Animal Trackers (Release Date: Thursday 3rd May 2012)

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by DaveA, Oct 18, 2011.

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When playing Animal Trackers, which control method do you see yourself mostly using?

  1. Finger point: Tracker moves to where you point to.

    2 vote(s)
    18.2%
  2. D-pad: Tracker moves in same direction as position of thumb relative to centre of on-screen d-pad.

    9 vote(s)
    81.8%
  3. Accelerometer tilt: Tracker moves in the direction the iDevice is tilted.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Estupendo1

    Estupendo1 Well-Known Member

    Feb 10, 2012
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    ^You'll have to add a new game challenge where the "bookface monster" is tracking your tracker animal. ;)
     
  2. burn

    burn Well-Known Member

    May 20, 2011
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    That's insane! I don't do a whole lot with Facebook except keep up with developers.

    When I suggested Facebook / Twitter integration, really all I meant was a way to post the scores you got on each level. I know a few people on Twitter who like to post their scores so they can brag to their followers and, more importantly I think, to expose their followers to an app or game they may not otherwise know about.

    I don't know much about how Facebook integrates with it all, but I don't think you need a developer account.
     
  3. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    Yes, that's all I was planning on doing, giving the player the option to post something like "I just scored 1272 points on level 39 of Animal Trackers by helping Sidey the Sidewinder track the Meerkat across the desert!" on their Facebook wall.

    However, as shown above on Facebook's own instruction page about integrating with iOS apps, the first step is to register as a developer and it's here that it all goes pear-shaped.

    I guess I could just download the SDK and incorporate whatever code is necessary, but I have a feeling that come authentication time, without the game being linked to a developer account, the authentication is going to fail.

    So, unless I can be reasonably sure that it's going to succeed, I'm reluctant to spend much more time on it. :(
     
  4. burn

    burn Well-Known Member

    May 20, 2011
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    Well, Facebook sucks anyway. :D
     
  5. Estupendo1

    Estupendo1 Well-Known Member

    Feb 10, 2012
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    #45 Estupendo1, Feb 23, 2012
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2012
    Just to feed-back: Watched the vid again and Foxy's nose waggling is full of win, g8 feedback for the player. Do the other animals have similar/own style of suitable feedback as well?? Tail-wagging-fever is another one!

    I always say about exercising a dog, you take it on a walk (I often run too) and exercise their noses for a really good stretch. :)

    ps:

    1/ Perhaps Sid/Snakey? tongue-flicking could intensify in frequency and 'Ssss'? ;)
    2/ Pumi might pant a bit quicker or flick the tail agitated-like (cat trait)?
    3/Bearny' being a bear might press his snuffling snout closer to the ground as gets nearer?
     
  6. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    Actually, Foxy's nose waggles all the time as part of his usual animation...

    ... as do the tails and other extremeties of the other trackers.

    However, the idea of having an increase in waggling frequency as the tracker gets closer to the quarry is a good one and so I've now implemented this (more or less) by tying the rate of animation of the tracker as a whole to the distance progressed in the level. Thanks. :)
     
  7. Estupendo1

    Estupendo1 Well-Known Member

    Feb 10, 2012
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    Brilliant it sounds like you have them well animated -> lots of character/charm! As well as cute eyes.

    Yeah, it's something you see in dogs who are very olfactory: They almost get wired the stronger/closer the scent is, it's g8 to watch atst. It's sorta thing might be very relatable/add to the excitement of the chase/game. You'll have to see how much it adds, but in theory should enhance. ^_^ :cool:
     
  8. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    #48 DaveA, Mar 2, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2012
    Scoring revised

    Just a quick note to say that in the interests of improving the gameplay experience, I've revised the scoring system, the way that stars are awarded and the tactics of when to collect the golden egg.

    I've written up the details more fully on my development blog at http://animaltracker.wordpress.com.

    [​IMG]
     
  9. Estupendo1

    Estupendo1 Well-Known Member

    Feb 10, 2012
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    Read up on the blog: All changes sound good. I like the challenge level: 1-3* + eggspert alternative/score booster. Seems to work as a good visual motivator when displayed on the map and you see the levels you could have improved on.

    Any other Easter Eggs? Or would that go off the trail! What about unlock a secret tracker? Perhaps a road-runner who has to beat all the best times? :D
     
  10. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    I have some features in mind for future updates, but I think for now I'd better just concentrate on getting Animal Trackers 1.0 finished and on the App Store before I end up living in a cardboard box... lol
     
  11. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    #51 DaveA, Mar 13, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2012
    Easy mode

    I've now added a number of 'easy' mode versions of those levels which I felt may be too difficult for young children to complete. The level layouts are predominantly the same, but have a few tweaks here and there to simplify the puzzles and keep related items spatially close.

    For example, sometimes a trail will disappear down a hole only to emerge from another hole further along, so in easy mode, the holes tend to be a little closer together.

    Also, some gates have switches which are quite far away (or even hidden) in medium / hard modes, but in easy mode the switches have been brought out into the open and relocated much closer to their respective gates.

    [​IMG]

    Here, Sidey the Sidewinder has come across a gate with a switch next to it in medium mode. But, does that switch activate that gate? (Since I'm mentioning it here, it should be little surprise that it doesn't.)

    Now, an adult will hopefully be able to explore and find the switch which does activate it, but I'm not so sure a young child would necessarily be able to, so that is why I've added the easy mode versions of such levels which keep related switches closer to each other.

