My App Release: What am I doing wrong?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by TheFootballPlaybook, Mar 14, 2013.

  1. TheFootballPlaybook

    TheFootballPlaybook Active Member

    Hi All,

    I am very close to releasing my app and wanted try and get it right. With that in mind I am asking veterans and noobs alike to tell me.. what I am doing wrong?

    My release plan is...
    - be free(ish) and get picked up by free app aggregators ( massive install numbers )
    - nice look and feel ( encourages people to talk about the game, write about it, keep playing it and eventually play through the free content and then maybe spend money? )
    - appannie ( respond to trends in usage in different countries? )
    - nice video trailer ( creates a nice feel, people think to themselves i want to have this game )
    - add more visual candy( particle effects etcs , attracts peoples eyes? people will want to write about? )
    - release on a Wednesday that there is football(soccer) on the TV ( football will be on peoples minds and they will be more receptive or the game will be more news worthy? )

    The game is a football(soccer) puzzle game. You get small snippets of matches and you move players around until you create a route to the goal.
    The game uses an in game currency to unlock level packs and to allow you to skip levels. One level pack( 48 levels ) is free with another 15 level packs are available to buy. If you buy one level pack at a time it will cost you the equivalent of .69p for each. If you buy a couple level packs or all of them, you get a big discount.



    Here is my game so far...



    this is the actual game screen...

    [​IMG]
     
  2. MHille

    MHille Well-Known Member

    So there is a chance you're doing nothing wrong?

    Matthew
     
  3. ThreeCubes

    ThreeCubes Well-Known Member

    Oct 13, 2012
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    looks good, I would say there is a slight risk that people in the usa may assume its american football and not "soccer". maybe worth stating that in the app description.
     
  4. TheFootballPlaybook

    TheFootballPlaybook Active Member

    #4 TheFootballPlaybook, Mar 15, 2013
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2013
    @MHille Nothing wrong...yet :)

    @ThreeCubes I will put the word "soccer" in my app description. my target markets are England, Italy, Portugal plus South America. I have chosen a name that they will be familiar with. I am not sure how many potential sales there would be in the US. Soccer is like the 5th or 6th most popular sport.

    @LinQsta hey thanks, I also played football manager by Kevin thoms. It's a classic!!
    Shop front? I think I have found something I am NOT doing as oppose to doing wrong!!

    Here is my icon http://tfpb.tumblr.com/image/45116774761

    I was going to just take 5 screenshots of the game and use those but I am not so sure now. Might be a good idea to hire an artist. I was planning to spend my money on a really nice video instead.

    Here is my closest competitor. They have actually employed an artist and the screenshots do look really good.
    I don't like their icon though it is very noisy.

    https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/fluid-football/id524972269?mt=8
     
  5. Philipp_S

    Philipp_S Well-Known Member

    Feb 16, 2013
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    To be honest, I think the gameplay screenshot looks a bit unpolished.
    One thing that should be relatively easy to fix are the black fringes at the edge of your alpha blended sprites (the font, buttons, and yellow players).

    Other things you could try, without spending money on an artist:
    • I'm not a big fan of the lines you're drawing. They remind me of 90s CAD apps. If you can get something antialiased going, maybe with varying width or a separate fill/outline color, that might look a lot nicer.
    • I'd consider adding faint shadows to players, and possibly give the field a hint of an overlayed texture (could be grass, but could also be other stuff, like felt or paper)... Both of these might make the image look a bit more exciting, without necessarily taking away from the minimalist style you seem to be going for.
    I'm not saying, these are your best options, just some ideas you could experiment with.
     
  6. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

    Jan 13, 2011
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    I wouldnt worry so much about the soccer/football issue. The game is aimed at people who like football (european) so they would want it called football, its mostly the US who call 'our' football soccer.

    Again you surely cant be mistaken thinking its american football as you would simply look at the screenshots.
     
  7. TheFootballPlaybook

    TheFootballPlaybook Active Member

    @Philipp_S. I was using Cairo but had to switch to OpenGl for the iOS version. That's why the lines don't look great. i plan to leave it for a future update. Instead i focused on gameplay elements. I am not keen on adding shadows and a texture overlay as I think the clean look is better. But I do get your point on it being too plain. I plan on adding animated procedurally generated shapes to signify things like space between players is shrinking, possible passes, players that are in good positions. Although these things will suffer from the anti-aliasing problem the lines and circles have, so might be worth investing some time into solving this.

    @LinQsta I think appannie will tell me about who, where and how many? You used appannie? I have twitter/email so that should be enough.
    I am beginning to understand this idea of a shop front. if the icon was the only thing people saw of my game, they would not know what to make of it. Will look into icon design as well.
     
  8. cretpetpet

    cretpetpet Well-Known Member

    Jul 9, 2011
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    Ostia
    I feel a resemblance in your game, also the fluid football too. Its kinda like the inazuma 11 football in my DS.
    I wonder is your idea original? Also the fluid one...
     
  9. TheFootballPlaybook

    TheFootballPlaybook Active Member

    Your joking right? The game you mentioned is "pokemon with a ball". It is a FIFA type game.
     
  10. fpadillao

    fpadillao Member

    Jul 5, 2011
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    Indie Game and Freelance Developer.
    Columbus, OH
    Looks goods but I don't like the color palette, I prefer something like Champions League's palette (winner colors). The video show a slow ball speed, I guest the game speed up in upper levels.

