Promo Codes for constructive criticism on my game: MakeMeSay

Discussion in 'iOS Apps' started by jpc82, Jan 28, 2009.

  1. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Also, for the people that pmed me for code after I gave out the last set. I don't know if I will be able to give out any more for a while as I don't have many left.

    Sorry.
     
  2. Misguided

    Misguided Well-Known Member

    Jan 27, 2009
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    Your icon for a game is like the cover of a book. I have to be interested enough in what's on the cover to flip it over and look at the back, or in this case, head over to the game description. As others have said, it looks a bit bland right now. Don't short-change this aspect of your game. If graphics aren't your strong suit, then find someone who can help you do it.
     
  3. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Here is the latest version I have come up with with the help of my friend. I think this one looks much better, what do you guys think?

    I plan on putting text on the large 512x512 version that shows up in the app store, and then no text on the 57x57 icon.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. pablo19

    pablo19 Well-Known Member

    Oct 26, 2008
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    looks good!!!;)
     
  5. Misguided

    Misguided Well-Known Member

    Jan 27, 2009
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    I think the clock part looks a lot better. The speech bubble and the quotation mark look like they are squished vertically, IMO. That is, disproportionately wide.
     
  6. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Sorry to be a bother, but what do you guys think of this change to the main game page? I need to update some of the text to match what the icons use, but what about the colours and the style of the buttons.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. pablo19

    pablo19 Well-Known Member

    Oct 26, 2008
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    esthetically, I don't really like it, make the pass button yellow, it will look better with the green next to it, the backgrouns could be black and the text white. The Grey backgroud seems a bit too windows 98 like
     
  8. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Thanks, yellow is a good idea.

    Ya, I wasn't especially happy with the background either but I wasn't sure what I should do. My goal is to make it look like game show buzzers and I don't know what to do with the back ground.
     
  9. pablo19

    pablo19 Well-Known Member

    Oct 26, 2008
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    nice, maybe you could make the buttons rounder, give them round edges. ;)
     
  10. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Here is my latest version that I have submitted to the app store. Since I will be getting some more promos soon I will give away the last few I have left. PM me if you want one. My next release will be a huge (hopefully) update to the word list.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. snow_mani

    snow_mani Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2008
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    I like the new icon, but I do agree with @ Misguided that the speech bubble looks stretched/squashed.

    The latest screen shots are a big improvement on the previous bland colour of the game. I do agree with @ pablo19 that the buttons should be slightly rounded. I look forward to seeing the new version for myself.

    I received a promo code for this app and I have finally been able to give this game a test run with a few friends.

    Make Me Say is great fun. We played a few games. One with 2 teams using the default settings and the remaining with all categories but only 2 words per turn.

    When you start playing you see the Make Me Say menu screen. Here you can set the number of teams, the number of rounds per game, the number of words per turn/round and how long each turn/round is. You can also change the categories, start the game, send an email for help and feedback and view the rules and instructions on how to play.

    There are currently 7 categories. These are entertainment, nature, people, phrase/saying, places, food and technology/science.

    The game rules are clearly explained and easy to understand. If I remember correctly, by default the settings are set to 5 words per turn. We found this to be too many per turn. I think that this was due to our group dynamic and the fact that there were only a few of us in each team. When the number of words per turn was set to 2 the game became much more competetive and progressed at a faster pace.

    The rules of this game are easy to understand and it is fun to play. The game keeps scores for you which makes for easy, no arguments scoring!

    I have a few minor suggestions for improving the game:

    1) Asthetics - the appearance of the game is clear, crisp and uncluttered. But this doesn't match the fun vibe of the gameplay. While it doesn't bother me, I am sure it has stopped some people from purchasing. So I am glad that the developer is working to improve this.

    2) Rules and How to Play - the rules are clearly explained and easy to understand. They could be improved if the scoring was explained and if it was clearly explained that using the "I messed up, disqualify this word" button voids the word and losses you points as you don't get another or additional word to try instead.

    3) Pause button - the game needs a pause button.

    4) Menu button - the game needs a button that you can select to return to the menu. Currently you have to close the game and then reopen it to access the menu.

    5) Save game - I have an iPhone. If the game is interupted it is not saved. This is a pain if you receive a call while playing. Being able to resume an interupted game would be a nice feature.

    6) Winner's screen - you might consider including an animation or special effect that proclaims the winning team. You could see this special screen first and then the normal end screen for the game.

