Universal Satellina - mesmerizing "puzzle in motion" with catchy synthpop soundtrack

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by petermalamudsmith, Jan 9, 2015.

  1. petermalamudsmith

    Jan 9, 2015
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    Hi! My name is Pete--I'm a first-time developer. (Well, sort of--I was also a cocreator of the 8-bit Great Gatsby game that went around a few years ago--but I've never released anything commercially before.) I wanted to tell you a little about my new game, Satellina.

    Satellina is a minimalistic "puzzle in motion." Red, green, and yellow particles swirl around the screen in a bunch of different patterns; you have to collect all of the greens without touching the others, at which point the yellows turn green and the reds turn yellow. There's an element of figuring out the best route through the level, and then an element of pulling off your plan in the actuality.

    My goal was to make something that was challenging without being punitive--not so hard you want to throw the phone/tablet out the window, but hard enough that it's satisfying when you get it. (There's also a catchy synthpop soundtrack to take the edge off.) Once you've beaten the levels, there are also global leaderboards so you can compete against other people's fastest completion times. (Kind of a speed-running aspect to it.)

    The game comes out for iOS on January 22 and Android on January 29. It's $1.99, with no ads and no IAP. (I thought about making a free-to-play version, but I couldn't see a way to do it without compromising the integrity of the challenge. I didn't want people to think I'd made it hard just to squeeze money out of them!)

    People who've previewed the game have said some nice things:

    "[L]ooks poised to be the first puzzle giant of 2015" - PocketTactics.com
    http://www.pockettactics.com/news/ios-news/1-2-3-green-light-new-puzzler-satellina-coming-mobile/

    "The game is amazing... so addictive... really satisfying" - AppSpy
    http://www.twitch.tv/appspy/v/3668113 (skip to around minute 54) (incidentally these guys and some others raised the issue that people who are red-green color blind will have trouble with the game--the release version has an alternate palette available immediately to address that)

    "I love it. I love that all the dots move so much, and that it's so hard for little kids. I love that it has red dots. And I love love love the music." - a five-year-old
    (you'll just have to take my word for it on that one)

    Here's a how-to-play video that should give you a sense of it (set it to 720p60 to get a sense of the actual smoothness):



    And here are some screens:

    [​IMG]

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    Level map:

    [​IMG]

    Alternate palette:

    [​IMG]

    Thanks for listening! Hope you like the game. :)
     
  2. pjft

    pjft Well-Known Member

    Feb 15, 2011
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    Hi Pete,

    Thanks for the post. I'm definitely intrigued! When's the release date?

    Cheers :)

    Edit: apologies, reading on the phone ended up skipping that part.

    Looking forward to it in a couple of weeks - the Pocket Tactics mention was what got the game on my radar, since I usually trust their judgment.

    Cheers:)
     
  3. coolpepper43

    coolpepper43 👮 Spam Police 🚓

    Aug 31, 2012
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    I'm intrigued. How do the controls work? Are they relative or 1:1?
     
  4. petermalamudsmith

    Jan 9, 2015
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    Thank you guys! As far as controls, you can set the level of touch sensitivity. I stick with 1:1 cause I find I need the precision, but people who tested it asked for multiple settings. One friend of mine swears that "2:1 is going to be what the real ballers use." (his words)
     
  5. coolpepper43

    coolpepper43 👮 Spam Police 🚓

    Aug 31, 2012
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    Awesome, so this will be great with a stylus. :)
     
  6. petermalamudsmith

    Jan 9, 2015
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    Yes, at least one of the testers played with a stylus and had good results!
     
  7. Jamesrooney27

    Jamesrooney27 Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2014
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    Is there test flight I could play :) looks fun and addictive :D
     
  8. petermalamudsmith

    Jan 9, 2015
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    Sure! Shoot me an email -- petermsmith at gmail dot com.
     
  9. Jamesrooney27

    Jamesrooney27 Well-Known Member

    May 13, 2014
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    Sent stuff to you now:)
     

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