Yes! The development is still ongoing. Actually I'm doing some playtest to get the difficulty right.
The main thing is that I need to wait for the developer. This is actually a small project for monkube. Sven uses it to keep his employees bussy while waiting for other projects. The advantage of this is that I have more time to playtest. Which is good because playtesting takes more time then I had foreseen.
Eventually game analytics will help us get the perfect balance.
Some friends of mine also played the game. It's impressive what value information you can get by watching and letting playtesters play your game in their "natural habitat".
Friends pointed me to some problems with the tutorials. So we adjusted some things, but the new tutorial isn't tested yet.
It's also funny when my girlfriend plays my game. When I don't hear any sound from the smartphone and she puts up her pensive face, I know she is playing it. :-)
She plays the game differently but neither of us aren't using the special items very often. Even though they don't cost real money (like in candy crush) and we have plenty of gems (collected in the level) to buy the items. We only inted to use the items when we have our back against the wall.
A second perception is that the choices the player has to make don't feel as important as they should be. This isn't a real problem for now, but it needs further testing and observations.
The main thing is that I need to wait for the developer. This is actually a small project for monkube. Sven uses it to keep his employees bussy while waiting for other projects. The advantage of this is that I have more time to playtest. Which is good because playtesting takes more time then I had foreseen.
Eventually game analytics will help us get the perfect balance.
Some friends of mine also played the game. It's impressive what value information you can get by watching and letting playtesters play your game in their "natural habitat".
Friends pointed me to some problems with the tutorials. So we adjusted some things, but the new tutorial isn't tested yet.
It's also funny when my girlfriend plays my game. When I don't hear any sound from the smartphone and she puts up her pensive face, I know she is playing it. :-)
She plays the game differently but neither of us aren't using the special items very often. Even though they don't cost real money (like in candy crush) and we have plenty of gems (collected in the level) to buy the items. We only inted to use the items when we have our back against the wall.
A second perception is that the choices the player has to make don't feel as important as they should be. This isn't a real problem for now, but it needs further testing and observations.
For the people that don't know what game jam is, it's a 48 hour game development marathon next weekend. You can check the site.
I'm joining for the first time ever. I'l be joining the team in Antwerp, Belgium. On one hand I've the feeling that I'm ready to join. On the other hand I'm very average in modeling and drawing. My strongest points are designing, game concept development and user research. So I don't think I can help with actually development but I can help with playtesting and other stuff.
The majore reason that I'm joining is to test my methodology. I don't know if I will be able to do that but we'll see how things will go.
Either way, game jam is a good way to make more and better connections with other developers.
I'm joining for the first time ever. I'l be joining the team in Antwerp, Belgium. On one hand I've the feeling that I'm ready to join. On the other hand I'm very average in modeling and drawing. My strongest points are designing, game concept development and user research. So I don't think I can help with actually development but I can help with playtesting and other stuff.
The majore reason that I'm joining is to test my methodology. I don't know if I will be able to do that but we'll see how things will go.
Either way, game jam is a good way to make more and better connections with other developers.
If you follow the game industry you have seen predictions flying around. Justin Carrol sees 10 trends for the mobile market in 2016. And I think he is right.
Ofcourse there are other links to:
Develop online
Testbird
Some page on linkedin.
And super data research.com .
One trend that no one of these above people are talking about is UX. (user experience)
I have seen an article that predicts that UX will rise in 2016.
Apparently there is a lot of misconception in the video game industry about UX which I don't understand. Where I come from, direct feedback from players is vital to make your game better.
With all these predictions of the mobile market saturation and maturation, knowing what the players want and how to make the experience they want will become indispensable. I'm even brave enough to say that in a few years, every indie game developer will somehow need a UX researcher/designer to make a commercial game.
But that's just me ... talking. :-)
Oh, before you go ... happy newyear! May all your wishes come true.
Ofcourse there are other links to:
Develop online
Testbird
Some page on linkedin.
And super data research.com .
One trend that no one of these above people are talking about is UX. (user experience)
I have seen an article that predicts that UX will rise in 2016.
Apparently there is a lot of misconception in the video game industry about UX which I don't understand. Where I come from, direct feedback from players is vital to make your game better.
With all these predictions of the mobile market saturation and maturation, knowing what the players want and how to make the experience they want will become indispensable. I'm even brave enough to say that in a few years, every indie game developer will somehow need a UX researcher/designer to make a commercial game.
But that's just me ... talking. :-)
Oh, before you go ... happy newyear! May all your wishes come true.