Pocket Heroes - (by Ayopa Games)

[Brandon Pollet]

Originally Posted by Hercio

As much as I support this game and love playing it...it's hard for myself and my friends who play to disagree with this post.

I understand your feelings, and those of krztoff, and am sorry for the problems that many of you have experienced in playing the game. It's not an ideal situation for us either but the reality of the situation is that we have work on other things if we want to continue building games. We are continuing to work on Pocket Heroes and will continue to release updates as we can but, unfortunately, that's all we can offer at this time.

You say that you got your money's worth out of the game and that you love playing it so I really don't understand why you would then say that you wouldn't play our next game. As we continue to improve as developers our games are only going to get better, so if you enjoyed Pocket Heroes you're going to love what we've got coming next.

I hope we can win back some of your trust with our next release, but only you can be the judge of that. All I'll ask is that you give us a try ( our next game will be free to download ) and see what you think.

Thanks for playing, and for sharing your feelings. Hopefully after our next game is released you'll be able to recount a better experience.

- Brandon

[krztoff]

Originally Posted by Brandon Pollet

You say that you got your money's worth out of the game and that you love playing it so I really don't understand why you would then say that you wouldn't play our next game.

This is easy to answer.

Because there are hundreds of thousands of apps out there, many at the same price point, and many without the frustration of major nagging bugs. I can get my money's worth in many places, and at a lower level of annoyance. That's just the way the app market works.

Also, you'll notice in my last post that I felt like I got my money's worth, but that two of my friends (who paid the same as me) ended up with an unplayable game due to bugs. Is that a ratio that you're happy with? It could have just as easily been me that paid for an unplayable/unfinishable game but I got lucky this time around.

You made a game that was at least partially supported by IAP, but had a (what I consider to be ..) design flaw that allowed you to avoid death and re-loot shop/chests until you got what you wanted. Why would I ever need to purchase gold?

I think Pocket Heroes had the beginnings of something that could have spawned an entirely new class/subgenre of games if it had taken off (think tower defense, 5 years ago). Unfortunately, this potential was overshadowed by bugs and design issues.

EDITED TO ADD: at some point you're going to need to change the "coming to IOS this Spring" image on your website as well. It's Autumn now. One more season goes by, and I might start to think a sequel is on the horizon.

[Brandon Pollet]

Originally Posted by krztoff

EDITED TO ADD: at some point you're going to need to change the "coming to IOS this Spring" image on your website as well. It's Autumn now. One more season goes by, and I might start to think a sequel is on the horizon.

Is there anything else I can do for you while I'm at it?

If you think Pocket Heroes could have been so much better if only it had this, or did that, or launched better then you're welcome to go build your own turn-based RPG and reap the 'benefits'. Good luck.

[BloodFidelity]

Originally Posted by krztoff

Also, you'll notice in my last post that I felt like I got my money's worth, but that two of my friends (who paid the same as me) ended up with an unplayable game due to bugs. Is that a ratio that you're happy with? It could have just as easily been me that paid for an unplayable/unfinishable game but I got lucky this time around.

What ratio? The very, very few of you who didn't enjoy the game compared to the rest of us? You mentioned your one friend couldn't play the game because they're still playing on their 3GS? REALLY? We're supposed to feel sorry for them? I have an idea; maybe they should upgrade! They're three models behind now for crying out loud! Please don't blame the developer for your friends mishap.

And EVERY game has their bugs and fixes they need. EVERY. GAME. But what's the great thing about the new generation of how games work today? UPDATES. Even games like Modern Warfare come out with patches and bug fixes and that's a game you have to pay $60 for! But for 99 cents we can have the luxury of playing a game such as Pocket Heroes. That's less than a dollar! I appreciate developers stepping up and creating something for us all to try even if it isn't perfect. I just wish people like you would be more grateful for the things we have today that we didn't have 10 years ago.

I look at it as a glass half full here with this game and it's developers. You lost out on 99 cents. That's all. Go complain about your first world problems somewhere else please.

