iPhone Pixel Soccer - fun, pixel art, soccer game!

Discussion in 'Upcoming iOS Games' started by SuperRockGames, Aug 2, 2016.

  1. #1 SuperRockGames, Aug 2, 2016
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2016
    Hi All,

    I am an indie developer working on a pixel art soccer game called Pixel Soccer. Sensible Soccer, Kick Off and Goal by Jon Hare and Dino Dini are big inspirations and i like a lot of people spent much of the 90s playing these games.

    Pixel Soccer will be released on iPad later this year. EDIT: Had originally thought that iPhone version was not viable because of the small screen size but i will see what people thinking during testing before making a decision. It will also launch on Steam Early Access for PC and Mac. Also hope to release on XBOX and Linux early 2017.

    The game is still in development but i try to release a game-play video every month. Here is this months game-play video. Looking to start external testing soon so looking to get the word out.

    Let me know what you think, always interested in feedback that will make the game better.


     
  2. djstout

    djstout Well-Known Member

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    I am always very interested when it comes to football! I'll definitely keep an eye on it.
     
  3. djstout

    djstout Well-Known Member

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    But iPad only is a bit sad, not everyone has an iPad, why wouldn't it be possible get it on iPhone?
     
  4. @djstout - i think we have spoken before about one of my other games:) kickup king? Glad you like this one.

    The game does run on an iPhone but its just the screen size might be too small for people to select players. Could also try implementing a virtual joypad but again the screen size on iPhones might make it very hard to play.

    Its a difficult decision. Release on iPhone aswell as iPad and people may not have a good gameplay experience and word of mouth may affect the game.

    Maybe as a compromise, release iPad first and then later the iPhone.

    Pixel Soccer will also be on PC/Mac and hopefully XBOX so you could enjoy it there too :)
     
  5. Gwarmaxx

    Gwarmaxx Well-Known Member

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    iPad only???
     
  6. See my reply above :)

    Again iPhone version can be done, just thought it might affect the game play experience.
     
  7. djstout

    djstout Well-Known Member

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    Good point of view but you're restricting yourself as there are far more people playing on iPhone than iPad, that's the only problem. Active Soccer ans other made very good iPhone games, I think you can do it. Maybe you could make an iPad version first and then iPhone.
     
  8. atchoo

    atchoo Well-Known Member
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    #8 atchoo, Aug 2, 2016
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2016
    @djstout Try to watch the video on your iPhone, hiding the screen a bit with fingers... It would be unplayable.
    Maybe it could be ok on iPhone 6/6s Plus, especially with a MFi controller.
     
  9. djstout

    djstout Well-Known Member

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    A simple zoom in would do the trick
     
  10. atchoo

    atchoo Well-Known Member
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    It could change the way you play the game.
    Sensible Soccer or Kick Off didn't zoom in or zoom out.
     
  11. I guess the problem on iPhone is that you wouldn't be able to see enough of pitch to choose your teammates or to be able to judge passes.

    Applying zoom to make everything smaller might make the players so small and fiddly to select by touch that it becomes really frustrating. If a virtual joy-pad is used, it would solve the selecting players problem but you would be staring a really small players for prolonged periods which people might not enjoying playing.

    I always thought a different game mechanic might be better for iPhone, like New Star Soccer where you interact with snippets of match game-play or a management game where you make tactical changes and watch the match.
     
  12. atchoo

    atchoo Well-Known Member
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    How do iPad's controls actually work?
     
  13. At the moment virtual joypad. A dpad and 4 buttons overlay the screen.

    I would like to add an intuitive touch screen controls option. Tap on players to pass to them, swipe at goal to shoot, tap on space to dribble to it, double tap player to do a 1-2, double tap space to sprint. That kind of thing.
     
  14. atchoo

    atchoo Well-Known Member
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  15. Augusts development update!



    **External testing will happen this month, probably no more than 5 people to start with as can’t really handle feedback from any more people**

    This months game-play video is human vs computer AI again! Although that milestone was passed last month it feels like such an important milestone and also really fun and satisfying to finally play the game instead of just watching computer play itself.

    This months milestone is just as important. The full match loop is in and working. This means all set-pieces (goal kicks,goal throws,corners,free-kicks,penalties,throw-ins),extra time,penalty shootout,referees,lines-persons,fouls,cards,sending offs,tactical instructions,preset and custom formations,substitutions,crowds,dugouts,subs,managers,goal celebration and basic match info UI.

    That is quite a lot actually now that you see it written down. This does not mean that there will be no more work on the match engine. Quite the opposite. The real work starts now really. All these features need to be improved, refined, tweaked and tested until there is a polished match experience.

