Thanks for the tip.Was contemplating waiting for the update to only then purchase it but now I've got a good reason to get it. Hopefully you guys won't suddenly make it a FREE app soon after I buy it.
SimianSquared, your explanation of the analog stick and enemy AI went a long way in helping me enjoy the game. I'm still dying due to the controls (climbing!), but it is getting better. I think both issues are caused by expectations you are setting incorrectly. I'm thrilled to see you adding other control options and a new graphic for the analog stick options. I think the reason I had made no progress in figuring out the enemy AI myself is the time pressure. Nobody has mentioned it yet, but I really think it might be one of your key problems. If I wasn't pressured to keep moving constantly, I could slow down to explore the environment, collect every oil can, and spend some time combatting the enemies. For the sake of fun, I think ditching the time limit and adding infinite lives is the way to go. At the same time, I realize this would dramatically lower the difficulty and the punishment for performing poorly, but is punishing your players what you are seeking? I personally don't think a difficulty split is necessary. Infinite lives and no time pressure would make the frustration related to combat and controls much smaller (matching the much smaller punishment). However, if you want to cling to the time and lives system, I would laud the addition of an easier difficulty that ditches them. Infinite lives and infinite time means you don't need to dumb down enemies in your "easy" mode. The time and lives systems were designed for arcade games whose goal was to get as many quarters as possible. Most successful modern platformers have ditched these mechanics because they aren't pay-per-play anymore! N+, Super Meat Boy, VVVVVV, Splosion Man, and Rayman Origins all come to mind as great examples. Some solve the lives problem with checkpoints and others use levels that are very short. Admittedly, some still incorporate time and lives, but only to improve your score, not to make it to the end of the level.
No, you're not going to get tricked. I doubt strongly any of us want it to be free. You'll get plenty of prior warning if it ever happened. And that would be after episode 3 if it ever did happen. In fact, mini rant coming on here... Why do developers do that? What are they afraid of? Why not warn your loyal players so they don't feel put out? I don't get it. Is the loss of 100 sales really more important than the loss of faith from your gamers? So that is why I believe in transparency, because when there's nothing to hide and you treat your gamers with the respect they deserve, you'll get it back. At least that is what I feel.
I really loved your points here in particular, the time and lives systems. I agree they are outdated but there is another aspect to it: The risk/reward mechanic. Without risk, there can be no feeling of reward. Just have a medal for coming last - how is this satisfactory? Where if you know you're going to die and it's your last life, and there's no pigeons around... You will get tense you will think about the risks... and that is something important that makes it a real game as opposed to a time sink you'll get bored of or never remember. Lives and Time offer more than just an excuse to pump quarters IMHO. Far better to improve the frustrating elements and controls than dumb down the difficulty and be like every other achievement fest... I think it will vary from game to game what is suited. I mean, in Angry Birds, lives and time would never make sense. We may well do away with time and make it a clock instead - so you can do speed runs for game center. This was discussed a lot during dev, but looming deadlines pretty much canned that (for now)
I just noticed the game is lacking many key sounds. Jumping, can collecting, end of level. These are needed!
I apologize if I'm coming off too whiny about the game. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't bother. Just wanted to come report I finally three-starred the first level. Handled the enemies and the controls deftly, thank you very much. Had 78 seconds to spare, so maybe I'm exaggerating with the time too. Although, if there's plenty of time to three-star the levels, I'm not really sure what purpose it serves other than discouraging exploration the first couple of times you play a level. Unless I am mistaken, it doesn't even contribute to how many stars you get!
You're absolutely right. Risk/reward affects the intensity of positive and negative emotions. That is incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to balance with how many different types of players exist in today's gaming environment. Perhaps keeping the lives system is the right way to go, I certainly have had my moments of pigeonlessness that have been quite intense. When I three-star the second level, it will certainly be more rewarding because of how many times it has killed me. That said, the first night I played I couldn't bring myself to keep playing the second level all the way from the beginning because I was so frustrated - and I'm normally a very patient gamer. I think my frustration stemmed from feeling like my deaths were not my fault - largely due to the controls (the horse this forum has beaten to death). As I said earlier, this is getting better. If you look at games that got the difficulty curve right (most, if not all, of my previous examples), beating a level is fairly easy. That's going to be good enough for somebody who is new to the game or just playing it casually. The small reward of beating a level, but with only a one-star rating, is good enough to hook the player and encourage her to keep playing. When the player's skills have improved, she will go back and replay levels to improve her score (and perhaps get extra collectibles and/or unlocks along the way). Perhaps you could allow unlimited lives but deaths contribute to your final score. Of course, then players will just restart the level when they've died thrice and the system gets complicated . Here comes the tough balancing. Anyway, the lives system is doing its job of boosting the intensity of the negative and positive emotions. I think the switch from a countdown to a timer is a good idea though, especially for the gamers who like leaderboards.
Hehe, great discussion! btw I think I'm going to get some dpad t-shirts printed. Might give a few away
For this quote alone, you guys are officially one of my favorite devs ever - you are amazing at customer satisfaction. Can't wait for the update!!
The power ups -spanners and wotnot- could you have the meter in the shape of an icon to remind up what powerup you have, then get rid of "finished" because I get so engrossed in the game play that every time that comes up I forget what it was related to, and yes make the spanners heavier with more damage points.
I see it now, the design of it unfolding, an awesome yet retro dpad with BIG GOLDEN CLASSIC WINGS Flying with a heavenly cloudscape and godrays!
There is no jump sound at the moment. I will discuss it with the team. For those who are wondering who the team is, they are Gsep Bjorn Thomas Rob (me posting here as Simian Squared) Then Dave teamed up and did the OST's
I'm glad you're adding this, because holy crap, I can't play it now. I'm usually fine with virtual buttons, I got all the stars on Mikey Shorts and Mos Speedrun, for example. But because this pad moves I keep screwing up and letting go, then retouching to find only a deadzone and death. Having to keep my thumb on the D-pad and slide reminds me of the old Turbotouch Controller for the NES, which had a slider pad and instantly rendered me useless in any games I played on it. Playing Ninja Gaiden 3 with that is one of the most frustrating gaming experiences I've ever had. Anyway, other than the controls this seems like one of the coolest platformers that ever came to iOS, and I'm all over it as soon as new controls are added.
