Paint it Back

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by CasualLabs, Sep 19, 2013.

  1. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
    St. Louis, Missouri
    Hello everybody!

    I'm announcing the existence of a soon-to-be released game called Paint it Back.





    The art from the art gallery has disappeared. You need to "paint back" the
    lost paintings by using logic as your paintbrush.




    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]



    Features:
    -140 paintings to solve.
    -14 rooms to unlock.
    -18 achievements.
    -6 individual player profiles on one device.
    -Universal
    -iCloud sync: play on one iDevice, continue on another.
    -iPad: play in either landscape or portrait mode.
    -Endless "Mystery Masterpiece" challenge mode.
    -Logic puzzles you may also know as nonograms, picross or griddlers.



    I'm releasing this as a free download - but NOT as free-to-play. It's more like "free-to-TRY." I'd prefer to just charge $2.99 and be done with it, but I want as many people to see the game as possible, and realistically, that $2.99 would turn away a lot of players.

    So with the free download, you get to play the first 31 paintings. If you want to keep playing, you can pay $2.99 to unlock everything in the game. No further in-app purchases of hints, cheats, coins, or whatever!

    I also give the option of spending $0.99 to unlock just the next 44 paintings.

    I'm curious to hear what people think about this pricing model.

    About me - I used to work at Popcap for a few years, a few years ago. Now I'm indie and making games under the company name of Casual Labs.

    I'm Ed, by the way. Glad to meet you, Toucharcade forum!
     
  2. torbokat

    torbokat Member

    Jan 24, 2013
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    PA
    #2 torbokat, Sep 19, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2013
    Neat

    Looks kinda cool! Looks more cool on the iPad than the phone. Pricing model feels a little like a paywall, which I'm never a big fan of, but if you're up front about it it seems like a reasonable way to do it. Just don't spring it on people without warning! You could also do something like have different packs of paintings you could buy so that there are some choices - this would make it feel less like a paywall and more fun I think. The paint it black idea is nice. Best of luck to you!
     
  3. Team Super Puck

    Sep 18, 2013
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    #3 Team Super Puck, Sep 20, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 20, 2013
    nice

    The game looks really nice. We are developing an iOS game too, and thinking about the same pricing model.

    I think this kind of pricing is fair and better than the usual buy some content 'free to play' model. 'The Walking Dead' used a similar pricing model.

    Maybe we can share some experiences, when our games will be released.
     
  4. Dazzlemi

    Dazzlemi Well-Known Member

    Mar 14, 2010
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    Looks cool - I like these kind of puzzles - when I'd the release date?
     
  5. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
    St. Louis, Missouri
    Team Super Puck: Yeah lemme know how your launch goes. I think this pricing model is very fair - the player gets to try the game out for free, so they don't have to pay money to see how a game plays. And there's no free-to-play never-ending purchase shenanigans.


    Dazzlemi: I'm hoping to release within the next 2-3 weeks.
     
  6. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
    St. Louis, Missouri
    If a few of you want to try out the latest beta of Paint it Back, send me a message and I can add you to Testflight.

    If you like Picross, then I think you'll probably like Paint it Back.
     
  7. Dazzlemi

    Dazzlemi Well-Known Member

    Mar 14, 2010
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    I've been loving playing the beta... Can't seem to get enough... You know "just one more puzzle"
     
  8. Dazzlemi

    Dazzlemi Well-Known Member

    Mar 14, 2010
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    I'm having strategy problems with "Leopard Skin Lamp" middle left and middle right (normal) 10x10. All small numbers. How should I approach this kind of puzzle ?
     
  9. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
    St. Louis, Missouri
    I just played the middle left and middle right sections to make sure they could be solved without guessing - and they can. All of the paintings in the game should be able to be solved without guessing on normal or pro.

    Check out these screenshots of how I started each section and see if you can figure it out. Those painted squares and x's aren't guesses.

    Middle left section - the very first thing I painted was the two squares in the row of 6.
    photo-1.JPG


    Middle right section - I started by painting what I knew has to be painted in the 4 3 column, then put that one X down.
    photo-2.JPG


    If you need more tips, let me know.
     
