Revamping our word game - BetterLetter

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by layzerboy, Dec 13, 2012.

  1. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    Hey everyone!

    So, we finally decided to take the step of putting in all our efforts into revamping our game BetterLetter (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/betterletter/id426913117?ls=1&mt=8)

    We reached 10,000 downloads and wanted to give our users something better (and get more people to play our game, of course!) so we are currently working on a much better version of the game.

    We are so excited for this because all the ideas we have generated over the past few months can now finally materialise.

    We would also appreciate any inputs you guys might have after you played BetterLetter so we can make the experience even better! So try our app out! :D

    Stay tuned for more!
     
  2. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    #2 layzerboy, Dec 15, 2012
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2012
    It has been another long day today and I must say the new graphics for BetterLetter are turning out to look just great. There's nothing like seeing your app go through changes you have always wanted.

    There were quite a few decisions to be made regarding the new features that we are going to implement but it finally looks like that we have addressed most of them. For me, the most valuable takeaway was that there are three different sides of each app that you really must consider before making any kind of decisions: the development, the marketing and, of course, the user experience. The user's needs & preferences would be the obvious priority but its really striking a balance between all three sides that definitely drives progress of the app in the long run (lets see if this takeaway brings us more success :D).

    Its quite remarkable how much one can learn through each update/app being rolled out into the market. You can read up all you want but its definitely the hands-on experience that really gives you the most valuable insights. I'm hoping this awesome experience continues because, man, really want to get BetterLetter at the top of the charts! Wooh!
     

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  3. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    Wow. Things are getting pretty exciting! More themes in progress, more ways for the user to play with his/her friends, more languages and more words!

    We're definitely getting into the christmas spirit with the redesigned christmas theme and I have to say our graphic designer is doing a tremendous job. Jingle all the way! Ok she might not agree, yet. :p But she really is sprucing the game up.

    We decided against the auto post on facebook feature, thinking we might overwhelm the user with a facebook post each time he launches the app (sticking to our 'balancing is the way to go' strategy). Heh.
    Its times like these when I really begin to wonder on how to crack the virality part of marketing an app (apart from making sure that its a great product, of course). Incentivise sharing on facebook & other media? Funny 'Well done!' messages to the user after each game? I guess that also depends on whether you would like to play against your own friends or random players via game center.
    Personally, I would love to share on facebook if I totally destroyed a facebook friend on BetterLetter. Maybe, that's something to look into (I am assuming facebook sharing is the way to go viral. Twitter anyone?).

    What do you guys think? Any tricks that have worked for you all in the past?

    And finally, here is showcasing our designer's efforts on the Christmas & Valentine's Day themes. Thoughts?
     

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  4. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    This is just great! Our efforts are gaining more momentum and BetterLetter is up to #2 & #3 in Cambodia & Philippines respectively (in Education)! Also ranked #4 in Pakistan & Sri Lanka. This is exactly the kind of progress I was hoping for before we roll out the revamped version of the game.

    It was hard for me to control my excitement at first when I saw the numbers but I soon realized these are only the first few steps towards getting the app to reach success. Our next target? Knock iTunes U off of its perch as the #1 app in Education (in almost all countries!). Yes we are! Well, we're definitely going to give it our full effort.

    Stay tuned for more updates guys! ;)
     

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  5. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    We finally did it! #1 in Pakistan & Cambodia! And now for the next step. In-App optimization. To get the user absolutely addicted.

    Can I check what kind of in-app tracking you guys are using? Anything that works flawlessly according to you? Tracking has been a big issue for us and we have finally begun to cope with it, but, I still think we can go better. So what do you guys think?

    Also, let us know if anyone would like us to share some of our marketing tactics. We're not the best in the business, yet, but would love to help out, spread the word and get everyone's apps going!

    All the best for the holiday period!

    A Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the BetterLetter team.
     

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  6. I use flurry for my in-app anylicitics.

    Love the graphical style of your app, well done :)
     
  7. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    Hello hello. Thank you! Is Flurry doing good? We have been considering it for quite a while now but never got round to actually trying it properly.

    Btw, really cool game! Actually the simple graphics of the game are pretty attractive. And its really fun challenging yourself to do the mathematics asap!

    I'm guessing its already doing pretty well? :D
     
  8. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    :D

    We're setting up the in-app purchases now and this is where I get so much into it. We really want to aim for the user to get absolutely addicted to our game. It really should be up to that level, in my opinion. So we had a good brainstorm session on what the user would really want while playing the game. And there it was! Get the user to keep wanting to play against the bot & friends and offer an extra edge by providing an extra life as an in-app purchase. Sounds straight forward enough?

    Haha but as we all must have experienced till now, the idea can only be a success when we see the numbers coming in after the launch.

    Tschüss for now! :p
     

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  9. MarcJay

    MarcJay Well-Known Member

    Oct 12, 2012
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    #9 MarcJay, Dec 29, 2012
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2012
    Just played Better Letter for the first time and have to say its pretty solid. Well done. One thing I don't get is how is chica a word? Even your definition says girl, which is the Spanish translation. Unlike words with friends where you don't get penalized for trying words that really aren't a part of the dictionary (up to users if they like that part of the game or not), how would you know in your game what slang or Spanish words or really 'made up words that words with friends allows' are acceptable until you try them, which means you lose a heart/get penalized? And the word 'uns?' What the heck is that!? ;)
     
  10. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    Hey MarcJay,

    Thanks for your input and the feedback. We really appreciate it. ;)

    There are different dictionaries out there and the dictionary that we programmed into the game has a few extra accepted words. Actually, 'chica' is the perfect word to depict that. Some dictionaries accept it as a slang for 'girl' however, some do not recognize it as a proper English word. Which brings us to your next question: how does a user know which words are acceptable without losing a life.

