Connect Your Corners (strategy board game)

Hey folks,

I've finally managed to port my game "Connect Your Corners" to the iOS platform! It is a strategy board game (belonging the class of connection games) in which you must connect the opposing corners of your own color to win.

Before I proceed with publishing it or trying to find a publisher, I wanted to get your feedback! Please take a look at the attached screen shots!

By the way, I've previously published the game on the Java 2 Mobile Platform (under the name "Flogo"), and a free, ad-enabled version of it was quite popular, totaling more than 265000 downloads on these two sites: http://www.mobilerated.com/flogo-4128.html and http://www.getjar.com/mobile/26753/flogo-for-nokia-3600-slide/ You can also see an animation of that version on these pages.

Features of the current iOS version:

* Universal app, running on iPhone/iPod/iPad, optimized for both normal and Retina displays.
* 2 different game modes:
--> Human vs. artificial intelligence, with 25 different levels of playing strength
--> Human vs. human
* Sounds and vibration that can be switched on or off
* Choose between 3 different color schemes
* Thinking time is displayed for each player (like a chess clock)
* Game over - animation, showing why the game is over (for those that don't care to read the rules).
* When the user wins against the AI, a score that consists of 5 components is computed and shown in an animation.
* OpenFeint-enabled, using leaderboards (one per level + plus one overall leaderboard) and achievements (50 different achievements)
* Currently two localizations (English and German), more to come

What do you think of the game? Do the graphics look good? Do you like the sounds? As I'm not a native speaker, please also provide feedback if you think s.th. about the text in the UI could be improved. Any other tips how this could be further improved?

What do think about the icon? It's way down at the bottom in the "Attached Images" area. Sorry, I've only got it in 60x60px resolution right now. My hope is that somebody who sees that (with the green connection) and reads the name "ConnectYourCorners" can immediately imagine what the game is about.

If anybody wants to beta-test it, please PM me. I'm especially looking for somebody with an iPhone, because I haven't tested the vibration yet, and someone with an iPad. It should run on any version 3.x and 4.x of the iOS.

I've now invested several hundred hours of my time (mostly spare time) into this game, and would love to get some $$$ out of it, because that would mean that I can spend more time in the future on making more games and apps. So, in your experience, what has been the best way to earn some cash with iOS games? Free but with ads? Free and with ads that can be turned off by in-app-purchase? Paid and self-published, or through a publisher? I've also thought about giving it away for free but having some features that can only be activated with in-app-purchase. This could be the two player (human vs. human) mode, for example, or the ability to play in the higher levels. What do you think about that?

Best regards, looking forward to your replies,
Florian

 

Thanks, AP9TV1! I will send it to you later this week. Could you please PM me your UDID? In case you are not familiar with that, this is an identifier of your iPod that I need so I can sign the binary in such a way that your iPod accepts it. You can get it with the "Ad hoc helper" from Erica Sadun (just search for that name in the app store).

TIA,
Florian

 

Thanks to all who have shown interest in my game so far! I hope I'll manage to send the binary later today or tomorrow. Anybody else interested in testing the game? Please PM me your UDID and email address (or other method of providing the binary to you, it is not on the app store yet).

Best regards,
Florian

 

Thanks, braodpfc! I will think about your suggestion to add an online multiplayer capability. Could you please give me the name of an OpenFeint game that has this feature (preferably free).

Thanks for testing, AP9TV1! I've just double checked that I included the UDID you sent me in the PM in the provisioning profile. It could be that the provisioning profile wasn't added correctly to your iTunes library.

So, please try the following: drag and drop the file named "Florian_Student_Ad_Hoc_CoYoCo.mobileprovision" onto your iTunes library (my iTunes has it in the upper left corner). Afterwards try to drop the IPA file again in the same place. If this doesn't work, could you pls. double-check that the UDID that you sent me is in fact the one of your iPod.

Best regards, and thanks for the testing!

Florian

 

I've just sent you the installation package in a different format, hopefully it works that way.

 

Hello Broadpfc,

you mentioned you had an iPod and an iPad. Did it work on both devices? How did you like the game on the iPad? Any tips for improvement?

Thanks,
-Florian

 

Game was renamed, now available as "Connect2Win"

Hello all,

The game was renamed and is now available!

Connect2Win (Universal) released - Free version available

Connect2Win is a game of simple rules (“connect your corners to win”) but still features deep strategy and fascinating gameplay. Connect2Win is OpenFeint enabled, and also uses Game Center on the newer iOS versions. Leader boards and achievements worth 750 points are available on both services. This game (which belongs to the class of connection games) includes specially optimized graphics for the iPad and for Retina devices.

Read the full press release here: http://iqtainment.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/connect2win-has-been-released-on-the-app-store/

To download the app, search for "Connect2Win" on the App Store, or click here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/connect2win-lite/id435693181?mt=8&ls=1 (free) or here http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/connect2win/id430843587?mt=8&ls=1 (currently $0.99)