Well done. The game is strangely intuitive. I skipped the trailer and just played. It almost felt like I knew what to do just by looking at the cube.
That's a huge win IMO.
Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
161–170 of 341 posts
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#162Love the music! First stab at basic time challenge puts me at rank #2. I think the challenge system could be something quite fun if you integrate it well.
Thanks for the feedback! You can hear the soundtrack here: https://soundcloud.com/tackmobile/sets/adrift-soundtrack
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is disturbingly cynical advice. If you stand by it, why not attach your real name to it? If not, why put it in public? And by the way, you're recommending buying fake reviews. Here's a better tactic (and one that's guaranteed not to get you kicked out of the app store): get your launch announcement to the top slot on a popular discussion site, and get the real people there to leave real reviews instead. Which, i…
> If you stand by it, why not attach your real name to it? Seriously? You don't understand why not?
Since it is obvious he does not – and you give the impression of possessing some kind of explanation – why not directly explain your view of it to him instead of asking snarky questions that you already know the answer to? It is a much more meaningful way to advance the discussion.
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hm, so why make a unique game after all? Just make a crap one and buy the reviews. 1. write crap game. 2. buy reviews. 3. profit.
That wouldn't work at all. Did you even think about writing this comment? A crap game doesn't get good reviews, so boosting the app rating by buying fake reviews is just throwing good money after bad.
Ok, maybe "crap" is a bit of exaggeration. The point was that you really wouldn't need to really struggle to make a great game, as people would download it just because they saw good (fake) reviews. As long as it doesn't really suck, there won't be negative reviews to counter this.
Anyway, I wonder how long will it take before this tactic becomes too widespread so that only huge players will have enough cash to game the system like this.
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. Free demo on website + charge for app = profit... probably. Does the website demo work on an iPhone (I don't have one to test)?
This only works if their site gets views and the free demo gets plays. In my experience, apps in the App Store are primarily found through the App Store, meaning potential users won't hit the site first to try the demo. The standard solution is to give away a bunch of levels for free and charge for additional levels using IAPs.
I'm guessing that demo is getting a lot of plays right now and they should capitalize on the hype that's being built.
Relying on the App Store is a good strategy for development firms that cannot build their own hype. So far, I'm guessing these guys are doing an okay job.
But I have zero data on any of this, hopefully they do and are acting appropriately.
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hey, this is not my advice. This was given to me by someone who charts successes and sales in app stores. It sucks, it's ugly, but it's fucking true and it works.
Hm, so why make a unique game after all? Just make a crap one and buy the reviews. 1. write crap game. 2. buy reviews. 3. profit.
Initial ad spend to get in top rankings of an app store with a game is about 75k. A generally considered successful tactic is to do that spend, get in the top, then grow organically from there if you can.
I played 10 levels of this game on the web site, though, and it never even encouraged me to brag to anyone else about how quick I solved a puzzle, and had no replay value, e.g. I can't solve a puzzle better or worse really. The game has nothing to get each user to draw in more users, so it would be a waste to do the ad spend at all...
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
You should charge for it.
He/she probably can't. The concept is not new. Here's a flash version of the same game. it is a few years old. [1]: http://www.addictinggames.com/puzzle-games/3dlogic2.jsp
I was looking for this, I knew I had played it before.
This one has much better controls on the web app, as well.
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hm, so why make a unique game after all? Just make a crap one and buy the reviews. 1. write crap game. 2. buy reviews. 3. profit.
Well, the way it works, you get an initial boom for your buck, and you get more eyes on your product during your launch week, which is your critical time to make an impression. If your game or app is shit and no one ever uses it again, that money spent on cheating is an immediate ROI, and drops off as soon as you stop promoting the app. However, if your app is awesome, that initial burst of cheating allowed your game…
Interesting, how much does a successful app usually have to spend on fake reviews to have a shot?
The way you are describing it basically makes it sound like a hidden listing cost to be on the app store.
Eventually though people are simply going to stop believing reviews at which point Apple/Google will have to start taking some action against this.
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#169Hey guys, thought I'd throw in my 2-cents as an Independent Games Festival judge, and as press. First of all, your presentation is terrific. Great art and sound. Top notch, feels like it came from a very talented team. With this game on your resume, you've got a great future ahead of yourselves. Now, the bad part: from a gameplay perspective, your game is not unique enough to win out on its own merits in any app stor…
Do you have a source about Hill Climb Racing having spyware? I've seen my friends play it and was unaware of any spyware problems reported with it. Google isn't showing anything using relevant search queries; I'd love to read a source!
Re: Show HN: 6 months ago I quit my job to pursue indie dev. Here is our first game
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is disturbingly cynical advice. If you stand by it, why not attach your real name to it? If not, why put it in public? And by the way, you're recommending buying fake reviews. Here's a better tactic (and one that's guaranteed not to get you kicked out of the app store): get your launch announcement to the top slot on a popular discussion site, and get the real people there to leave real reviews instead. Which, i…
>This is disturbingly cynical advice. If you stand by it, why not attach your real name to it? If not, why put it in public? Could you explain this logic?
This is toxic advice and putting it out there makes the ecosystem worse. Giving it anonymously but backing it by appealing to your authority as an IGF judge, etc is bullshit.
(And that's true regardless of whether it's effective -- it clearly is, though I think mostly in the short term).
Edit: Since I'm being fairly negative here, I want to add that VonGuard's comments on gameplay and adding unique elements seem well-informed and well-intentioned.