Doesn't even have to be about different special challenges. It could just be a single-player ladder type thing. If you reach X points you win and rank up, if you lose you rank down. A single-player Elo system as in Auro. That would do away with the many fundamental problems of highscore/endless rulesets.
Hey Tim, thanks for weighing in as always. You literally have described what I've been calling puzzle mode: do x in y moves. I used to play a lot of Tetris Attack back on the SNES and I loved the puzzle mode on there where the solution required an extremely specific set of moves otherwise it was impossible to complete. What I'd like to do is something similar to that but with slightly more wiggle room. I hope to implement it sometime in the future.
Nachtfischer, thanks for elaborating. This is a very intriguing idea. I personally am a huge fan of leaderboard comparisons and having an ELO-like system would definitely bring the game to another level of competitive-ness. Do you envision this ranking system being paired with the endless play or the more defined beginning & end that @LordGek mentioned?
While not a iOS game, I think Axes & Acres on Steam handles this concept well. It's a board/card/dice game where the player is given clear objectives that, if pulled off before the game ends, result in a win and the player moves up a rank (each rank either introduces new mechanics or simply slightly increase the difficulty). On the other hand, if the player fails to meet these objectives two games in a row, they'll lose a rank. Thus the game cleverly adjusts its difficulty to ideally fit the player's skill level.
I like this concept a lot! I can envision including something like this in Stencilsmith. I loves that it would give the player something else to focus on while playing that would make them choose if they want to break their high score or complete an objective to rank up. I can already imagine how sinister these challenges might get
Free Promo Codes I am so grateful for all the TA forum members' support of the game and the great review Shaun wrote that I wanted to spread the wealth and give out some free promo codes for anyone who was on the fence and wanted to check the game out. I posted on the promo code thread so please take a look if you're interested: Stencilsmith Free Promo Codes Forum Post
Congratulations on the review, Nick!! Well deserved! Wish you the best. And thanks Shaun, for taking the time to write up another of your great reviews. How you have time to play so many games, most of them "beefy" RPGs, and write so many quality articles, is beyond my thought level.
Thanks to everyone who picked up the game! I've received some feedback about the tutorial and was hoping to get some TA forum members feedback on it as well. Any and all thoughts would be appreciated so I can make it better.
Just added 9 promo codes to the promo code thread. Added some requirements to ensure only TA forum members are eligible to prevent people who just cruise site for free games.
Great game. Great sense of progression like a rpg/roguelike. Tutorial polished, clear, essential. Game Center integration perfect. Yeah, this is how indie premium games should be done. You deserve all the praise, man.
Happy holidays everyone! I've been taking a break for a couple months to recharge for my next game but wanted to spread some holiday cheer. The first 10 TA members who PMs me will get a promo code to download Stencilsmith free! Thanks for all the support in 2016 and looking forward to 2017!
Hey everyone! Been working on my next game and would love any initial reactions you might have, please take a look at it's post on the Upcoming Games forum. Thanks as always!
