided on the hero progress model and it's in the game already. XP is tied to score where one XP is gained for each 1,000 score points. After enough XP (score) is collected, the hero levels up and gets a stat increase, like more power, health, etc. It's a simple system but gives another goal to work towards, and makes the heroes more capable of reaching later areas in the game.

    [​IMG]

    Dynamic Quest System

    I've had few test quests in the game for several months, but the whole system did not work very dynamically. Quests could be completed, but they would not be rewarded in any way nor would new quests be given to the player. This has been improved so that at any given time, you will have three active quests, and when a quest is completed it will be replaced with a new one. Completed quests are now also rewarded with coins. Basic stuff!

    Boss Levels

    In the last dev update I introduced bosses to you guys, and now I have a playable sewer level for the rat boss. It starts with a small dialogue before the fight and finishes with randomly appearing items for the hero to collect. The rat traverses around the level and is quite an easy kill, so maybe I have to tweak it a little bit to make it more challenging.

    Random Thoughts

    I feel the game is finally nearing its "feature complete" status, after which I will start adding content. I mean I only have like 7 areas that I have used for playtesting and I've played them TO DEATH. So creating fresh new content is something I look forward to and I expect it to expand the game to its full glory with lots of areas to explore. And nothing stops me from adding more features in updates after release.

    Because I really need to start closing this project that has been in development for, uh, one and a half years (based on the date of my first post on TIGSource). Of course the direction of the game has changed a lot since then as I originally didn't really know where I wanted to go. I have also gone from knowing nothing about Objective C to making a game with it, so it has been a positive learning experience.

    Until next time!
     
  3. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    Hey, I asked this on my Twitter but why not ask here too:

    What do you guys think of the common feature in endless runners to get another chance after game over by spending coins (or whatever the game is using as its currency)? Is this considered pay-to-win?
     
  4. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    Off out now but this game sounds interesting ill definitely be back soon to spam you with questions.
     
  5. PointOfLight

    PointOfLight Well-Known Member

    Dec 29, 2008
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    Not in my opinion. "pay to win" means the only way you could possibly beat a game is buy continually dumping IAP into it. Since you can't really "win" an endless runner anyway, it doesn't apply in that context. Of course I never use that feature anyway, but that's only because I'd rather spend my coins on actually upgrading my runner.
     
  6. JCho133

    JCho133 Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    So this is gonna be F2P right?
     
  7. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    #47 i-kari, Jan 15, 2014
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2014
    Please do, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have!

    But if you can buy the game's currency with real money, theoretically you could play forever and get an advantage over normal players to rank higher in the leaderboards. Personally I don't use the continue option very often, because I also prefer to spend coins on permanent upgrades.

    Yes. I'm trying to do a fair F2P though without any energy bars or timers. You can probably buy coin packs or maybe expansion packs that give more content to the game.
     
  8. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    For me pay to win just means people can spend a fortune as just automatically be the best in the game or have a massive advantage, buying coins ect isn't like that for me it's just for if your too lazy to work for them generally.

    I think I seen a wizard on the character list I'd definitely be interested in playing that character and the game is reminding me a lot of Slayin did you take any inspiration from there for how boss fights work ect?

    Wondering where you went in the end as I like the sound of level up as anything rpg I love, also on the buffs you mentioned that could be purchased before a run? Finally with abilities, are there any passive abilities that can be upgraded possibly to differ the classes or is that mainly worked in how each class attacks? Obviously I'd love a few active abilities as I always would in these games but you know better than me how it works.

    Anyway sounds interesting I'll be sure to keep and eye out here to find out more. As for my questions I'm just mentioning rpg elements as they are usually the things that keep me coming back as opposed to seeking the best high score I like to just upgrade my character and learn new tricks.
     
  9. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    Yes wizard is one of the playable heroes and will have a ranged spell attack.

    I know Slayin' but haven't really looked at how the boss fights work in that game. I'll check it out.

    I don't yet have purchasable buffs, and I'll have to see if I'll include them in the first version of the game. I will probably have item drops that affect various stats in a single game though.

    If by abilities you mean permanent stat upgrades for heroes then the answer is: yes. In my latest development update I explained how these work: your score counts as xp, and when you have enough you will level up and upgrade a stat (what stat that is depends on the hero).

    I appreciate your time to give me feedback and ask questions. Thanks!
     
  10. JCho133

    JCho133 Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    Have you seen Jet Car Stunts 2's F2P model? Where you download it and you can either get the portion of the content you want, you pay 1 discounted price for all the content. So that would work.

    Also, a model that is becoming more popular is a kind of premium unlock, which will get rid of adds & paywalls etc.

