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Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

theguardian.com

211–220 of 221 posts

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#211
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The key thing for me is quality." I wanted to say that I developed Rocket Renegade [1] for iOS. It's an 80s-inspired arcade shooter, with elements reminiscent of Space Invaders, Asteroids, Galaga... and, of course, it contains bosses. I wrote all of the code, and I composed the soundtrack as well. The bitmap graphics were done by game designer Daniel Cook, who released them under a Creative Commons Attribution licen…

I just bought it and gave it a try. I have to say, it is not really my type of thing. After beating the boss, it just repeats, which is not really fun. I really liked the graphics and whatnot, but there was very little in ways of Replayability. It reminded me a lot of Xenon, but was basically over after the first boss. Still, great job! Hope it makes you rich.

Thank you for checking it out! Yes, your feedback is well-placed; it does need additional game-play elements (e.g., power-ups, shields, variation, etc.) that would give it a higher replay factor.

Again, thank you for taking the time to play and provide feedback. This was my first game, and it's clear that I have a lot to learn!

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#212
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just purchased and played several times. Very solid gameplay, nice retro graphics, fun music. Congratulations. I was kind of hoping for some power-ups, like a faster shot rate or scattershot. Those might be present, and I just didn't get to them yet, only made it to stage 3-x on first attempts. I also wish the stages had more variation, might feel too repetitive after a while – though that might happen later also. An…

Well, first off, a massive THANK YOU for both the purchase, and for taking the time to provide feedback! Unfortunately, there are no power-ups, and the levels do repeat after the boss level (although the game does become progressively more difficult). Those are definitely great ideas for the next iteration of the game. Thank you, again. It means a lot to me.

Fun game! (Sorry for your loss, indicated in the credits.) I'm not much of a gamer and I kept getting clipped by the rocks because I couldn't see my ship under my finger!

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#213
post #212
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, first off, a massive THANK YOU for both the purchase, and for taking the time to provide feedback! Unfortunately, there are no power-ups, and the levels do repeat after the boss level (although the game does become progressively more difficult). Those are definitely great ideas for the next iteration of the game. Thank you, again. It means a lot to me.

Fun game! (Sorry for your loss, indicated in the credits.) I'm not much of a gamer and I kept getting clipped by the rocks because I couldn't see my ship under my finger!

Thank you for your kindness.

As for your game-play issue, try off-setting your finger on the screen, away from the actual ship. That is to say, I made it so that you can actually have your finger anywhere on the screen to control the ship (i.e., you don't have to have your finger directly on the ship to control it). That will help you as you're trying to navigate through the asteroid field (and the other levels as well)!

Thanks again!

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#214
post #102

Ugh, in-app purchases are the worst thing to ever happen to the game industry. Unfortunately there are two types of IAPs: 1. Extra content (eg extra decks in Agricola, more levels, etc) 2. Pay-to-win purchases. And there's really no way to distinguish between (1) and (2). I loathe (2) but (1) is where all the money is. The market has (sadly) spoken on this one. :( Ya know, it just occurred to me that paying to win ha…

Some game apps are truly frustrating, specially those with plenty of ads. It seems that market has devoted to 'candy-crush' or 'dress your pony' games. But then you can stumble upon games like 'Monument Valley' or simply '2048'.

I create html5 puzzles and I am truly interested in what kind of games people are interested (in puzzle genre). When it comes to monetization, I'm trying with rewarded-donation with patreon, but it seems there is no good solution, even with free to play games!

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#215
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some odd non-specific trends I've noticed across various games: * There are usually 3 currencies. Usually a "f2p" currency, a "p2p" currency and a "social" currency. * There are at least 3 distinct ways to progress a unit, for example "level", "stars/quality", "gear/items" and each way requires a different activity or minigame to progress. * Playing the game requires "energy" or something similar which recharges slow…

> It's like every big mobile game studio is designing off the same playbook They, in fact, are. Every one of those trends serve a specific purpose or were highly studied to provided the "best" outcome. I.E - Energy forbids you to explore the whole game in a couple of days (unless you pay) and plays with your min-maxing head to return to the game several times a day (you energy usually takes 4 to 6 hours to fully repl…

They've probably read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Social-Game-Design-Monetization...

I did, but I try to do games that I like to play, trying to minimize obstacles for the players.

This doesn't mean that the book should be burned; it has some great articles on how to improve usability or minimize friction.

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#216
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I could go on and on Please do! The problem I've had with mobile games has been discoverability. The app store's recommendations have been useless and the featured/top grossing/most popular games are just the ones that make the most money via in app purchases. And for some crazy reason, fewer and fewer games have actual screenshots in the screenshot section of their store page. Instead they opt to use that space fo…

You would LOVE Rymdkapsel ( http://rymdkapsel.com/ ) in my opinion.

I just tried this and it's as awesome as you say. I just bought it for two platforms

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#217
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really like Ridiculous Fishing. The guy who made Braid has similar talks, comparing mobile games, arcade games and 90s syndicated sitcoms. They only keep you entertained long enough to insert another coin or make it through a commercial break. The good mobile games, like you've mentioned, focus on creating a good engaging game without micro-transactions. They earn less. Games with micro-transactions have like a 70%…

At that point, you don't have fans, you've got addicts.

There was an article about the number 1 Clash of Clans player. He took two iPads in clear plastic bags into the shower with him to maintain this position.

He actually sounds like someone you'd meet on HN, he was lonely after moving to SF for a job, that's how be got into the game:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/technology/master-of-hi...

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#218

If you can get past maybe the top 50 or 100 grossing games there are a lot of really good games out there that aren't looking to leech money from you. I have plenty of games that have been worth every penny I spent with a lot of depth and strategy required in order to master them. Letterpress, Spelltower, Hearthstone, Tiny Wings, Ticket to Ride, Strategery, GD Swarm, Ridiculous Fishing, Monument Valley...I could go o…

I think I bought nearly all of the games you mentioned via humble bundle deals, so that may be one way to access curated mobile games.

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#219
post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just bought it and gave it a try. I have to say, it is not really my type of thing. After beating the boss, it just repeats, which is not really fun. I really liked the graphics and whatnot, but there was very little in ways of Replayability. It reminded me a lot of Xenon, but was basically over after the first boss. Still, great job! Hope it makes you rich.

Thank you for checking it out! Yes, your feedback is well-placed; it does need additional game-play elements (e.g., power-ups, shields, variation, etc.) that would give it a higher replay factor. Again, thank you for taking the time to play and provide feedback. This was my first game, and it's clear that I have a lot to learn!

Welcome. And best of luck. This is an awesome start!

Re: Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

#220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just purchased and played several times. Very solid gameplay, nice retro graphics, fun music. Congratulations. I was kind of hoping for some power-ups, like a faster shot rate or scattershot. Those might be present, and I just didn't get to them yet, only made it to stage 3-x on first attempts. I also wish the stages had more variation, might feel too repetitive after a while – though that might happen later also. An…

Hi, Could you please take a look at my game: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/drone-invaders/id1047158768 Powerups are there. :)

IAP were something he/she was specifically trying to avoid.
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