TOP 5 devs/publishers on iOS

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by Dankrio, Oct 2, 2016.

  1. Dankrio

    Dankrio Well-Known Member
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    Hi, guys. Just curious to hear which are you top 5 dev/publishers an why.

    Here are mine:

    Rocketcat Games - These guys rock. Seriously. From Hook series, to Mage Gauntlet, Wayward Souls, Five Card Quest, and Death Road to Canada (coming soon to iOS) I love everything they do. You can sense in every game the love and charm that are put into. I am looking forward to seeing their future games: Dad by the Sword, Mage Gauntlet semi-sequel in the same universe, Mage Gauntlet 2, Animal Crossing/Harvest Moon game.

    You gotta applaud their princing model, even in an hostile market as Appstore. I wish the guys sucess and that they keep doing it for a long time (and get paid accordlying). Kepa is a nice guy that support their games and is very attentive to us.


    Simogo - Device 6 and Year Walk were both masterpieces. Also, they are another dev that try to do things differently on a hostile market. They genuinely try new things and you can also sense how much though is put into every game they do. They haven't released a new game in some time, but they are teasing a new game. I am dying to know what they are coming up nex and gonna instabuy it no matter what it is. You can't experience (that's the key word) games like theirs anywhere else.

    Telltale. I love everything they do from Walking Dead onwards. They created a new-genre (Telltale-like game). Even if people argue that their choices don't have much impact in the end (since branching can be a complicated monster), there's no denying that they tell fun and compelling stories that make you invested until the very end. Some choices in their games made an emotional impact on me, which shows how great they are on their art. I am gonna be with them in every story they make. The only downside is that they have tech problems in their games, which sometimes impairs the fun. Even so, they are the best on what they do.

    Inkle - They redefined gamebook adventures with Sorcery! 80 Days was also a great and enjoyable ride. I am very curious to see what they came up next. I'd love to see an original story and setting with what they have learned so far from their previous games. It is wonderful to get lost in the world they create. That's a fact.

    Crescent Moon - Yes, they not always get it right (*cof* Exiles *cof*). However, you gotta give to them that they were some of the first to try very ambitions games exclusive to iOS like Aralon and Ravensword. I can not stop myself from wondering how much things could be different if people were willing to pay people for their hard word. We could have something even more impressive due the tech we have nowadays. Instead, they had to cut costs, due to premium state. Also, Josh is a very nice guy and I wish him the best.I hope someday we can improve the place where Aralon and Ravensword were, instead of taking a step back. Looking forward to Morphite.
     
  2. Exact-Psience

    Exact-Psience Well-Known Member

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    #2 Exact-Psience, Oct 2, 2016
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    These are just 5 of my favorites... Im sure most of your answers will be most of mine too. :)

    Grumpyface... ALL their games i just fell in love with. Most especially their CN tie ups. The cartoon charm plus Grumpyface's expertise in gameplay is an absolutely winning combo.

    Radiangames... I dont remember not liking any of their games. Maybe Slydris, but it didnt take long til i liked it. Fireball SE is still one of my alltime faves, and their dual stickoes are plain fun and joy to play. Plus, they did the fantastic Powerpuff Games Defenders of Townsville metroidvania.

    Pixelbite... Im sure most have played their games, and none of them has disappointed me. Still yet to start up Space Marshals 2, but it's just waiting in queue for me to spend time into it.

    DotEmu... Sure their stuff are already-proven games ported into iOS, but as ports they do fantastic job on each one.

    Gamesmold... These guys deserve a lot more attention. They make some of the most intuitive and unique games on the appstore. Fantastic art style too, and their responses in TA, all add up to make them one of my favorite devs.
     
  3. brothamannp11911

    brothamannp11911 Well-Known Member

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    EP, NO FOURSAKEN?! I guess only 5 on the list..

    1. Foursaken. Seriously. These guys have, and I quote myself, create some of my most favorite gaming experiences in 30 years of thumb-mashing. PLUS, they support, they are always positively in the face of ANGRY VID' GAME NERDZ, take feedback and input, always look to improve, etc.

    2. Crescent Moon. Josh is the man. So many fantastic game experiences, helping publish for designers who may not have the skills to do so... the width and depth of games, from epic RPGs to the ridiculously addictive simple games like Neon Shadow to Hammer Bomb, he just makes it happen.

    3. Naquatic. I put the brothers on here for the simple fact, they design really fun simple games and are SUPER supportive. They create smaller-scoped experiences that are just fun.. CivMiner is still my favorite of theirs, MonsterCrafter...GunCrafter... okay, maybe a few others ;)

    4. Foursaken is so awesome, they get on the list twice. I STILL play Bug Heroes once a month, the original from what, 2009?

