here is my game's video iTunesl Link : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/finger-cut/id360663407?mt=8 is the name, icon not attractive? or just the game is not fun at all? what can I do? please give me some advise,please thank you almost one year later we made a new game based on the same concept,and been featured by apple,thanks for all the great advices you guys gave to me Cut the Zombies!!! The zombies are coming. It's time to use your sword to save the world! slash all the zombies into pieces!The r… $2.99 Buy Now Watch Media DetailsThe zombies are coming. It's time to use your sword to save the world! slash all the zombies into pieces!The rules are simple:- Kill zombies by cutting them.- Don't cut the falling villagers.- Cut pumpkins into as many pieces as possible, for a bonus score.- Cut several zombies in a row to rack up combos. The more combos you get, the higher the score.The game includes three modes:- Classic Mode: kill zombies in a non-stop fashion. One cut, one kill.- Arcade Mode: some zombies will need more than one cut to kill. If you let 10 chunks of zombie reach the ground, they will spawn a zombie, and you lose a life. Luckily you are equipped with a Power Cut, which, when fully charged, allows you to perform multiple cuts at once(won't hurt villagers) . The arcade mode contains a lot of waves, and when starting a new game you can start at any wave you’ve previously completed.-Pumpkin Mode: just cut pumpkin into pieces ,enjoy the crazy fun.This game is Game Center enabled! Have fun collecting achievements, and competing over high scores with your friends on the leaderboards! Information Seller: Genre:Action, Arcade Release:Mar 03, 2011 Updated:Nov 30, -0001 Version: Size:0.0 TouchArcade Rating:Unrated User Rating:Unrated Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal eXistenT Well-Known Member Sep 2, 2009 540 0 16 Germany #2 eXistenT, Apr 18, 2010 in my perspective , icon it's a minus.you need to change that. overall price is good,description its ok, and you can make a photo whit a drawing virtual hand video its good and interesting Sinecure Industries Well-Known Member Oct 16, 2009 604 0 0 NJ http://www.sinecureindustries.com #3 Sinecure Industries, Apr 18, 2010 There are too many lingering questions: 1. Are there levels? 2. Is there an ultimate goal? Or does it go forever? 3. Are there more shapes than the couple shown? 4. What's the point really? The game looks amusing, there's a certain addictive quality to reach a higher score, but that's all there really is to it. To be honest, it looks nice (and your demo video is top notch!) but I don't think it's $1.99 worthy. I know the feeling, you put a ton of work into it and you want to charge what you think it's worth but in this case, keeping in mind the general simplicity, you might be better off going the free with ads route. You can also put in a $0.99 upgrade option to remove the adds and hopefully provide some other incentive. Just my opinion, take what you will from it. simplymuzik3 Well-Known Member Aug 12, 2009 342 0 0 #4 simplymuzik3, Apr 18, 2010 You could try to sign up with freeAppCalendar.com and do a free promotion. That might help you jump start sales. Or you could just keep it free all the time and use ads to generate revenue. Foursaken_Media Well-Known Member Patreon Indie Jan 17, 2010 3,421 30 48 Raleigh, NC http://www.foursakenmedia.com #5 Foursaken_Media, Apr 18, 2010 I don't think the game itself is an issue, I think it may be the presentation... I just think having a huge, larger then life personality with these types of games is what lures people in, and THEN its the game play that hooks them. Right now, it looks like you've got the game play part, but nothing to get people interested in your game that have never heard of it before, or just happen to stumble across it for the first time. What is going to make someone really say "hmmm, I really want this game!" By personality I mean, adding characters to the game and things like this. Like, show a little animal, or some kind of finger character (you know, like a dressed up finger?) slicing them up in the bottom corner when you slice a piece of paper, and use this guy as the mascot of your game. Have themed levels in different areas. Things like this. You may also want to consider a lite version. We released a lite version of N.Y.Zombies at the same time as the full version, and I really think it helped -- it definitely helped get extra exposure thats for sure. Think about it, you've essentially got TWO chances to get noticed (if your lite gets noticed, technically so does your full version, whether you get the sale or not, at least someone looked at the game!). That's just my 2 cents... hope it helps! ArtCoder Well-Known Member Aug 10, 2009 264 0 0 Argentina http://www.oniricgames.com #6 ArtCoder, Apr 18, 2010 Hi there. Your game looks really fun! Sorry it's not selling well... These are the problems I see: The icon is definitely not very