Please Tell Me Why/If My Game Sucks

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by CBI Games, Jul 10, 2013.

  1. CBI Games

    CBI Games Member

    Jun 21, 2013
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    #1 CBI Games, Jul 10, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2013
    Hello all,

    I am not trying to get sales or anything like that by posting here. I am just very curious to know from as many people as possible why or if my game just basically sucks, and if that's why I'm getting almost no sales.

    I spent about $17000 getting it developed over about 8 months and have poured everything I have into it. Late nights with the developer and endless testing. I had my sights set high.

    The Game:

    The game is called Just4Kicks HD and it is available in the app store and android market.
    You control a guy an do freestyle soccer tricks to gain points. It has a few different modes.

    Please view this video: I would love your honest feed back.



    If you can suggest anything for the game I would really appreciate that.

    I have marketed the crap out of it as well with Facebook ads, YouTube ads etc...
    I even tried to get a competition going for $1000. All people had to do was buy the game, review it and like my Just4Kicks Facebook page. I got 1 sale from that and had to cancel the comp.

    Thanks for your time.
    Damian True
    CBI Games
     
  2. Pixel_Gamer

    Pixel_Gamer Well-Known Member

    Feb 6, 2013
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    I'll be as honest as possible.

    I hate how the game looks. It's amateurish and outdated. I won't be able to enjoy playing a game that looks like that.
     
  3. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

    Jan 13, 2011
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    Just watched the video. The graphics are fine and very polished. Don't agree with the comments above. The graphics look very 'wii' like which I think is your kind of target market for this game

    As for sales I'm not sure what the issue is. It seems to be basically a 'rhythm game' doesn't it with a bit of freestyle action thrown in

    Not my cup if tea but its not the worst I've seen at all
     
  4. metalcasket

    metalcasket Moderator
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    Yeah, I'm with psj...it's not my cup of tea either, but I don't really see anything wrong with it. The graphics are fine, the animations for some of the more complex tricks are quite good actually...it's pretty decent.

    I will suggest one thing though. If it's possible, rename the app to "Just 4 Kicks HD". I personally steer clear from anything that has an app title ThatLooksLikeThis, if you know what I mean. :p If it's an issue of getting "Just 4 Kicks HD" under the app icon on devices, just have "Just 4 Kicks" with an HD logo in the icon or even "J4K HD".
     
  5. Red1

    Red1 Moderator
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    I agree. The character animations are pretty good.

    First impressions:

    - The 5 buttons and multi-directional stick are immediately off-putting. Less intrusive touch controls could have been used, like gesture recognition. Put the focus on the "action" - the character and his tricks, not the controls.

    - Your first two AppStore screenshots look alright, emphasizing the game name and modes, but the third screenshot (with the controls) probably does more harm than good.

    - Good to offer different modes, but they're all too repetitive for my taste. I guess this type of game would probably never appeal to me... but it would be more appealing if it was level based, with each level needing an increasingly tricky set of moves to be completed.

    - Pre-loading of moves doesn't appeal. Would rather the tricks occur as I trigger them. Otherwise the game is all about buttons again. And having the preload info at the top right, also draws attention from the character. The player probably ends up staring backwards and forwards at some buttons and a pre-load text box.

    - The pop-up message overlay font looks uninspired.

    - The many 5-star reviews on my appstore look a bit sus. (no offense).

    Hope this helps.
     
  6. Ravenblack

    Ravenblack Well-Known Member

    Feb 24, 2009
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    I don't think this game is much fun. It might make a great mini game in a soccer game but alone, it's gonna take a lot of perks and shinies to make it more appealing. There are games out there that seem mundane but they work because there's something about them that stands out or that hooks players. For example, why are runners interesting? Normally running in a straight line is boring, so what makes games like Temple Run work? Think about stuff like that.

    The animated character does seem a bit dated, and there's some inconsistency in the graphical style. The character looks 3D-ish, the ball looks flat and you have some pasted "from real-life photo" stuff in there in there too. All this just looks thrown together and gives an impression that it's not a well thought-out game. The menu and scoreboard looks good, the buttons don't look so smooth. I think you used too many colors and too many different type of fonts, which also makes it to look disorganized.
     
