Monster Ball - 3d turn based strategy for iPhone, PC and Mac this fall

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by Thomas Lund, Aug 15, 2009.

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  1. Thomas Lund

    Thomas Lund Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2008
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    #1 Thomas Lund, Aug 15, 2009
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2009
    Hi all,

    We are pleased to announce Monster Ball is close to completion! The game is a fantastic 3d turn based strategy game with a gameplay as simple as checkers but a complexity of chess.

    The monsters that live under your bed and the ones in your closet dont like each other - and at night they fight in deadly combat. Large monsters eat smaller monsters and absorb their strength, making the bigger ball grow in size and power. But beware - gluttony will rupture the monster, so you need to watch out. Lots of special tiles and a good dose sarkastic humour makes this game a unique and fun experience.

    The game features
    * iPhone, PC and Mac versions
    * single player vs AI, head to head with a friend sharing the same device as well as cross platform online games. Sit in the bus with the iPhone and play vs. someone at home on a PC
    * 10+ build in maps to play right away
    * free downloadable extra maps being released often
    * domination and capture the base game modes
    * achievements
    * sarcastic humour :)

    For more info and signing up for our newsletter please go here: http://www.monsterball.net/

    The game will be released this fall. Price TBD yet.

    Promo video is also here, and any comments are very welcome!!

     
  2. DOG87

    DOG87 Well-Known Member

    looks really cool and i cant wait for release
     
  3. Devilishly Good

    Devilishly Good Well-Known Member

    May 1, 2009
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    I wasn't totally sure what was happening in the video, but the concept and graphics look really fun.
     
  4. Wegmans

    Wegmans Well-Known Member

    Oct 31, 2008
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    well? any updates?
     
  5. blikstad

    blikstad Well-Known Member

    Nov 15, 2008
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    Uppsala, Sweden
    haha, great timing!
    We actually just submitted Monster Ball 1.0 to apple a few hours ago. So, it's in their hands now, hopefully (given no review-snags) it should be up on the AppStore in a week or so.

    We're also going to release the game for windows and osx quite soon, look out for an announcement about that shortly.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. loves2spoon

    loves2spoon Well-Known Member

    Sep 22, 2009
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    wow looks awesome, can't wait to download!
     
  7. Frog

    Frog Well-Known Member

    Feb 25, 2009
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    It looks very good! What will be the price for the iPhone and the mac?
     
  8. Devilishly Good

    Devilishly Good Well-Known Member

    May 1, 2009
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    cool, looking forward to its release
     
  9. Thomas Lund

    Thomas Lund Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2008
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    Sweden
    Sorry - missed that question.

    We plan to have a launch sale at $0.99 and then the normal price will be $3.99 for the iPhone.

    The PC/Mac version will be priced in the $12-15 range (the distribution platforms will decide the price in the end, but thats the indication we gave them).

    We have been trying to find some way to bundle it, but its really hard to do with Apple on one side as a closed ecosystem and the digital distribution platforms on the other. Any ideas on how one could make a good bundle would be cool!

    /Thomas
     
  10. Wegmans

    Wegmans Well-Known Member

    Oct 31, 2008
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    What are the limits for the number of promo codes you can give out? Maybe once someone registers via email, you can just shoot them back a promo code so they can DL the app at their leisure.
     
  11. Kamazar

    Kamazar Well-Known Member

    Dec 13, 2008
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    I'm pretty sure they're gonna want more than 50 people getting the game per update :rolleyes:
     
  12. Thomas Lund

    Thomas Lund Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2008
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    IT consultant and game developer
    Sweden
    Yeah - its not more than 50 per game build update. So a no go on that one (+ one needs some of the promo codes for reviews).

    Other than that I could think of generating some kind of one time registration on the phone to get a discount on the Mac/PC game. But that required the distributor of the Mac/PC game to think thats a cool idea (him getting less money) and his system has to support it too technically to have a gazillion (hopefully) unique rebate coupon codes floating out there.

    Not easy.

    /T
     
  13. Thomas Lund

    Thomas Lund Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2008
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    Final PC/Mac price ends up at $9.95 for launch on Direct2Drive. Availability end of month (around the 27th +- a few days).

    Will be great to see the game out in player hands! And shoot feedback the other way please, so we can improve the levels + the game with good updates.

    The levels themselves are DLC (free), and we will add new levels ongoing forward. Crappy rated maps will slowly be filtered away based on the ingame rating you submit after playing.

    /Thomas
     
  14. Frog

    Frog Well-Known Member

    Feb 25, 2009
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    Sorry, I missed your answer. €0,79 for this game will be an instant buy for me. Much to cheap. €2,99 is more like I expected.

    I think you can bundle your game by making the app free. The first time the game is opened the user creates an account. The user than has the option to purchase the game using an in-app purchase. If that is done you send an email to the user with the option to buy the Mac/Pc game on the website with a discount. The same is done on the site when you buy the Mac/Pc version.

    I hope you understand the things I've written above. :D
     
  15. Thomas Lund

    Thomas Lund Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2008
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    Sweden
    Monster Ball is live!!!

    Launch sale of the promised $1 - will go up to $4 once launch is over - so get it while its hot.

    (And yes - we think $1 is too cheap too, but we invite you to take advantage of us and maybe give it a great review for our kindness - hehe )

    http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=335569823&mt=8

    Give it a go and thanks for your support!!!!!

    /Thomas
     
  16. Thomas Lund

    Thomas Lund Well-Known Member

    Nov 17, 2008
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    Oh - and Frog - it makes perfect sense. I cant think of any other way really than accounts to link these things together. Obviously now too late to implement for v 1.0, but we will figure out something :)
     
  17. loves2spoon

    loves2spoon Well-Known Member

    Sep 22, 2009
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    Finally! just purchased, playing now :D
     
  18. Mudkipz223

    Mudkipz223 Well-Known Member

    Sep 20, 2009
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    Can we get a quick review on the game? I'm on the border about getting this or not.
     
  19. Tarzerix

    Tarzerix Member

    Nov 2, 2009
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    Wow...nice graphics and sweet soundtrack...reminds me a bit of the good old N64 Rare games :)
    cant wait to get my hands on this
     
  20. LordGek

    LordGek Well-Known Member
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    Feb 19, 2009
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    Saratoga, CA, USA
    Hey Thomas,

    How are the game's difficulty levels differentiated? Is it that the Hard AI actually factors in more variables before making its moves or is it as simple as the game giving the Hard AI larger AI an extra piece?

    Is there ever a map with multiple ghosts that actually ATTACK the two players' pieces (no longer neutral but ANGRY)? It might randomly flit about going after the closest piece at that moment (or random if tied).
     

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