Hi Touch Arcade, I'm writing to show you a preview of my new game, "Bouncy Mouse," and hopefully get some tips about building hype before release! I was referred here by Reddit, and after browsing a bit, the community seems really cool. In February I left my job at Microsoft in Redmond, WA to move to the SF Bay Area to pursue my childhood dream of developing my very own games. And now as the game's only developer, Ive made my first game for iPhone called "Bouncy Mouse"! Im planning to release the game next week for iPhone and an HD version for iPad. The game is an action platformer that uses touch elements like swipe gestures and pinch-to-zoom. In the game, Captain Cat has stolen the Big Cheese from Bouncy Mouse, and you have to get it back... and get revenge! There are 30 levels among three unique worlds. It combines the best of classic console games with the modern, fun controls of a mobile device. The best way to see what the game is like is to check out the YouTube trailer: [hqyoutube]fNRNlLzrKmc[/hqyoutube] Bouncy Mouse has received positive reviews from my friends who have been helping me test it out. I hope everyone here finds it exciting and fun, too, when it comes out! For marketing, I've made a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/BouncyMouse), the YouTube trailer, and sent a pitch to a couple blogs. I've also posted this thread. Does anyone have any other suggestions to promote my game? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Here are a few screenshots! Thanks!
I have to say I was a bit skeptical at first but after checking out the trailer, it looks funny and great! It's almost a mix of the crazy Japanese commercials you see. Hope it does well guys. Good luck!
Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel That looks amazing. You should send a copy of your trailer to TheGameTrail on youtube for more webhits. Also Appspy.
I had exactly the same reaction as the above user. I saw the screenshots and was skeptical initially, but then watched the video and realised it's probaby a better game than I anticipated. This suggests you might want to change the screenshots for your Appstore release, since there's no videos on the AppStore to win people over. Why was I skeptical at first? Because the screenshots imply that a few massive characters fill the screen, like a kids (or Japanese style) game, which doesn't interest me. The screenshots and words don't convey the slingshot technique, which some people will find appealing. It's hard to capture that in a static image, but if you can, I think you'll do better. Perhaps the subtitles need to be improved. You could post some variations here and ask for opinions, if you want. You mention that your friends helped beta test the game for you. When you do future updates, feel free to request volunteer beta testers here on TouchArcade, as a number of people will offer to test this for you, free of charge. And there's some knowledgeable gamers on this site. You'll get testing done - but also ideas for future improvements. I'm sure you've already sent an email to [email protected] to request a game review. When the game comes out, users such as ImNoSuperman create new threads for games under the iPad and iPhone forums, but if they don't, you should. On TouchArcade, there's special tags which can be used for the first post introducing a game, which display the iTunes information. If you're not familiar with these, look at an existing thread and press QUOTE as if replying, to see how it works. There's a section on TouchArcade for competitions or promo code giveaways, which helps generate some name recognition on this site. If you use that approach, I suggest you avoid posting codes - like many developers do - as these are simply grabbed by lurkers. It's better to send codes to winners. Hope this is helpful feedback. And good luck with the release!
Looks awesome Looks like you've made a right decision leaving Microsoft there, bro. The trailer looks awesome. All the best for you and your game
@Red1: That was some extremely helpful feedback. Thank you! I'll be sure to follow up with the items that you've identified, especially regarding making a submission here on this site and trying to update my App Store screenshots.
That's amazing... Yea as Red said, TA forums are great way of advertising, maybe have a twitter account too and have contests!
Glad it's helpful This game has slingshot type controls. I don't think their screenshots are perfect, but they do show that the game involves stretching to fling the character: http://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/to-fu-the-trials-of-chi-lite/id441903962?mt=8
Hey guys, Bouncy Mouse is now out for iOS! We released both a phone version and an HD version for tablets, so check it out: tablet version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bouncy-mouse-hd/id453084622?mt=8 phone version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bouncy-mouse/id452923625?mt=8 Thanks for the thoughts and feedback! I hope you enjoy the game!