  7. _Max_

    _Max_ Well-Known Member

    Apr 19, 2012
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    I will give something in my mind at first look on this game after saw vid:
    - Bad screenshot on appstore/itune, you should change something about the game like how to play the game, something special in game, difference about other mode than original one, blah blah blah. DON'T WASTE YOUR SCREENSHOT WITH MAIN MENU OR YOUR GAME NAME SCREEN, i checked alot of fun and potential game with very low download/rating count cause some unnecessary screenshot like above.

    - Try make clear your description, give them some space in paragraph

    - Lacked some effect while doing great score/move, game may look boring while playing.

    - Change the A, B, C, D, E button to other more visibility, they look very bad and something like no clue about how reaction when touch on them.

    - Should added GC support :)

    - Give something like in-game Tutorial which give more chance they staying on your game more.

    - Saw on vid: man, you really need to change hint mode description, a very very long text.

    - Give player more options to choice, new balls, new character, new stadium, new clothes, ...

    - Don't give up or discouraged about the download, i saw your game is about 3 month year old, still a long way to go :), you need to find out how long Temple run from lacked visibility to famous.
     
  8. WhiteSponge

    WhiteSponge Well-Known Member

    First of all, I'm a game crafter myself but I'm also a gamer before that so from a gamer's perspective:

    - If you want to put a tutorial in the game, there's too much text in it. Use images instead
    - It gets repetitive pretty quickly as it feels more like a mini-game in a game
    - Maybe adding some social aspect would be good (e.g GameCenter support)
    - Like what was mentioned above, the graphics doesn't seem to blend in with each other though. I suspect that it might be the background (looks kinda from a photograph)

    And from a game crafter's perspective:

    - Just4Kicks isn't a great name. On a side note though, if you change it to something like J4K, it becomes an awesome name for a company instead :D
    Maybe like what casket mentioned above, "Just 4 Kicks" might sound better

    - The icon of the game might require more focus. It's always better to focus on just 1 single shape in your app icon. Do you want to highlight the soccer ball or the player?
     
  9. toshiX

    toshiX Well-Known Member

    Jul 24, 2012
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    I have to agree with the above comment. If its not for your post I would not have thought that much effort was put into the game. That being said, are you a gamer yourself? Because to me, everything in the video is a huge turnoff. Personally I wouldn't even bother looking at it even if its free. Just take a look at a few of the top selling app and I think the difference with your game and the rest is obvious.

    As a rhythm game, I doubt people would want to play one that is just about juggling the ball. And the background and character is really ugly. Maybe if its 2D, with smooth animations, cute characters like animals or something. Maybe there is a chance. But a game involving football and using some random human character is just not going to make it.
     
  10. CBI Games

    CBI Games Member

    Jun 21, 2013
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    Thank You

    Thank you for your comments so far.
    They are extremely hard to take but I guess I needed to hear them.

    Can you all give me your top 5 games you enjoy playing the most that weren't created on a huge budget please. Just so I know what people are really looking for.

    I really want to make a high quality live wallpaper for android similar to Ocean HD but with movement through the ocean so it gives users an ever changing screen on their device. It also would have plenty more fish and creatures. What do you guys think of doing that? Good idea if the quality is very high?

    Thanks again
    Damian
     
  11. Pixel_Gamer

    Pixel_Gamer Well-Known Member

    Feb 6, 2013
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    I would suggest doing some more research on the current mobile gaming trends. There's nothing wrong with following a trend that works, be it the theme/visual style.
     
  12. MasterChief3624

    MasterChief3624 Well-Known Member

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    I am not a graphics whore, but the graphical style of your game is the biggest turn-off for me. It looks like it was made with the same program as that Chex PC game's cutscenes. The graphics are just.. really outdated. They're not charming in any way, though, like something along the lines of Donkey Kong Country or Pong. They just look awful, and that's all there is to it.

    The gameplay looks like a rhythm game, but without the music. So what is the point?

    The interface also looks unprofessional and amateur to a sickening degree. There is a fine line between charm and laziness, and this comes off as extremely lazy. There seems to be no consistent style with the interface and graphics. It all seems slapped together with no thought. The colors are off, the animations for text are stiff but the character in the game is smooth...