    For now, we deemed it (for many reasons while developing the game) as the rule of BetterLetter. Yes, users will find out the non-existent words the hard way but we thought it would be more fun that way. :D The 'Skip' feature actually allows you to pass on without losing a life.

    Thanks again for taking the time. We would love more feedback!

    Happy new year!

     
  11. MarcJay

    MarcJay Well-Known Member

    Oct 12, 2012
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    #11 MarcJay, Dec 30, 2012
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2012
    To be clear, I definitely enjoy the game. Played it a bunch of times. Enjoy its simplicity. Great use interface too. I don't play word games a lot (once I got bored with words with friends I haven't played one since) so I may not be your target audience, but for casual word gamers like me I think it may prove hard to further monetize us via in-app purchases. To your credit, the free game is enjoyable in its current state where I personally have no strong reason to make further purchases. Can't hurt to add them though for sure. I think the ads along the bottom (which are not intrusive) are going to be the way you make most of your money.

    I hear you on learning as you go with some of the words you chose for your dictionary. You had to choose one dictionary and the younger generation probably wants slang. I think you do actually lose a star in many of these cases though because if the word 'chic' is there and I say skip, and the robot says 'chica,' I lose a star. Once again, don't interpret my comment as a major complaint. I still enjoy the game a lot and I know you had to settle on a dictionary so once you did, you gotta just roll with it.
     
  12. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    Hey,

    I think you bring up a great point regarding monetizing the casual word gamers. So that's definitely something that we will need to look into in more detail to fully capitalize on the revamp of the game.

    I'm really glad you liked the game so much and had so much input.

    Thanks again man, really appreciate it.

     
  13. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    One step closer to $$! Haha. JK. The screens are getting ready but our strategies seem to be ever changing. Now's the time when all marketing knowledge goes out the window and we start from the basics. Get users to give us more feedback on what they feel regarding the game, what would really drive in-app purchases (again, thanks to MarcJay) and what gets then properly hooked. Exciting times as always!
     

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  14. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    We decided to fool around with more marketing techniques today after I realised that we finally have a lot of players playing BetterLetter with each other via game center now.

    The tricky parts are becoming clearer as well, for now. With more & more players coming in, we are hoping to give every user a pleasant surprise with the whole new look of the game.

    Best part of today: Got really hooked on to it while challenging 2 players via the game center. After losing to both players, I felt a sense of satisfaction and the urge to challenge them again (the competitive side gets the better of me sometimes haha)! So we just thought of another feature: Option of having rematch with your last opponent! ;)
     
  15. Ndemic Creations

    Ndemic Creations Well-Known Member

    From app Store text
    This is not a strong phrase. If you want to keep it, then change to something like
    ★★★★★

 #1 Education game in multiple countries! ★★★★★



    Still a bit clunky but you get the idea. Try and get a better word than multiple. ;) Eventually, you can change multiple to be 10 or so but at 2 - not worth it.
     
  16. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    Hey!

    Thanks for the tip! Going to change it to something better right away :D

    Wow. All suggestions here are turning out to be quite useful for us at the BetterLetter team. Thank you all!

    Maybe we could be of some help us as well? Let us know! :)

     
  17. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    The revamped version should only be 3 weeks away now! That's right, by the end of January we should all be playing a smoother, more appealing BetterLetter. ;)

    If only all things were so easy. Just realised that we have another problem to deal with before we go all celebratory at the release of the new update. Players with the newer version will have access to new graphics and an extra life (if they go ahead and purchase it, of course). But, this would bring up an issue during the online multiplayer gameplay (which we really want to concentrate on!). And, of course, we do not expect all of our current user base to update to the newer version (well, not immediately, at least). So working on the dynamics between the people using the current and updated version is now on the agenda. Let us just hope this doesn't take too long and everyone eventually enjoys the new look! :D
     

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  18. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    So we are trying to add more languages to BetterLetter, but, wow it is hard to find the whole dictionary with meanings in one plain text, PDF file etc.

    I remember we came across the same problem when we were trying implement French and now finding one for Spanish (or even German) is seeming quite tough!

    The attached screenshot is what the player gets for losing a game (and what we are getting right now for not being able to find the other languages :p ).

    Anyone have any ideas? :)
     

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  19. layzerboy

    layzerboy Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2010
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    Had a long (as usual) discussion today about trying to come up with a different/unique/eye-catching video (aren't we all) for BetterLetter. I started googling some game videos and there are many videos with great ideas out there, I must say. We are still to decide between having a voice over that explains the game or totally have it as a trailer kind of video that leaves viewers hanging (in a good way) and makes them want to try out the app.

    Having said that, just discovered this video in one of the other threads here and I really liked it. The graphics for once are so different and interesting.
    The game is called Harvest Lands and here is the video. Definitely giving this a try tonight!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbN_rWkeL-o
     
  20. MarcJay

    MarcJay Well-Known Member

    Oct 12, 2012
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    Btw, for the US App Store, when I typed in betterletter or better letter into the Search bar, a different company with the same name of their game Better Letter popped up and you did not. I then switched to iPad apps up top and still no luck. Finally after switching to iPhone Apps, it showed up. Weird thing is that I have your game on my iPad. Not sure if you used your keyword searches purposely not on better or letter, but if you did, something is amiss.
     

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