    5. Those who bring boardgames to digital realm... Zombies!!!, Carcassone, Monopoly (old school EA version), Blokus, Ticket to Ride, Puerto Rico, Le Havre, etc. etc. this is one of my most favorite genres as we love boardgaming in our house and like in Zombies!!!, they've added funny animations and stuff. Small World 2, too! So good. Get them at a huge discounted rate vs. hard copy, too.

    BONUS kids apps... TOCA BOCA. They are awesome. BAR NONE, they are the best. Get Toca Blocks, spend the money, even if you don't have children and be BLOWN AWAY by its awesomeness. Toca Nature, Toca Builder, Toca Car... oh man. We use these all the time at this house.

    BONUS non-gaming Publishers... Autodesk. Sketchbook Pro reawakened my creative soul back in 2010. I've been a devoted user of the app on iOS, my android phone, my pc, etc. the app is just awesome. Great scope that is fun to use and makes a bad artist like me look good and tell stories.
     
  4. OrangutanKungfu

    OrangutanKungfu Well-Known Member

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    #4 OrangutanKungfu, Oct 3, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2016
    Tricky one. I must admit, I like a lot of ports, and especially RPGs, so my first thought was:

    Square Enix. Sure, some of their best stuff is simply retooled versions of their old games (FFIX, DQVIII, Rom SaGa2), and sometimes they don't do them justice with lazy ports (FFVII, FF Tactics), but they also do original stuff like the Chaos Rings series, and F2P stuff for, er, people who like F2P. But, most of all, they gave us The World Ends With You.

    Inkle. For all the reasons Dankrio gave. I believe Sorcery might be the best series in touch gaming. In fact, the only guys to give them a run for their money are...

    Fireproof Games. Because The Room series pretty much made iOS gaming respectable (alongside Infinity Blade, I guess).

    DotEmu. Because not only do they do ports right, they also make excellent choices for ports in the first place.

    Michael Brough. Because nobody else does what he does as smartly as he does.

    And honourable mentions to Rayark, Grumpyface, Crescent Moon, Donut Games and Capcom. Capcom might have done better, thanks to MHFU, Ghost Trick and the Phoenix Wright series, but that was a very long wait for updates...
     
  5. Dankrio

    Dankrio Well-Known Member
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    #5 Dankrio, Oct 4, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2016
    Never knew about them. Gonna check their games out for sure.

    Thanks!

    I don't care for their attitude on mobile scene. They let MHFU broke a long time, without give info if the game was going to finally be updated or not. Also, they didn't gave us Apollo Justice, even if the game is important to fully appreciate Dual Destines. Damn, we don't even know if we are going to have the next Ace Attorney or not on mobile.

    They make cool games, but they don't give us proper support.

    About Square, they have lost many points on my book because of Chaos Ring fiasco. Those are premium games that needed to be supported for a while longer, in my opinion. Also, I am not into their f2p focus nowadays. I would like to see a little more on the premium side than porting older games (not that I don't love them).

    I really wish to love their games, since they seem awesome. However, for some strange reason, they just don't "click" with me. :(
     
  6. sinagog

    sinagog Well-Known Member

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    EP- any recs for Gamesmold games besides Hoofs and Roofs and the lil hungover vamp?
     
  7. Exact-Psience

    Exact-Psience Well-Known Member

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    Puzzle Dozer is a cool physics induced take on the Sokoban formula. Less puzzle, and more physics, and pretty fun if the game clicks.

    Zoo Turn is pure puzzle similar to the rubik's cube, but replaces the usual cube with zoo animals and the implementation is pure genius. I found the game played best relaxed, as completing the stages within time limit (for extra stars iirc) felt a bit stressful.
     
  8. sinagog

    sinagog Well-Known Member

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    Thanks, man! I'll Czech 'em out.
     
  9. Nullzone

    Nullzone 👮 Spam Police 🚓

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    #9 Nullzone, Oct 5, 2016
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    #1 spot of course goes to Nimiam Legends' Protopop ;) fantastic game with a fantastic dev. All the more amazing as he's a single guy doing all this awesome world-building in his spare time.