interesting. If I hadn't seen the video I would have never guessed what it meant. You can't tell what the game's about from the first screenshots. Maybe you should consider moving screen #3 to the beginning. It's really hard to tell what the game's like by screenshots alone. This is a problem with many games, which we can do very little about... I wish Apple allowed videos in the app description. A more general problem may be presentation. Cutting "shapes" is not very appealing. When I saw the video, I imagined a chef slicing food very quickly. Maybe it would have been better if you had chosen a theme like that instead of going the abstract way. I think you should re-imagine the game with a better theme and icon and release it under a different name. Don't just update this one, as you've already lost the initial impact of a new release and an update won't help you much. A piece of advice for your next game: try not to take so long to make it. Games on the App Store have higher chances of being failures than successes, so you must try to keep your development costs (time included) as low as possible. Also, I don't know if you did it, but try showing your game as early as you can to get impressions from gamers and fellow developers, which can help you up your chances a bit. bomber Well-Known Member Nov 9, 2008 942 1 0 #7 bomber, Apr 18, 2010 The game mechanics look quite fun, but may be it should be different themed, like 'Ninja cuts Zombies' and you show a small ninja doing cuts with a sword. There always needs to be something 'cute' or a cool character. Aspargusman Well-Known Member Jun 18, 2009 754 0 0 #8 Aspargusman, Apr 18, 2010 i think the concept of the game isnt that all attractive, with all respect. a frenetic finger swiping doesnt look really fun, since you just swipe, not really thinking strategically. i think you should add more to the game control/gameplay-wise or move onto another project. bomber Well-Known Member Nov 9, 2008 942 1 0 #9 bomber, Apr 18, 2010 I think the concept is fine, may be it should display lines on the objects which people need to cut so that the player always knows what to do instead of randomly swiping over the object. TimoVihola Well-Known Member Mar 26, 2009 432 8 18 Creative Director at Mountain Sheep inc http://www.twitter.com/timovihola #10 TimoVihola, Apr 18, 2010 I played the game and I gotta say you're very close to something that could be a really big hit! As others have stated what you're missing is a theme. Take a look at the top list of US paid games: Even Bejeweled 2 has a strong theme with all those shiny jewels. Skee-Ball also has tangible theme. I'm not saying abstract games can't sell but it will be much harder to capture an audience. (as you've probably noticed) Here's two examples of simple vector styles that you could order from an illustrator. (Freelancer could make you dozens of objects very quickly) Nate Wragg has an excellent vector style that could fit a game like this, of course it's very hard to hire him away from Pixar but you should be able to find someone who does similar style: http://n8wragg.blogspot.com/ Current name is good but it could be difficult to get noticed by releasing an update - what you want is that Apple features the game. Unfortunately update won't bring you on the new releases list so releasing under a new name might be more safe. There's an idea for gameplay addition in the rightmost image, some objects could be destroyed by cutting specific locations etc. I'm in the middle of moving to a new city but had to stop by on this thread because this really caught my eye - we might even be interested collaborating on the project (profit sharing) or buying the whole game for a price that will be worth much more than 40 sales for you Cheers, Timo jeffyg3 Well-Known Member Mar 22, 2010 1,251 0 36 #11 jeffyg3, Apr 18, 2010 or simply people just don't know its out there. OK, I'm not a developer, just an avid iPhone & iPad gamer, and I have never heard about this game...ever. Needs more advertising to get the word out about it if you feel strongly enough about it...AppCalendar, promo codes at Touch Arcade and asking to spread the word and review it, etc. Also a nice strong icon can definitely draw in people like me. Mondae Well-Known Member Feb 26, 2010 1,807 2 0 Perv, why do you care? #12 Mondae, Apr 19, 2010 I never even saw a forum. gekkota Well-Known Member Jul 17, 2008 1,490 2 38 #13 gekkota, Apr 19, 2010 It's so hard for a game to get noticed in the app store-- that's why it's important to spread the word using forums, etc. I agree with what others have said about the game needing a "theme." I also thought of a chef cutting vegetables, but slicing up some zombies would work, too! The point is that just cutting shapes is not as interesting as cutting real objects. You did a really nice job on the video--it's probably one of the nicest videos I've seen for a game from an indie dev. Good luck!! Kamazar Well-Known Member Dec 13, 2008 6,509 