    I really don't mean any offense by this, but the game comes off as horrendously cheap and lazily put-together. That is the impression I got from that video up above. :\
     
  13. bigrand1

    bigrand1 Well-Known Member

    Apr 23, 2010
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    #13 bigrand1, Jul 11, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2013
    I agree with psj, MC, and Red, pretty much says it all right there. The controls on the right with the 5 buttons are a little off-putting. Doesn't look bad to me at all, though! Also, I'm interested in your Android app! PM me with info when you're gonna release it, OK? Good luck, man! I'm not much of a soccer dude, but your game doesn't suck to me. Just sayin'.
     
  14. Shyft

    Shyft Well-Known Member

    Jun 12, 2013
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    honestly, the biggest problem i see here is you kind of pigeonholed yourself into a niche market here. if i wasn't a fan of soccer, i wouldn't look twice at this game.

    then, being a fan of soccer, i'd look at this game and say "i'm not even playing an actual soccer game...i'm just kicking a ball around, what's the fun in that"

    so basically in order to want to play this game, i'd have to be a fan of soccer, and a fan of rhythm games as well, since in essence, that's kind of what this is.

    these are of course just my opinions, but i feel like the next game you do, you really kind of have to figure out what market/demographic you're appealing to, and make sure it's a broader spectrum.
     
  15. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

    Jan 13, 2011
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    Might be picky i know but when a game calls football 'soccer' i always keep away from it. Its called football in the majority of the world where football is really popular like Europe. The second i read 'soccer' i just think its aimed at the US.

    Be the same if an NFL game was called 'gridiron' or 'american football'. When people see the screenshots they know the second if its 'NFL' football or 'round' football.
     
  16. Red1

    Red1 Moderator
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    This guy has no idea how much effort is involved in producing a game. Just ignore this type of unnecessarily rude response. You've obviously invested money, time and effort into your game, which shows more initiative than most. And you should be proud of releasing the game, regardless of the financial outcomes.
     
  17. september

    september Well-Known Member

    Sep 14, 2012
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    I actually thought the idea looked pretty clever, for me the lighting model and rendering would be the biggest visual issues, then the photographic elements in the background. I think if those were tweaked it would go a long way.
     
  18. POLYGAMe

    POLYGAMe Well-Known Member

    Jul 3, 2010
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    #18 POLYGAMe, Jul 12, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2013
    Not knocking the game or anything (I haven't played it) but just wondering exactly where the 17k went? Did you code it yourself/do the gfx or pay others? That's a fairly decent budget for such a simple concept.

    The game itself looks kinda cool... reminds me of the hacky sack level of California Games (showing my age, I know). It does, however look like the models etc may be "off the shelf"? Animates nicely, though.

    Also, as a developer myself (I admit, not one who has made a lot of money), I suggest not making games that you think others want to play and forget about the money side of things... there are so many factors that go into making a return in the App Store... basically, your game needs to be in the top 3%... that takes an awesome game and a lot of luck. Many brilliant games get overlooked and make next to nothing...

    Just keep at it and if you don't have the skills to program, try out a tool like GameMaker and/or GameSalad... artists are actually reasonably easy to find, as they seem to love their work more than coders. lol.

    You can probably take my advice with a grain of salt, as I suck at business (I still refuse to incorporate IAP, despite the pleadings from my peers)... just try to make stuff that you can HONESTLY believe in... not just think others want.

    At the end of the day, keep trying! I read somewhere that Angry Birds was Rovio's 50th game or something... anyway, it took them ages to become a success... similar to a friend of mine who released several quality titles before having a major hit that started to bring in 900k+ a month... and he doesn't make games to suit market trends... he makes games that he loves.

    Cheers :)

    EDIT: I forgot to mention... forget paying for ads on Facebook etc, it really is NOT worth it. Unless you have a MASSIVE advertising budget, stick to social media. The TA forums can help get traction (did you start a thread announcing your game?) and submit to as many app/game sites as you can :)
     
  19. laxking97

    laxking97 Well-Known Member

    May 24, 2010
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    Remake/Update Max Vector and I will give you all of my money ;)

    Anyway, while the game doesn't look bad, the problem with the AppStore is that when people have 99c, are they going to get your game? Are they going to get just about any game that isn't in at least the top 100? Very few people follow all the big releases let alone the smaller ones. There are so many games that I see on TA that seem to be 'popular' but as soon as I get off the Internet and a friend sees me playing it, they have absolutely no idea what it is or what it's about.
     
  20. bigrand1

    bigrand1 Well-Known Member

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    There are a lot more people who follow the new releases than you think!
     

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