    Congratulations!
     
  11. TheFootballPlaybook

    TheFootballPlaybook Active Member

    How can you tell how many hit your link had?

    Buying behaviour seems to be hit or miss, only after the fact can you know something is wrong. What a nightmare!
    Adding the text box makes sense but I didn't think of it before!!
     
  12. DemonJim

    DemonJim Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2010
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    To make it more immediately obvious that it's a football (soccer) game you just need to add the centre circle to the pitch, and semi-circles on the 18-yard boxes that centre around the penalty spots (which you should add as well). And maybe make the nets look more 'netty' :)
     
  13. mr.Ugly

    mr.Ugly Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2009
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    well i find it interesting that a few said it looks good.. imho.. when comparing to your competition you linked too.. for me yours looks like the prototype of theirs.

    your shopping window is the icon and the gfx. thoose are the first thing that must appeal..

    of cours your aiming at a niche market.. but if i can choose between two samey games i choose the better looking one.

    imho your gfx assets need a complete overhaul so that it looks like a football game and not a green screen with black and white dots on it.. more sensible soccer. :)
     
  14. TheFootballPlaybook

    TheFootballPlaybook Active Member

    @mrUgly not really what I wanted to hear but that's exactly why I asked. Do you follow football or play football games? I personally love tactics and tactics boards and could look at them all day. That's we're the art style came from. Plus i wanted to differentiate myself from the other game. I think I would only change to sensible soccer sprites if the initial release didn't go well.

    I do have artwork which I think is good, different style but still as good as a competitor.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  15. mr.Ugly

    mr.Ugly Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2009
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    Berlin, Germany

    well when you wrote the above.. i was like wtf.. where is germany? by faar the biggest football country in the world

    so no no interest into football at all..

    the question with your artstyle (the banner actually have one, the playfield/game not really) is if you really want to target only the most hardcore football fan..

    i mean the hugely polular football manager series (made in germany) is not the most glaring game with explosion particles whatever.. but its not "ugly"..

    not sure.. i feel the game looks to basic.. for me thoose blips would be not enough to catch my interest.. if you had some players like in your other artworks.. even with basic animations or so.. or something else more appealing.. not sure.

    the playfield related art looks like placeholder.. i mean thoose basic shapes are probably done in a couple minutes.

    anyway.. just my humble honest opinion.. in the end go with whatever feels right for you.

    cheers
     
  16. TheFootballPlaybook

    TheFootballPlaybook Active Member

    @mr.Ugly ha ha ha your right i never even thought about Germany!!!! I also hear of football apps being popular elsewhere but not Germany. Big oversight on my part.

    On the art issue, i am going to go with my gut instinct and stick to what i have. I will report back if it is a failure after which you are free to say "i told you so" :)

    Again my reasons for sticking with the artwork is to project a tactical puzzle look and feel.

    I appreciate you taking the time to help me. Germany is a big glaring miss on my part!!!
     
  17. DemonJim

    DemonJim Well-Known Member

    Nov 19, 2010
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    Football is big in France, Spain and The Netherlands too. Most of Europe to be fair, as well as much of South America (Brazil, Argentina etc)

    I think using dot icons shows immediately that it's a strategy game so I agree that it differentiates it from other touch arcade footy games. If it looked like Sensi many people would expect it to play like Sensi on first impression. You will definitely find a split on this, many like the iconic look but others wanting realism, so consider having Sensi-like characters as an option.

    As I said above the pitch definitely needs to have the correct markings to be more recognisable as a football game. And if the gameplay is spot on people will enjoy it whether dots or characters. I like the art style, like arty painted old skool football cards.
     
  18. Appvism

    Appvism Well-Known Member

    Feb 9, 2013
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    I guess art and design comes down to personal tastes - i like the style from your screenshots.

    It seems like you're quite well organised and sorted with regards to your release strategy and marketing! Definitely try and build up your social stuff, like tweet and blog post updates - and provide teasers such as new screenshots and short videos to build up momentum?...

    Good luck, looking forward to this game!
     
  19. deemen

    deemen Well-Known Member

    Mar 16, 2013
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    I don't see any big problems with your release plan. A lot of things you will only be able to tweak post release (like whether your monetization is working as expected).

    The main point of feedback I would make is that your icon is not attention-grabbing enough and a lot of people already mentioned the aliasing on the lines and the simple graphics. I agree simple is great for gameplay, but in this case a bit of work to make the colors match better would definitely help.

    As for the icon, try A/B testing it on ad networks and compare it to a bunch of icons from the app store side-by-side. My opinion is that yours won't stick out compared to the competition.
     
  20. TheFootballPlaybook

    TheFootballPlaybook Active Member

    @DemonJim I actually removed the centre circle, d's at each goal box, penalty box and spot. I was matching the tactics boards you see in newspapers analysing team movement. I think if the initial release is unsuccessful I will add them back in as well as sensi style player animated players. I am doing up shop front screenshots now and feel there is enough football imagery to make it clear it is football. Also some of the art style is inspired by panini football stickers, I use to collect them as a child :)


    @Appvism hey! Glad you like it. I am actually planning to do a walk through video of the games menu system and the first few puzzles and link to it from within the game. I wanted to say I like your website, especially how it looks on tablet. Did you make it yourself? I am looking to change my site for release.

    @deemen yeah I think the aliasing is a problem I should invest time in. I like the icon but your right it is quite plain.
     

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