  10. Dazzlemi

    Dazzlemi Well-Known Member

    Mar 14, 2010
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    Yes that helps, but, what was your reasoning to start where you did ? The logical reason. I was guessing at a few places, those weren't the same as yours.
     
  11. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
    St. Louis, Missouri
    On the middle left section, I started on the row of 6 because in a 10x10, those two squares must be painted.

    Here's the row of 6 unpainted with 10 empty squares.
    6 ==========

    Here's the row of 6 painted in one way:
    6 ====######

    Here's the row of 6 painted in another way:
    6 ######====

    Here's the row of 6 painted yet another way:
    6 ==######==

    You can see that in any case of painting 6, these two squares will always be painted:
    6 ====##====
     
  12. wyzau

    wyzau Well-Known Member

    Oct 3, 2012
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    I had the chance to try the game and here is my feedback:

    - funny story. and i love that there even is a story in a picross game! :) (at least the intro)
    - great tutorial. game mechanics explained very well
    - achievements :) love them! must get all of them :)
    - very fluid handling, intuitive controls
    - nice to see that there are non-squared playfields, too
    - didn't like that feature too much that you can erase a "painted" block with a cross and vice versa. personally i'd like it better if i only could erase crosses when the "crosses"-tool is selected and the same for the "paint"-tool.
    - overall the game seems very polished. i think the fact that i played through the "demo" with 35 medals in one session speaks for itself :)
    - I hope that there will be a sort of level editor or daily paintings or something like that.
    - I have absolutely no problem with the pricing model. You can try out a fair ammount of paintings before you have to pay to continue. I think the game is absolutely worth the price!
     
  13. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
    St. Louis, Missouri
  14. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
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    Picked a release date - October 17!
     
  15. nemerleb

    nemerleb Well-Known Member

    Jan 19, 2013
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    I agree that it's one of the most polished Picross games on the App Store. I got a promo code for my US account but will buy it again using my Leb account just to support the developper.

    "didn't like that feature too much that you can erase a "painted" block with a cross and vice versa. personally i'd like it better if i only could erase crosses when the "crosses"-tool is selected and the same for the "paint"-tool."
    that was exactly what I tried to give feedback on but didin't find the right words for it lol.
     
  16. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
    St. Louis, Missouri
    You can unlock the whole game - just go to the upgrade page and touch the "pre-release unlock" button.
     
  17. crimsondivine

    crimsondivine Well-Known Member

    Jun 28, 2013
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    Are you still giving away codes? I would love to help out/ beta test before release. My email is [email protected]
     
  18. Andre

    Andre Well-Known Member

    Apr 11, 2012
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    Don't understand more about the rule of the game. :(
     
  19. squashy

    squashy Well-Known Member

    Jan 21, 2013
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    *burp*
    The Garden of Sinners
    #19 squashy, Oct 6, 2013
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2013
    You are given a grid of, say, 5x5 squares. You will have to "paint" a certain number of these squares. Each column/row has one or two numbers written on one end of it to tell you how many squares you must paint.

    If you see 5 written on one end of a row in this grid, you can paint the whole row. There will almost always be at least one column/row like this in a grid, so fill them first,
    If you see 4 instead, you have 2 guesses: either xxxx- or -xxxx, so you can safely paint the 3 middle squares (-xxx-) since they are definitely required. Figure out the last square to paint later.
    If you see two or three number, like 1 1 1, it means you need to paint 3 square seperately, so it's easy: x-x-x. If it's 2 2: xx-xx. But when it's something like 1 1 or 1 2, you will have to take time to figure it out. For example 1 2 can be x-xx- or x--xx or -x-xx. Notice something? The fourth square must be filled in any case, so fill it!

    Of course you will deal with bigger grids with fewer squares to fill in later levels. They are more time consuming to solve and satisfying to complete.

    Also check out the original Picross game if you're still rocking a DS.
     
  20. CasualLabs

    CasualLabs Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2013
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    Game Developer
    St. Louis, Missouri
    I tried out the suggestion of only being able to erase X's when the X button is selected and only being able erase paint when the paint button is selected - I like it. I think it's better. It'll be in the release version.

    I also added volume controls to the pause menu.

    Good suggestions!
     

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