We want to get some feedback... We are trying to decide whether or not we port our Xbox 360 Indie game BATTLE HAVOC to the iPhone/touch. The game is a fast-paced multi-player action game with a unique twist on real-time artillery combat. You take to the air with rechargeable jump jets unleashing the power of over 20 different weapons and upgrades. Play Deathmatch or Elimination modes against up to 8 players, with "Buy Rounds" for upgrading between each round. For those of you with an Xbox 360, you can download a FREE DEMO of the game to check it out: On your Xbox 360 go to Game Marketplace >> Indie Games >> Browse >> Browse Title >> Find Battle Havoc under the B's There are 2 main elements we are focusing on. The first are possible control issues as it relates to a touchscreen rather than a gamepad. This is not a huge issue really, as there are other games that do a good job of mimicking a gamepad, but any comments are welcome. The second is the effectiveness of network multi-player on the iPhone/touch. This game is pretty much centered around multi-player game play; it's primary strength being the insane deathmatches and battles. We have done some network/latency testing already and have mixed thoughts... Is there any interest in this game for the iPhone/touch? Any ideas/comments?
@Kunning / kingkong120 If you get the chance (and have an Xbox 360), download the demo and see how you think the controls could work in the iDevice. We have some ideas of our own to simplify, but would be curious about what your thoughts are.
Thanks Gryphon! Nothing set yet on price. Best guess would be "somewhere between not free and no more than $2.99". Depends somewhat on how many new weapons, upgrades, etc. we add, and how far we enhance the multi-player aspects. Right now, just getting a feel for interest level and how much dev time we invest to finish porting it...
you guys never cease to amaze me, i would LOVE to try this out, but i dont have a 360 so i cant try THAT version
you should bring it over, i think the iphone controls would really be a benefit to the game instead of a hindrance .
This game certainly looks good! I'd say that apart from multiplayer you need to have a solid single player option. There are a lot of pople who don't play multiplayer or who don't always have internet connection where they are. Having a single player option will increase your customer base. I think that Galcon has an excellent multiplayer solution. You may want to see what they did. One last point - the "tanks" don't look too fantastic. On a small iDevice screen especially a lot of detail would be lost. I think that you'd need to make them look a bit bigger and spiffier. Other than that, I think the game could do very well.
Great feedback/comments eugekava. Thanks! We agree on the single player element as well. For the original Xbox 360 version, the single player was more of a secondary aspect so it was not as ideal as we wanted (developing in the indie game arena, you have to cut some corners and stop making tweaks sooner than you would like sometimes). The 2 main avenues for single player in a game like this are the typical "Bot" fights (need quite good AI or else it's lame), or a light action/adventure type of element. Since we already have a great multi-player element worked out, taking a lot of extra time perfecting the single player is the "tough" decision we have to make. But like you said... need to have a good single player option to appeal to the masses. On your last point - The concept behind the "tanks" was a "Battle Tread" type of craft that could travel on land/air and had omni-directional weapon aiming. A rather large factor in making the tanks quite small was getting as much play space on the screen as possible, since we supported 8 player battles. We would most likely do a revamp of the "tanks" catering to the specifics of the iDevice as well as make them stand out a lot more. Although "play space" on the iDevice is even more of a premium.
Thanks! That's a bummer, no 360... We have spent countless hours here at the office playing 4-player local deathmatches. That's 4 controllers, no split-screen, crowded around 1 TV, playing our OWN game!
We are definitely seeing the touch screen element of the iDevice being useful compared to a console... It's the "virtual gamepad" part that is sometimes tricky...
Hey! I played this and Death Tank (didn't buy DT cause it was overpriced compared) on my 360 when they came out. This is awesome. I even liked this one better. You have got to make this on the iPhone!! The 360 version took a couple of games to get the hang of the controls, but the battles were so much fun when my roommates and I played local DM. I would think a touchscreen should make controls even easier?
If you incorporate some kind of story into this game, it would be the only artillery game that would have one. Uniqueness is a strong selling point. Can be just 15 missions or something but it would set this game apart from the flock. I haven't played the original, but it looks like twin stick controls(Meteor Blitz, Alive 4 Ever) may be the way to go. I hope you do decide to port it. Apple store is unpredictable, but good games tend to do very well.
Thanks for the feedback Enigmious. We did get some comparisons to Death Tank when the games came out (both released around the same time, only ours was a third of the price ). They are similar game types which, in-turn, have comparrisons to the old Scorched Earth game... Glad you liked it! It certainly can be a lot of fun with 4 players in the same room, on the same screen. This is what we are hoping to get with network multi-player on the iDevice.
Good idea eugekava. Artillery type game + some type of story mode + the unique real-time artillery element we have in the game already... this could certainly set it apart! I have not seen a story driven artillery game. We went with time-based single player stages in the Xbox 360 version, but those were not all that engaging... A story type of single player may be the way to go. It's a bit of a challenge to really flush out a good single player experience when the core game play is so multi-player focused. As far as controls go, you need a way to move left/right as well as control jump jets... at the same time be able to adjust shot power and rotate aim 360 degrees. Twin sticks may be the way to do it.