18 0 #14 Kamazar, Apr 19, 2010 It just seems bland. Like other's said, no point to it. You cut up slow moving shapes... then what? Graphics are the main thing that sells games, and slightly beveled geometric shapes just don't cut it. Flickitty Well-Known Member Oct 14, 2009 761 1 0 iPhone Dev http://flickitty.com #15 Flickitty, Apr 19, 2010 Yep, I think Timo nailed it. Adding a characters and themes would really knock this game into a different arena. I'd advise dropping the existing game altogether, and start fresh with themes and characters. That way you have the benefit of being NEW, and can properly promote it. People don't tend to respond favorably to an existing game with new features and additions unless that game already has a large following. MrBlue Well-Known Member Sep 3, 2008 320 1 0 iPhone Developer http://www.DonomaGames.com #16 MrBlue, Apr 19, 2010 To add to the suggestions about themes, I want to point out one example in the app store to back this up. Defend Your Phone http://www.appannie.com/defend-your-phone/ranking/history/#start_date=2009-11-04&end_date=2010-04-18 If you look at the chart, it never really went that high. Doodle Wars: Ship vs Stick http://www.appannie.com/doodle-wars-ship-vs-stick/ranking/history/#start_date=2010-02-16&end_date=2010-04-18 It is essentially the same game with a popular theme. Broke into the top 100 overall paid apps. I'm not sure what else he did in terms of changes and marketing, but I distinctly remember this game because I saw the original on the cocos2d forum. Months later, I saw the 2nd version featured by Apple and the gameplay was eerily similar and it turned out it was the same dev. writingsama Well-Known Member Dec 4, 2008 675 0 0 #17 writingsama, Apr 19, 2010 I think Gamebox buys games that are good but don't make it. You know the 28-in-1 guys. Give them a good game so they can make their next one 30-in-1 instead of 29-in-1 and they'll probably snap it up. I'm really sorry it's so disappointing. Unfortunately that is the risk you run. Statistically speaking this is going to happen to lots of really good games. Going with a publisher can be very helpful in that arena... The most important thing to remember is to know when to cut your losses. I'm not saying to abandon it now, not in the least, but if it gets to the point you're $10k in the hole and nothing is working and etc...you need to realize it and stop sinking money in. Stop and move on. muxinzi Well-Known Member Apr 6, 2010 80 0 0 #18 muxinzi, Apr 19, 2010 thanks everyboay,so glad to hear such good advises so, what I need is to find out a "theme",then a new game ,ok, I will work hard on it klicktock Well-Known Member Oct 13, 2009 416 0 16 Director of KlickTock Ballarat, Vic, Australia http://klicktock.com #19 klicktock, Apr 19, 2010 Last edited: Apr 19, 2010 The reskin Timo did makes the game look way better. I'm a bit flat on the title too. (Not that my game is any kind of an example!) Obviously your game is reminiscent of that cool game in Wario Ware where you slice the vegetables being thrown in the air. If the icon can clearly show that one gameplay hook, you're likely to draw attention from everyone who has played Wario Ware Touched. EDIT: Your app store description isn't very enticing either after having a read through. Take a look at marketing descriptions from other popular applications. Or you could just get assistance to write a really killer description. Grubjelly Well-Known Member Jun 19, 2009 1,118 0 0 #20 Grubjelly, Apr 19, 2010 Last edited: Apr 19, 2010 The name should be changed. One should remember that finger pads take quite a beating during many games demanding frequent swipe gestures. It's hard enough for them to forget all the swipe-burn when playing innovative and interesting games, let alone ones with questionable entertainment value. Consider how poorly a stationary store called "paper cuts" would do. Just not a great hook. (You must log in or sign up to post here.) 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in my perspective , icon it's a minus.you need to change that. overall price is good,description its ok, and you can make a photo whit a drawing virtual hand video its good and interesting
There are too many lingering questions: 1. Are there levels? 2. Is there an ultimate goal? Or does it go forever? 3. Are there more shapes than the couple shown? 4. What's the point really? The game looks amusing, there's a certain addictive quality to reach a higher score, but that's all there really is to it. To be honest, it looks nice (and your demo video is top notch!) but I don't think it's $1.99 worthy. I know the feeling, you put a ton of work into it and you want to charge what you think it's worth but in this case, keeping in mind the general simplicity, you might be better off going the free with ads route. You can also put in a $0.99 upgrade option to remove the adds and hopefully provide some other incentive. Just my opinion, take what you will from it.
