iTower Suggestions Welcome

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by PShotMobile, Jan 16, 2009.

  1. PShotMobile

    PShotMobile Member

    Jan 16, 2009
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    Student
    Madison, WI
    Hello.

    A group of UW Madison students is forming to create a mobile version of the popular Windows 95/98 and Mac OS Classic games SimTower and Yoot Tower. Our project is currently dubbed iTower.

    Our goal is to produce an extremely well polished and easy to use game. We have already come up with an extremely intuitive and easy to use touch interface that will make it quick, easy, and fun to build your tower.

    We want input from future users though. What would you guys like to see in an iPhone port of SimTower and Yoot Tower?

    Part of our roadmap that we have set out is to keep people outside of the project informed and also to use suggestions. Since you will be the people playing our game, we want it to work the way you want it to work.

    Thank you in advance for your future ideas, support, and criticism.

    PShotMobile
     
  2. PShotMobile

    PShotMobile Member

    Jan 16, 2009
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    Student
    Madison, WI
    P.S. If anyone is at UW-Madison and would like to be a part of development, please contact me.

    P.S.S. If anyone experienced in iPhone development would not mind being available for reference for our group, please contact me.
     
  3. Adr3naLine

    Adr3naLine Well-Known Member

    Jan 15, 2009
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    Never really played SimTower, but seeing as it's a management game it seems like it has a lot of potential. As an AppJunkie with AppADD, replayability is a good thing, otherwise I switch like crazy in between games. Acheivements, if it's possible in this type of game, would be nice as well.
     
  4. mek

    mek Well-Known Member

    loved simtower,
    so I would love this game, if done right...

    one thing that i liked and disliked about sim tower was, that you could only go so far, which makes sense, you have to think about optimizing your resources for the best optimal capital structure and cash flow...but what would be interesting is to expand upon this game,
    have the basics of the game, but allow multiple paths
    like different architectural designs that would produce different style towers...so there would be at least some different game play styles or replayability
    maybe different cities which affect the gameplay...
    i dunno if that would make things too complicated or not
    either way, a good sim tower port would entice me to buy it
     
  5. DukeofAnkh

    DukeofAnkh Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2008
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    Melbourne
    SimTower is one of my favourite Sim games from way back (along with SimFarm, go figure). I'd love to see it on the iPhone.

    I don't really have any feature suggestions beyond what was in the original titles, but I wanted to add my support.
     
  6. Ph4ntom4

    Ph4ntom4 Well-Known Member

    Jan 10, 2009
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    never played simtower so I can't tell you anything about gameplay, I just wanted to say don't call it iTower, it's such a n overused term.
     
  7. PShotMobile

    PShotMobile Member

    Jan 16, 2009
    6
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    Student
    Madison, WI
    Thanks for the suggestions that have been submitted so far.

    The achievements idea is great. I'm positive we can come up with a way to implement those and add an entirely new aspect to this classic.

    In terms of adding different types of gameplay, we were planning on doing this for future updates. With our 1.0 release we want to focus on having one "classic" tower option. We are going with the "keep it simple stupid" principal for our 1.0 release. As time goes by we will add more features and landscapes to keep the game interesting and growing. Also, we have some fun "easter egg" ideas to add into the game.

    One thing I hate about other apps on the AppStore is that they charge a lot of money (over $5) and then don't add any features.

    We were thinking about posting this App at $5.99 or $6.99 with a guarantee of many many future updates. I personally love this game so I want to keep it fresh. I also want other people to be able to enjoy it for a long time without the sinking feeling of "ugh, I have to spend another six bucks for iTower 2."

    Also, iTower will not be the final name.. that's all we could come up with for right now. The name is currently the least of my worries.
     
  8. DukeofAnkh

    DukeofAnkh Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2008
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    Melbourne
    Actually, yeah, I agree with that. When I first saw the thread I assumed it was a TD game.

    Pshot, when you say focus on a classic tower do you mean like the original SimTower and then add extra new stuff via updates? That sounds pretty cool.
     
