Kickstarter launched!

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Support the Bitcrobes kickstarter!

After spending lots of time considering how to complete bitcrobes, I decided to launch a small kickstarter to get it completed. As a amateur with no money, I need a little support to finish it all.

This kickstarter is very small – about $660 USD. Just enough to get a Mac mini and cover the costs of amazon/kickstarter. I don’t believe in asking a lot unless I deliver a lot. This game, though fun, just needs enough to get off the ground.

Up until now bitcrobes has been made 100% via hackintosh! Unfortunately my poor laptop has a sound card which isn’t supported by OSX so in order to finalize it all I need a native environment.

On iAds, IAP, etc…

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Bitcrobes is slowly seeing the finish line. Music is almost done. Debugging has begun. 3/4ths of the levels are complete. All in all, we’re almost there! What I love is (after I finish moving) I can complete this game at any given time, excluding any debugging time. I am very excited. I began learning programming 10 months ago, and I feel like going from zero to a full game is a great accomplishment.

Now lets talk about money. Firstly, this game will be free. I feel like its not full featured enough to warrant a cost. However, if I did get any money from it, it could help fund the next game which I am so very excited about. I could go with ads, but I don’t want to overwhelm the player. At the same time, I feel like ads barely give the developer enough as it is. Hmm. Another option is shoe-horning in “In App Purchases” or IAP. When I first set out to make this game, I told myself I wouldn’t make it built around IAP, but now that its complete I feel a bit more comfortable offering IAP without destroying gameplay.

Any comments? I would love some feedback. I’ll have to send out a new video showing gameplay and hopefully that’ll spur some comments on what I should do. I think ads would be the best, as long as they’re not intrusive. It keeps the game free, it offers slight monetary gains, and allows the game to be “free.”

 

Where to next?

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Here’s some tests of my next games graphics. I have plans for a lot of animation (grass, sky, and lighting effects) but until I choose an engine its just kinda… flat for now.

ssng1

Simple tiles and jumpables

ssng2

Grass and rock tiles

ssng3

Space ship tiles? hmm… wonder what these are for!

So now I’m at an fork in the road. I’m finishing up bitcrobes (slowly, since I only work on it every so often) but I need to think about where I’m headed next. I have a great game idea, what I think are solid mechanics, and some neat art. I really want to put a LOT more effort into the next project in every way.

What I’m worried about is the fear that working on iOS apps is going to hold me back. Does a game with depth and geared towards longer play times fit on the mobile market? Should I switch to a different language and engine? I know nothing about unity, and c# resources seem sparse. IN addition, I don’t have the funds to buy a unity license. Releasing for desktop seems scary without a market to distribute too. I really feel like I could have a niche with this game on iOS… or make something no one really wants to play!

Level design

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The time has finally come! I’m really excited. Level design is one of the last things I wanted to do before I go through a more intense play through and polishing (especially on the options/menus).

ss march 9 2013

Its really fun now knowing that putting together the level is rather straight forward. Place the tiles, tell the game how many enemies/items to place, and then its done. Fun!

ss march 9 2013 - 2

The menu options are starting to look a little different as well. I posted a little while ago about the plan, and its finally implemented. The old version had a scientist character but I think it was just too much. He didn’t really do anything or add anything to the game.

 

NEW UPGRADE: Cell division!

ss march 9 2013 - 3

Your character can now divide into smaller versions of itself. It’s awesome! I really like this feature. They don’t survive long BUT they can get food for you which adds to your funds!