    The other 4 go in no particular order:
    - Supergiant Games: The folks who made Bastion and Transistor. Good games in themselves, but they get a spot for the superb music and voice-acting, which has no equal I know of.
    - SufferinPup & Liza: I really liked their mech game Metal Brigade Tactics. So it was a very pleasant surprise to see them back, and as the programmers for something as awesome as Ember to boot.
    - Spiderweb Software (Jeff Vogel): I really like his world-building, both Avadon and Avernum are great settings. That he makes good RPGs is icing on the cake ;)
    - Catacomber/Redshift: While I got tired of The Quest at some point, they are great - and extremely friendly and responsive - developers, and build a huge arsenal of good games. Cat is my all-time favorite, well, cat :) - right after my own tyrant kitty.

    Honorary mention goes to A-Sharp, the devs of King of Dragon Pass: For delivering an absolutely unique and immersive game.
     
  10. OrangutanKungfu

    OrangutanKungfu Well-Known Member

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    You're right about Capcom. I mentioned them grudgingly, because some of their games are genuinely great. Ghost Trick and MHFU are two of the best games on iOS. Throw in the Ace Attorney series, and that makes them one of the best publishers out there. But their support is half-hearted at best, which means they don't deserve a spot in any top five.

    And great shout from Nullzone for Supergiant Games - really looking forward to the third one, Pyre. Might take a while, but I'm sure it will end up on iOS eventually for some devices, even if it's only higher-end tablets.

    Really want to play Spiderweb's Avernum too - it's sitting in one of my folders - but need to finish FFIX before starting another long RPG!
     
  11. Exact-Psience

    Exact-Psience Well-Known Member

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    Hhahaha!

    Of course they are one of my absolute favorites, but im sure they would eventually be mentioned that i dont think a redundancy would be necessary if something like Gamesmold can get a mention at least :)
     
  12. Dankrio

    Dankrio Well-Known Member
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    That makes two of us. Though I am probably gonna play Avadon first.
     
  13. ROGER-NL

    ROGER-NL Well-Known Member

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    In December you can add Nintendo to the list as they gonna make a big impact.

    I bought the WII U last week because Apple has abandoned Gamecenter, and Mario 3D World is great fun.

    Keep it going Nintendo slash this Apple.
     
  14. Dankrio

    Dankrio Well-Known Member
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    #14 Dankrio, Oct 5, 2016
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2016
    We'll have to see about that.

    Mario might probably be a fun game and all, but I doubt it is going to be something groundbreaking, since Nintendo's focus is on their own hardware by their own admission.

    They might me prove wrong, though, but it seems unlikely.

    Edit: about Nintendo vs Apple think, I think both have been very narrow-minded, because they thought they were the "TOP DOGS" on their market. Sony stepped up and took the throne and I am waiting for someone do the same with Apple, because I don't care for their attitude. Gamecenter is an example of that, another is the removal of games that haven't been updated.

    I hope NX don't let us down, but Nintendo is not exactly the vanguard here.
     
  15. Taeles

    Taeles Well-Known Member
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    Experimental Gameplay Group comes to mind for me.
    . World of Goo
    . Little Inferno
    . Human Resource Machine

    Their titles will for ever be on every device I ever own
     
  16. Stencilsmith_Dev

    Stencilsmith_Dev Well-Known Member
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    @Dankrio, thanks for starting this thread! I'm an indie brainstorming concepts & ideas for my next game and I've been reading forum posts like a mad man trying to get a feel for what TA readers enjoy and why so finding these game lists is literally an invaluable resource. Looking forward to checking these out, thanks!!
     
  17. Nullzone

    Nullzone 👮 Spam Police 🚓

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    Don't forget that TA is kind of a very small echo chamber with a ... let's say peculiar ... population. Thematically appropriate picture attached ;)
    While threads like this here make for good inspiration, I'd also ask for specific advise on topics where you want input; ranging from marketing to betatesting to whathaveyou. If you catch the right folks' interest, you can get incredibly good feedback. Quite a few people have their own niches where they have a lot of experience, and are often willing to share it.
     

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  18. Dankrio

    Dankrio Well-Known Member
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    You're welcome. However, Nullzone has raised an interesting point.

    We are not, by any means, the majority out there.
     
  19. OrangutanKungfu

    OrangutanKungfu Well-Known Member

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    Majority responds:

    SuperCell
    King
    Mojang
    Scott Cawthon
    Machine Zone

    Does that sound about right?
     
  20. Stencilsmith_Dev

    Stencilsmith_Dev Well-Known Member
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    LOL, thanks @Nullzone that's good advice. In my short time as a TA forum member I've definitely got the sense of that. Say what you will about the population but I have yet to find a more active community of mobile game enthusiasts. I would love to develop a game transparently from start to finish with the TA community to help drive big choices in development but given how long a game can take I feel that interest / participation would fade away.
     

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