  9. rIcHrAnDoM

    rIcHrAnDoM Well-Known Member
    Patreon Silver

    Nov 17, 2008
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    Steelworker/Welder
    Indiana, USA
    Thanks for reaching out to potential consumers, before the initial build is submitted. Can you believe all the devs releasing "mini-games" that tick the initial buyers off, then scrambling to "show interest" in improvements? I think it is good you want to keep it simple, so add simple custimization options. Players love at least 2 choices for every aspect/step of a game ie. Color, size, shape, abilities/attributes.

    Please, post back in this thread when you have images and/or YouTube of game content and or development progress. Thanks and best of success to you all.
     
  10. mavis

    mavis Well-Known Member

    Just my two cents' worth ...

    First of all, the game looks cool - at least, the originals do. I'd never heard of either one until now (which is odd, considering I really like sims!) but after checking them out, I'm kind of excited to play!

    That said, I would STRONGLY recommend launching at a discounted price, not only as a way of rewarding early adopters and encouraging positive reviews, but also because it's just a cool thing to do. ;)
     
  11. PShotMobile

    PShotMobile Member

    Jan 16, 2009
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    Student
    Madison, WI
    Last update of the night!

    Like I said before, iTower is just what we are calling it to each other right now. I agree, it sounds like another TD game. Hopefully we can come up with something clever that fits perfectly on the home screen.

    From watching what happens to other Apps in the AppStore, I think the best way to make a successful App is to get input during it's development to know when it is advanced enough for the store.

    I agree with always having user customizable options. I love to be able to customize what I do in a game. It makes what I'm doing different and personal. The 1.0 version probably won't have a lot to customize, but I'm sure 1.1 will.

    In terms of a pricing discount, a few of my friends and I just discussed a plan. We will keep this forum going and keep all of you in the loop. We will let you know when the expect it in the AppStore and sell it at $1.99 for the first 48 hours. After that period, the price will jump up to $5.99.

    We also plan on creating some type of free demo, so that you can make sure you like before you spend any more.

    Currently, we have only one guy working on graphics. This is a current mockup of what the graphics of our "classic" tower will be like.

    [​IMG]
     
  12. Seargent

    Seargent Member

    Nov 28, 2008
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  13. Igoo

    Igoo Well-Known Member

    Dec 14, 2008
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    I was excited until I saw the mockup. Sorry, but I wouldn't pay 5 or 6 dollars for graphics of that quality.
     
  14. PShotMobile

    PShotMobile Member

    Jan 16, 2009
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    Student
    Madison, WI
    These are preliminary graphics. Expect a lot to change.

    We are in the process of getting something that is workable before we start polishing it.

    Also, I think we have come up with a better name. We are steering clear from any "tower" references.
     
  15. PShotMobile

    PShotMobile Member

    Jan 16, 2009
    6
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    Student
    Madison, WI
    Apparently, those graphics are a mockup that was made in six hours to show other graphics people a basic idea. I was premature in posting that. I'm on the coding and UI end, so I should stick with what I am good at and in the know with.

    That being said, I have a question for those who remember Sim and Yoot Tower. Did you ever use the evaluation information and population information? If so, how often. How did the population information effect your tower building, if at all. (I think I used these tools wrong when I was 12, mainly because I ignored them)
     
  16. an3000

    an3000 Member

    Feb 10, 2009
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    Has there been any news on this? Has it been abandoned?
     
  17. VoodooVyper

    VoodooVyper Well-Known Member

    Jan 25, 2009
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    It would seem so, he was last on line over 4 months ago. :eek:
     
  18. an3000

    an3000 Member

    Feb 10, 2009
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    That's a shame; I had some really fond memories of Sim Tower back in the day.
     
  19. VoodooVyper

    VoodooVyper Well-Known Member

    Jan 25, 2009
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    Don't quote me on that though, I'm just assuming since they have been inactive here for so long.
     
  20. mavis

    mavis Well-Known Member

    I was wondering what had happened to this ... :(
     

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