    I think the first will work better, having a small incomplete portion then paying $1-$2 for the full content unlock.
     
  11. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    Yeah the model I've been thinking of is quite similar. I will probably have all or most of the game available right from the start, and then have more areas available through purchases. Because of how the game is built around these single areas, it is easy to add more of them and expand the world. Buying an expansion doesn't give any edge over a player who doesn't, but adds variety for a player who does.

    And while the game is not an endless runner, I'll have the usual stuff from that genre too, like coin packs and a coin doubler.
     
  12. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    Basically Slayin is all on one screen that never moves so the bosses take advantage of this by moving in a certain way like charging from one side to the other and can only be hit in the back, shooting fire that travels in certain patterns you must dodge and splitting into more monsters when hit like slimes.

    I'm happy there is a wizard and by abilities I didn't mean stats but I am glad that's in there, I meant like the warrior when power is filled doing a whirlwind attack repeatedly with his weapon. The wizard a fire/ice nova? Ranger a barrage of arrows? Like I said I don't know what it's like to play yet so I'm sure it's great however your doing it I'm just offering ideas.
     
  13. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    Oh, well, currently when the power meter fills up, a power mode is initiated which gives temporary invulnerability and makes killed enemies drop special items. But those are good ideas you listed, I'll think about it.
     
  14. JCho133

    JCho133 Well-Known Member

    Jul 27, 2012
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    Is the game balanced to be not super grindy? Or is it kinda balanced to encourage the buy the coin packs/coins doubler?
     
  15. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    Just trying to give ideas and help your idea sounds good too, I just thought it might personalise the experience.
     
  16. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    I hope that it's balanced just right, and you always have these short- and long-term goals to aim for that should keep the gameplay interesting.

    Absolutely. Thanks for the ideas.
     
  17. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    As for price and IAP I can see why you'd want to do it free trying to get more attention and for people to give the game a shot.

    Lately I see coin doublers and coin packs and generally buying anything removes ads. As for paying for extra content it depends how you mean, people that enjoy the game will buy content they deem as an update or DLC but wouldn't be happy to keep buying content as they play along.


    Maybe you could consider play up to a certain point and then buy for 69p or can't play further? Or stick with the IAPs and just have DLC purchasable as long as it doesn't feel like you need to pay to play.

    Finally I know it's stealing but Dungelot 2 he said he was going to have the game free with an energy system and then you can buy an IAP to disable it completely which is like purchasing he game but you could still play in small chunks without purchasing it. That game should be pretty popular too so I'm suprised it wasn't a straight out cost but sounds like a good thing to me.

    Lastly there's always good old customization as IAP for environments and skins ect I know they used then in Warhammer but those prices were very steep.
     
  18. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    That's what I meant - buying is totally optional. You can buy coins to speed up your progress, or content to add variety (new areas to explore etc.).

    I'm not a fan of this model as it can backfire quickly, essentially being a pay wall.

    That's better, but these energy systems tend to annoy players because they put a limit on gameplay session length.

    Cosmetic upgrades. I don't have anything against those, as again, they are totally optional.

    All in all I favor purchases that give players value for their money instead of feeling like they've been ripped off or "forced" to pay against their will because of a trap designed into the game to do just that.
     
  19. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    I for think it's bad for a free game to have 1 paywall but if you can make money without that it's of course better.

    You are right though energy systems as timers put people off even if you explain that an IAP will make it a premium game with no ads or timers people still go on about things! I hope it works well for Dungelot though.
     
  20. i-kari

    i-kari Active Member

    This update is short and to the point, but I wanted to share two new features that I'm excited about.

    Buffs

    Alright, so the buffs are in! What these do is they give boosts to various stats of your hero for the current game until game over hits. It can help you go further in a game and reach a higher score. Each buff costs 3 gems (the cost can still change when the game is balanced).

    [​IMG]

    Let's break down what each of them does:

    Power - Increases hero's Power Mode duration by 5 seconds.

    Life - Adds 1 extra heart.

    Damage - Increases damage dealt.

    Luck - Higher chance of item drops.

    Video Replays

    Another feature marked off my to-do list: Everyplay integration. If you are not familiar with Everyplay, it's basically a video sharing service for games. Players can record a gameplay video directly in the game and share it seamlessly with others. Games like Rovio's Bad Biggies and FingerSoft's Hill Climb Racing are using this service.

    [​IMG]

    Technically, integration to cocos2d was a breeze. Once I get it finalised and running smoothly, videos should start appearing at https://everyplay.com/power-heroes. I hope video sharing helps new players to discover Power Heroes, so if you have an Everyplay account, go ahead and start following!
     

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