    THIS MONTH
    - Code refactor, multi-threading data and image loading
    - Human set piece aiming bug fix
    - AI set piece forces and choice of pass/shoot tweaks
    - Off-sides added, showing offside position player was in and offside line
    - Yellow and red cards, graphic appear above players head
    - Sending offs
    - Referee
    - Fouls
    - Match officials, lines-persons, 4th official
    - Goal celebration
    - Work has started on a new website design! http://www.superrockgames.com. But slowly as my web skills are Sunday league :)

    Blog post - http://superrockgames.tumblr.com/post/149976728239/pixel-soccer-early-access-build-31-08-2016

    website - http://www.superrockgames.com/
    twitter - https://twitter.com/superrockgames
    facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SuperRockG
    instagram - https://www.instagram.com/superrockgames/
    vine - https://vine.co/SuperRockGames
     
  16. Dailon80

    Dailon80 Well-Known Member

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    #16 Dailon80, Sep 7, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2016
    No iPad
    Shi&e
    No real soccer games to start season
    Seems like 20 or more coming early 2017
    Season started already why halfway
    Seems to be the trend problem is there will be a lot and some will get lost in shuffle... Start of season now would be ideal release time if it was me
    Anyways that had nothing to do with this game really
    No iPad can't play it anyways just a soccer gaming rant since season is here and not any new soccer games

    Also you mentioned Sensible soccer the guy behind that game Mr Hare is behind this new game sociable soccer that's coming out also early 2017
     
  17. September development update!



    THIS MONTH
    - Added swerve/curl. Can now swerve/curl the ball by moving the d-pad/analogue stick or pressing one of the direction keys right after you pass or shoot. Quite a bit of work to get this working. Trying to predict collisions accurately when swerve is involved in a physics system is actually quite tricky! Will continue to make improvements during development based on feedback.

    - Can also add height to a pass/shot by moving the d-pad/analogue stick in the opposite direction to the kick. Using keyboard controls you press the direction key that is opposite to the kick direction. Again, will continue to make improvements based on feedback. A feature that is in and working does not mean it is fun or easy to use :)

    - Changed the way the game picks which player the human controls. It was picking the nearest player to the ball but sometimes that could mean a player who is the wrong side of the ball. Meaning he is facing his own goal and trying to catch up with the ball. It would be better instead to pick a player who is between the ball and his goal meaning there is more chance this player can intercept the ball. You can also press a button and tell the game to pick another player. Decided to hold off on any more improvements to this area of the game until other people can test it.

    - Caught a bug where a player can slide tackle while he has the ball in his possession. You might have seen that bug in some of the videos.

    - Fixed a bug where doing a slide tackle and colliding with the ball can cause it to go shooting off at high speed. You might have seen that bug in some of the videos too.

    NEXT
    - Integrating feedback from beta testing on PC/Mac, making bug fixes and improvements
    - Adding a basic tutorial. Things like how to move, kick, pass, apply swerve/lift etc
    - Adding controls to chip/lob and cross the ball.
    - Start adding attributes to the players like shot power, shot accuracy, stamina and speed.
     
  18. October development update!



    New Website (http://www.superrockgames.com/) - updated the old site!

    Steam Early Access Page (http://store.steampowered.com/app/347700/) - the Pixel Soccer Early Access Page is live on Steam now. Its not finished yet, still have to add a game-play video, improve the screenshots and update the text as the game develops between then and now. Also the date of release of 2nd June 2017 is provisional, it may change.
    You will need to signup and create an account here (http://store.steampowered.com/) on Steam to be able to play Pixel Soccer or participate in internal beta testing.
    Steam is the world biggest digital store for games.

    Free Alpha (https://itch.io/) - planning to release a free version pf Pixel Soccer through itch.io (a digital store for games). You wont need to signup or create an account to download this version. The free alpha version is not a demo. It will be a snapshot of the current state of development. Typically a demo is a cut down version of the full release version.

    Internal Beta Testing - is going well. Most of this month has be spent fixing bugs. Probably run another round of beta testing soon.

    UI - each screen now has gamepad button hints so people can navigate through the entire game using only gamepad.

    Tutorials - 3 tutorials added. Time trial were you run round cones with and without the ball. And two outfield players against the goalkeeper to test 1-2s, shots, passes etc


    Blog post - http://superrockgames.tumblr.com/post/152722485534/pixel-soccer-early-access-build-31-10-2016

    website - http://www.superrockgames.com/
    twitter - https://twitter.com/superrockgames
    facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SuperRockG
    instagram - https://www.instagram.com/superrockgames/
    vine - https://vine.co/SuperRockGames
     
  19. djstout

    djstout Well-Known Member

    Jul 21, 2011
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    Any update?
     
  20. Updates monthly until i get close to release then hourly ;)
    One person indie (at the moment) so cant be surfing the forums too often, got to work on the game :)
     

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