You could try to sign up with freeAppCalendar.com and do a free promotion. That might help you jump start sales. Or you could just keep it free all the time and use ads to generate revenue.
I don't think the game itself is an issue, I think it may be the presentation... I just think having a huge, larger then life personality with these types of games is what lures people in, and THEN its the game play that hooks them. Right now, it looks like you've got the game play part, but nothing to get people interested in your game that have never heard of it before, or just happen to stumble across it for the first time. What is going to make someone really say "hmmm, I really want this game!" By personality I mean, adding characters to the game and things like this. Like, show a little animal, or some kind of finger character (you know, like a dressed up finger?) slicing them up in the bottom corner when you slice a piece of paper, and use this guy as the mascot of your game. Have themed levels in different areas. Things like this. You may also want to consider a lite version. We released a lite version of N.Y.Zombies at the same time as the full version, and I really think it helped -- it definitely helped get extra exposure thats for sure. Think about it, you've essentially got TWO chances to get noticed (if your lite gets noticed, technically so does your full version, whether you get the sale or not, at least someone looked at the game!). That's just my 2 cents... hope it helps!
Hi there. Your game looks really fun! Sorry it's not selling well... These are the problems I see: The icon is definitely not very interesting. If I hadn't seen the video I would have never guessed what it meant. You can't tell what the game's about from the first screenshots. Maybe you should consider moving screen #3 to the beginning. It's really hard to tell what the game's like by screenshots alone. This is a problem with many games, which we can do very little about... I wish Apple allowed videos in the app description. A more general problem may be presentation. Cutting "shapes" is not very appealing. When I saw the video, I imagined a chef slicing food very quickly. Maybe it would have been better if you had chosen a theme like that instead of going the abstract way. I think you should re-imagine the game with a better theme and icon and release it under a different name. Don't just update this one, as you've already lost the initial impact of a new release and an update won't help you much. A piece of advice for your next game: try not to take so long to make it. Games on the App Store have higher chances of being failures than successes, so you must try to keep your development costs (time included) as low as possible. Also, I don't know if you did it, but try showing your game as early as you can to get impressions from gamers and fellow developers, which can help you up your chances a bit.
The game mechanics look quite fun, but may be it should be different themed, like 'Ninja cuts Zombies' and you show a small ninja doing cuts with a sword. There always needs to be something 'cute' or a cool character.
i think the concept of the game isnt that all attractive, with all respect. a frenetic finger swiping doesnt look really fun, since you just swipe, not really thinking strategically. i think you should add more to the game control/gameplay-wise or move onto another project.
I think the concept is fine, may be it should display lines on the objects which people need to cut so that the player always knows what to do instead of randomly swiping over the object.
