First, a bit of background. Bullistic is a free game we released as a) a free gift to clients and friends as a joke. We are 'web for hire' game dev company and are continually asked 'can you build us something like Angry Birds?', so we thought we'd give it a go. b) an ode to the most successful and fun game on the App Store - Angry Birds For a full run down on the game, check out: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=80799&highlight=Bullistic Problem is, the game has been amazingly popular. As of 27th January 2011, less than 2 weeks in the wild, the game has been downloaded over 140,000 times. ...And we are getting canned on the App Store! People are ripping us to shreds for copying Angry Birds. But what more can we do? We put it in the app description. We are giving the game away for free. We admit this is an ode to Angry Birds. We love Angry Birds... ah well. Despite this and due to the sheer number of downloads, we are fleshing the game out properly and hopefully turn it into something people will enjoy a lot more. Everyone's feedback is welcome! The progress so far... Performance Performance has been improved incredibly! In the rush to get the game out last year, we had overlooked a number of things that were sucking memory. We are now acheiving framefrates consistently as follows: iPhone 3G: 25 - 30 fps min iPhone 3GS: >50 fps constant! iPhone 4: 40 - >45 fps Gameplay 15 levels are now in development. We'll release these with the next update and will release 15 more soon after. Continuing in this fashion until we give up. The level difficulty will scale gracefully - the basics to begin, ultimately ending up quite challenging. New items including springs, bumpers, boulders, chandeliers are all going to be introduced to create more of a puzzle aspect to breaking as much stuff as you can. Each level has a $ damage goal. Stars are awarded for remaining bulls, three stars awarded for reaching the goal in one shot. We'll also provide some more intuitive and detailed instructions about how to play the game, the goals and a few tricks along the way. The camera The camera will be modified so that users can zoom out to see the whole scene and still aim their shot. We will also be tweaking the bull follow to ensure you can always see the action. No ads - more bulls! We will be removing the ads. Instead, as a way to get some return on our investment, we will be adding 'Bulls with Abilities', which will be available to purchase in-app individually, or in packs of three. These special bulls can be substituted in at anytime during a level, when their abilities are deemed required. The game will remain free and completely playable with the normal bulls as promised. The special bulls will just add to the fun. Sound Controls Jeez - we copped some grief over this! We can't be responsible for everyone's taste in music. I love metal! However, we can be a little more courteous. We will be changing the music so as it doesn't get triggered after every breakage. Also, we are providing options for users to mute both the music and sfx. Artwork Thankfully, this is an area that people really were impressed, and for good reason. Mike (our designer) did an amazing job for the time he had - now he has more time to make things look even better. Here's some samples... and finally.... I think that's everything so far. We hope to have the game updated and out in Feb. Bring on the comments, suggestions and feedback! We will probably be looking for some beta testers in the very near future too, so if anyone is interested, please PM me. I'll endeavour to keep this thread up to date with our progress. I hope you like the direction the game is heading.
haha, that's pretty cool. its great that you're admitting that this IS an ode to angry birds, and that you re not in it for the profit, but for the enjoyment! good on you
Great finally a dev that actually listens the the issues with their app, all the problems i had should be addressed in the update according to this, not playing the game much right now but will likely be one of my favorites when the update comes.
you guys got "bulls" ... also love the idea, and you can definitely use it to your advantage in the future. thumbs up!
Bingo! The 3GS has close to as much power as the iPhone4 but only half the resolution to deal with. While games look stunning on the retina display, they perform much better and smoother on the 3GS. Crazy huh? I'm sticking with my iPhone 4 though..
Some credit is due! This review from Demon Skunk appeared on the US App Store: Good Game. Needs a little work. by Demon skunk on Jan 14, 2011 version 1.0 I got this game mostly because it was free, but I was pleasantly surprised when I started it. the presentation is wonderful, it's music is a short loop that isn't annoying and fits the game. I love the bull in a china shop theme, it's something not many have done and quite frankly I think it's pretty funny - especially because of the china shop owner who cowers behind the counter after the first time you fire your bull. Things that I think need work are: The walls and floor should be destroyable, I think. The stage design makes it near impossible to launch your bulls into the windows and hit certain areas, making the games few stages much more difficult than they look to be. Also, in future releases it'd be nice to see different bulls to mix up the action, or gimmicks like springs and things to make stages more interesting and puzzle oriented, because at present they're all rather samey. there also NEEDS to be a menu system. I don't like the fact that every time I pick up and play the game I start at stage one again, and if you'll be adding more stages in the future you'll need to implement some sort of stage menu design. maybe you could design it like a shelf with vases on it, and stages you've beaten are broken vases? that'd be cool. ----- Awesome feedback and great ideas! So much so, we have implemented many of them. If you read this Demon skunk - thank you. You rock! I just wanted to show that we are listening and genuinely value good, constructive feedback and suggestions. Areas we are workshopping at the moment are: New Bulls and abilities- 'bouncy bull' - goes crazy bouncy when triggered for a limited time 'raging bull' - magically charges along the horizontal axis when triggered 'para bull' - tap mid-flight to open a parachute. Tilt to guide the bull into the drop zone. Tap again to explode the bull. If he touches anything, he explodes. The bull survives. 'sitting bull' - tap to place a small campfire in the scene. If any bull touches the fire, it goes crazy with it's backside on fire until it goes out 'flamma-bull' - tap mid-flight to thrust the bull at terrific speed straight down. Bull picks up enough speed to combust - comet like. Upcoming levels - Museum of fragile and expensive Egyptian artifacts House of lonely and fragile old people ...not sure about this one... Palace of a mexican drug baron The quest for Kim Jong Il Bulls in Space: Zero gravity lunar landscape Bulls on ice (frozen water, not the drug) Bulls vs ninjas There's a few thought starters. Anyone got more?
Yep - big ones too! Awesome! Level design is coming along great! Have some really cool puzzles to solve - we've done 13 odd levels now. 2 more to design up (for this update). Then, just add polish. Every level can be completed with one perfectly executed shot. Getting the camera happening smooth and intuitive is tricky, but we're almost there! New special bulls are being illustrated, animated, and are soon to be dropped in. Here's a preview: Flammabull Bouncybull Parabull Lord help us if we run out of bull puns.
haha. Cool. The Flammabull is the best but they are all GREAT! Nice job. Also, how bout a spacebull? That'd be cool.
Well, obviously, he has to have a space suit. As for powers go, maybe attach a rocket or jet pack to him. And when you launch him, you tap the screen and he'll go SUPER fast! (sorta like the yellow angry bird. )
There are a couple of bulls that do similar things to that already. Flammabull when tapped, smashes down vertically crazy fast, and Ragingbull (yet to be drawn) does a similar thing except he charges horizontally - with a rocket pack I believe! You'll love them. What about for Spacebull, you launch him in, then on tap, he removes his helmet and the apparent lack of oxygen makes his head swell up until it explodes with as much force as the bombs?