    7) Children's category - Apple's iDevices have a broad audience. If you were looking to increase the appeal of the game maybe you can add a category for children. You might even consider adding more than one category. A category for really young children and a category for older children. There are a few posters in this forum who have indicated they play apps and games with their children. Maybe for young children they could see a simple picture of an animal and have to make the noise of the animal and other players have to guess what the animal is. Who knows, the market may be there and could be worth exploring further.

    8) Custom categories - you might want to allow the user to add custom catagories. Although you might need to set rules on the minimum number of words per category in order to make any custom categories usable in a game.

    9) Spelling/Typos - we didn't see any spelling errors or typos in the words we had to say. But the Rules and How to Play section had a few typos so I'll list these in my email to the developer.

    All in all this was more fun than I expected. It is a polished game already and all it needs is a few minor tweaks to broaden its appeal.
     
  12. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Thank you for the very though review I really appreciate it.

    1) I have already submitted the new version with the updated look, so you should be getting that shortly once Apple approves it. The new look is obviously not "FINAL", so if you have suggestion after you see it let me know so I can tweak.

    2) Thanks for that suggestion, I will read them over again and try to fix that.

    3,4) Your the second person that suggested that, so I will look into it to. I just want to make sure I don't make the game too cluttered so I will have to play around with placement.

    5) I will look into this also, I only have a Touch myself so I always like feedback about iPhone unique issues as they they won't come up of me.

    7) Again your the second person to ask for a "Simple/Child" category or setting. What I was thinking of doing is making the game have an "Easy or All Words" setting to filter out all the harder ones. This will take a lot of manual effort, so it probably will have to come in a later version.

    8) Good idea, I will add that to my list of future enhancements. The main issue I can see with that is entering them in. Typing them on you computer is obviously ideal, but then getting them on your iPhone is a problem.

    9) Yes please do so I can correct them.
     
  13. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    My new version has been approved. For the people that got a promo code, let me know what you think.

    My next version will be focusing on adding substantially more words.
     
  14. Fletch

    Fletch Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2009
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    Just updated and I can say it is a major improvement. The new colorful background really brightens up the game, and just makes it much more pleasing to look at. I also like the new font for all the buttons.

    I do have a few more suggestions though, some of which I mentioned before
    1. Still needs a way to return to main menu while playing game, a small "x" in the upper right corner would not clutter it at all
    2. Similarly, I still think there should be a small arrow of "pass" or "end" or "next" kind of button to skip straight to the next teams turn without answering all the words. There is just something that bothers me about hitting "I messes up" when I didn't, I just can't explain the phrase.
    3. I would consider placing all the game options (# words, rounds, etc)together in a separate button on the main menu called "options" or something to unclutter the home screen and make it look sharper, and simple
    4. You were probably gonna do this anyways, but make sure u update the acreenshoys on the appstore to show potential buyers the snazzy new setup...

    That's about all I can think of for now, will add more if I come across anything
     
  15. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Thanks Fletch. My goal is the next update is going to be all words and some miner changes I can get done quickly. I want to get it submitted as soon as possible.

    The following update will be all the features that I can get done. I want some time to test them out to make sure they work well and don't mess up the gameplay.

    Also, I just updated the screen shots online.
     
  16. snow_mani

    snow_mani Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2008
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    @ jpc82 - just FYI - I'm pretty busy at the moment. I'm snatching/stealing a minute here and there but it might not be until the weekend that I can check out your update. And of course I still owe you a review in iTunes. I'll try to do that ASAP. And an email listing possible typos... I thought I'd post to let you know I haven't forgotten.
     
  17. Fletch

    Fletch Well-Known Member

    Jan 14, 2009
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    Oh yeah...I also noticed that all the reviews on the iTunes store are five stars, yet the average rating is only three and a half...how's that possible?
     
  18. ibelongintheforums

    ibelongintheforums Well-Known Member

    Jan 4, 2009
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    Becausethey delete the game and rate it

    Anyways. I love this new update. I can't think of anything not listed to make it better.
     
  19. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Thanks for all the positive input and criticism. Now I just need to get on to the Touch Arcade front page :)

    And as for the overall rating ya, I think its when people delete they can put a rating but not have to provide a reason. Kind of sucks since I don't get any feedback. It would be good to know why they didn't like it since pretty much everyone that has tried it has liked it, unless they REALLY didn't like the original graphics to the point that they didn't give it a shot.
     
  20. jpc82

    jpc82 Active Member

    Jan 28, 2009
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    Thanks for all your help guys. I just released a new version with the ability to resume a previous game, and the ability to filter out the hard words.

    Next I will be looking into having a pause button on the game screen and another revamp of the graphics.

    Also, I released a Lite version with 10 words per category.
     

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