I played the game and I gotta say you're very close to something that could be a really big hit! As others have stated what you're missing is a theme. Take a look at the top list of US paid games: Even Bejeweled 2 has a strong theme with all those shiny jewels. Skee-Ball also has tangible theme. I'm not saying abstract games can't sell but it will be much harder to capture an audience. (as you've probably noticed) Here's two examples of simple vector styles that you could order from an illustrator. (Freelancer could make you dozens of objects very quickly) Nate Wragg has an excellent vector style that could fit a game like this, of course it's very hard to hire him away from Pixar but you should be able to find someone who does similar style: http://n8wragg.blogspot.com/ Current name is good but it could be difficult to get noticed by releasing an update - what you want is that Apple features the game. Unfortunately update won't bring you on the new releases list so releasing under a new name might be more safe. There's an idea for gameplay addition in the rightmost image, some objects could be destroyed by cutting specific locations etc. I'm in the middle of moving to a new city but had to stop by on this thread because this really caught my eye - we might even be interested collaborating on the project (profit sharing) or buying the whole game for a price that will be worth much more than 40 sales for you Cheers, Timo
or simply people just don't know its out there. OK, I'm not a developer, just an avid iPhone & iPad gamer, and I have never heard about this game...ever. Needs more advertising to get the word out about it if you feel strongly enough about it...AppCalendar, promo codes at Touch Arcade and asking to spread the word and review it, etc. Also a nice strong icon can definitely draw in people like me.
It's so hard for a game to get noticed in the app store-- that's why it's important to spread the word using forums, etc. I agree with what others have said about the game needing a "theme." I also thought of a chef cutting vegetables, but slicing up some zombies would work, too! The point is that just cutting shapes is not as interesting as cutting real objects. You did a really nice job on the video--it's probably one of the nicest videos I've seen for a game from an indie dev. Good luck!!
It just seems bland. Like other's said, no point to it. You cut up slow moving shapes... then what? Graphics are the main thing that sells games, and slightly beveled geometric shapes just don't cut it.
Yep, I think Timo nailed it. Adding a characters and themes would really knock this game into a different arena. I'd advise dropping the existing game altogether, and start fresh with themes and characters. That way you have the benefit of being NEW, and can properly promote it. People don't tend to respond favorably to an existing game with new features and additions unless that game already has a large following.
To add to the suggestions about themes, I want to point out one example in the app store to back this up. Defend Your Phone http://www.appannie.com/defend-your-phone/ranking/history/#start_date=2009-11-04&end_date=2010-04-18 If you look at the chart, it never really went that high. Doodle Wars: Ship vs Stick http://www.appannie.com/doodle-wars-ship-vs-stick/ranking/history/#start_date=2010-02-16&end_date=2010-04-18 It is essentially the same game with a popular theme. Broke into the top 100 overall paid apps. I'm not sure what else he did in terms of changes and marketing, but I distinctly remember this game because I saw the original on the cocos2d forum. Months later, I saw the 2nd version featured by Apple and the gameplay was eerily similar and it turned out it was the same dev.
I think Gamebox buys games that are good but don't make it. You know the 28-in-1 guys. Give them a good game so they can make their next one 30-in-1 instead of 29-in-1 and they'll probably snap it up. I'm really sorry it's so disappointing. Unfortunately that is the risk you run. Statistically speaking this is going to happen to lots of really good games. Going with a publisher can be very helpful in that arena... The most important thing to remember is to know when to cut your losses. I'm not saying to abandon it now, not in the least, but if it gets to the point you're $10k in the hole and nothing is working and etc...you need to realize it and stop sinking money in. Stop and move on.
thanks everyboay,so glad to hear such good advises so, what I need is to find out a "theme",then a new game ,ok, I will work hard on it
The reskin Timo did makes the game look way better. I'm a bit flat on the title too. (Not that my game is any kind of an example!) Obviously your game is reminiscent of that cool game in Wario Ware where you slice the vegetables being thrown in the air. If the icon can clearly show that one gameplay hook, you're likely to draw attention from everyone who has played Wario Ware Touched. EDIT: Your app store description isn't very enticing either after having a read through. Take a look at marketing descriptions from other popular applications. Or you could just get assistance to write a really killer description.
The name should be changed. One should remember that finger pads take quite a beating during many games demanding frequent swipe gestures. It's hard enough for them to forget all the swipe-burn when playing innovative and interesting games, let alone ones with questionable entertainment value. Consider how poorly a stationary store called "paper cuts" would do. Just not a great hook.