    As a result, it should be easier to finish a level in easy mode, but because I've often subtly changed the layout, playing a level in easy mode won't give away the locations of hidden items / shortcuts in medium / hard modes.

    Remember, stars and points are awarded based on the difficulty mode being played, so even if a player completes a level in easy mode, they'll get a higher score completing it in medium mode, and an even higher one in hard mode.

    Plus, it's only possible to collect the golden egg in hard mode, which adds another 100 points, so it's in a player's interests to complete each level in as hard a mode as possible.
     
  12. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    Progress report

    In the last couple of weeks or so, the improvements made behind the scenes have taken a while longer than I had anticipated to get working properly and be fully integrated, so the schedule has been pushed back a bit.

    However, I'm still making progress, so it shouldn't be too long now...

    Oh, and with Apple increasing the OTA limit from 20MB to 50MB, I've also been able to upgrade the iPhone graphics to retina resolution.

    Here's the gang, all ready and waiting to get the tracking competition under way...

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Estupendo1

    Estupendo1 Well-Known Member

    Feb 10, 2012
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    Thanks for the updates/info DaveA.

    I recently picked up a number of good apps, leaving me with only a few left on my radar, including animal trackers, so a delay's a good thing from my point of view for a more even spread of titles!
     
  14. burn

    burn Well-Known Member

    May 20, 2011
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    I've been following your progress on Twitter. Really glad that you've almost got this complete. I can't wait to get it on all of my devices!
     
  15. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    Twitter Integration

    I’ve now added a Twitter console to Animal Trackers, so that players have the option to tweet about their accomplishments.

    Upon successfully finishing a level, a new Twitter button now appears on the score card…

    [​IMG]

    Pressing it will bring up the Twitter console…

    [​IMG]

    … which has a vertically scrolling picker view on the left containing all Twitter accounts that have been set up in iOS 5 and a pre-written tweet on the right containing information about the accomplishment.

    The tweet may either be sent unmodified, with the success…

    [​IMG]

    … or failure…

    [​IMG]

    … of the transmission indicated in the status area, or sent with amendments…

    [​IMG]

    … if the player wishes to add / remove / change anything in the tweet.

    The number of characters remaining (out of the maximum 140 allowed by Twitter) is displayed in the status area, with the ‘Send’ button only being active if this value is at least zero.

    Once a tweet has been successfully sent, the ‘Send’ button is disabled to prevent duplicate tweets, but if the player wishes to tweet again, tapping in the tweet area and making a change will reactivate the ‘Send’ button.

    Finally, pressing the 'Cancel' button will dismiss the Twitter console and return to the score card.
     
  16. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    Sound options

    I just have a few tweaks left to make on the sound side of things, but it’s mostly there now.

    Animal Trackers now has four background audio options: in-game music, ambient sound effects, iPod music and complete silence.



    Pressing the cog symbol from the title screen (or pause menu during a game) will bring up the options console. At the top of the scroll view are the audio settings…

    [​IMG]

    The speaker button controls sound in general, so disabling that will turn off all sounds, including music and sound effects.

    The game will detect the status of this button on launch and if it is set to ‘off’, it will allow whatever music is already playing in the background to continue playing.

    The musical note button enables/disables music and the ‘FX’ button enables/disables sound effects.

    When playing the game, the player can have as a backing sound track either music or ambient sound effects (such as birds singing, wind blowing, etc.)

    Beneath the ‘FX’ button are a check box and a play/pause button.

    With a tick in the check box, ambient sound effects will play during the game (if background music has been disabled), otherwise just action sound effects, such as footsteps, flicking switches, etc. will play.

    Pressing the play/pause button next to it will immediately play a sample of each ambient sound track.



    Scrolling down will reveal the music controls…

    [​IMG]

    These work in the same way as the sound effects controls.

    The title music will play on both the title screen and the level selection map if there is a tick in the ‘Title’ check box.

    The background music for a game will cycle through the tunes that have been ticked. Each successive start/restart of a game will select the next tune in the cycle.



    Well, that’s it for the sound options. Hopefully, these will allow a level of control that will suit most players.
     
  17. burn

    burn Well-Known Member

    May 20, 2011
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    Wow! That has to be the coolest bunch of sound options in any game I've ever played. The option for ambient sounds seems very relaxing. Still can't wait to play this game! :)
     
  18. Estupendo1

    Estupendo1 Well-Known Member

    Feb 10, 2012
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    Really like the additional features (nice to have optional extras - that extra yard) and audio options seem v well thought out! I like choosing "the right balance" for me in games. eg audio for atmosphere and mute for when I want to dang well win that 3rd star! :)
     
  19. DaveA

    DaveA Well-Known Member

    Jun 7, 2011
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    Updated trailer

    In the lead up to the release of Animal Trackers, I've updated the trailer to include more recent footage in those parts which had changed as development progressed.

    For those who like 'spot the difference' puzzles, you could try to count how many scenes have changed between the 'pre-release' and 'release' versions.

    Old 'pre-release' version: http://bit.ly/Iac1XC

    New 'release' version: http://bit.ly/HXqAUp


    If you have a YouTube account, please feel free to vote / comment.
     
  20. burn

    burn Well-Known Member

    May 20, 2011
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    I RT'd your post on Twitter. Can't wait for this to get released. :)
     

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