[krztoff]

I'm sorry you felt attacked ... That wasn't my intent. I couldn't do better and would never pretend otherwise. I was under the impression that this was a feedback thread so I gave some. It just seems like the game is being abandoned, and think that would be a real shame as it has so much potential to be great.

I'm not even going to respond to the other guy.

[Brandon Pollet]

Originally Posted by krztoff

I'm sorry you felt attacked ... That wasn't my intent. I couldn't do better and would never pretend otherwise. I was under the impression that this was a feedback thread so I gave some. It just seems like the game is being abandoned, and think that would be a real shame as it has so much potential to be great.

I'm not even going to respond to the other guy.

I understand, and I do appreciate the feedback; sometimes it's difficult to determine someone's intent in a forum post.

At the end of the day we are in this to make fun games, for ourselves and for all of you. I have greatly appreciated all of the feedback that we've received from everyone here and hope that it will continue, for Pocket Heroes and our upcoming games.

In gamedev news, I spent most of last night working to update Pocket Heroes for the iPhone 5 screen, the extra space allows the UI to not feel as cramped and also gives you a better view of the battlefield during gameplay.

We're also still working on the Hero Board functionality, it's almost complete and currently allows you to manage your character and use them to start new parties if you wish. I'm hoping to get all the Hero Board pieces out for internal testing tomorrow and then all that's left for this update is polishing up the new Raid maps and running through them to make sure we catch any bugs.

We definitely don't want to abandon Pocket Heroes, but interestingly enough, the best way for us to be able to improve the game over time is to have additional games out there that can reach more people.

Thanks for your patience on this,

Brandon

[krztoff]

Originally Posted by Brandon Pollet

We definitely don't want to abandon Pocket Heroes, but interestingly enough, the best way for us to be able to improve the game over time is to have additional games out there that can reach more people.

This is a great point.

[Hercio]

I never want to make anyone feel like I am taking swings at them for the work they are doing – that isn’t and should never be the case.

I think it can be difficult at times to see the merits in both sides of a discussion – you want to favor one side when you know there are elements of truth to the other. While I wish that Pocket Heroes was more polished and refined by this point my friends and I are still playing it and enjoying it. That has to count for something.

I genuinely hope, and continue to hope, that your business continues to be a success and your titles continue to sell. I think the work that you have put into Pocket Heroes alone deserves recognition.

Next time you are in Canada stop by and I’ll grab you a beer.

Regards,
Hercio

[Strange Brew]

TA PH forum drama!! Wow, lmao.

Brandon, with the next update, I love the direction the game is heading. BUT, if our characters are meant to be used again and again, could we PLEASE get

1. Fixed skills, like my Rogues double shot is clearly not working right. The damage is pitiful for what I thought it would be. I'm sure there's other skills too that need checking

2. More animations!!! Esp, on effects on characters/enemies, to see them. For example, my Rogues thorns, could we see thorns so we know he's unable to move?! This helps team play a lot, and your game's primary focus is just that.

3. Skill reset option, a potion perhaps?!

Thx again for your continued support, I still play this game daily.

[Brandon Pollet]

Hahah, yeah we worked it all out .

1. I'll definitely take another look at Double Shot and see if I can pump it up.
2. We unfortunately won't have more animations for this next update, but after the Hero Board is up and running we'll be able to spend some more time on graphics and animations updates.
3. We went back and forth in development about if we needed a skill reset option. Now, that we're moving the focus to be more character driven it probably makes more sense. I'll definitely add that to the list.

Thanks for the suggestions!

- Brandon

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

TA PH forum drama!! Wow, lmao.

Brandon, with the next update, I love the direction the game is heading. BUT, if our characters are meant to be used again and again, could we PLEASE get

1. Fixed skills, like my Rogues double shot is clearly not working right. The damage is pitiful for what I thought it would be. I'm sure there's other skills too that need checking

2. More animations!!! Esp, on effects on characters/enemies, to see them. For example, my Rogues thorns, could we see thorns so we know he's unable to move?! This helps team play a lot, and your game's primary focus is just that.

3. Skill reset option, a potion perhaps?!

Thx again for your continued support, I still play this game daily.