iOS is nearly ready to publish!

I've gotten Social Sessions working on iOS, including the iPad! I was stoaked the first time I saw it running on an iPad because it looked great! I just had to up-res one texture so it would look better. It mostly just worked! Yay!

Now I'm on to setting up my app submission... which is a bigger task than I'd anticipated. Last night I went to upload my screenshots... only to find out how particular Apple is about their screenshots. You have to have your screenshots in exactly the dimensions of whichever particular devices you are supporting. I can't just have a single set of screenshots... I have to have a set of iPad screenshots taken from an iPad, etc. It's a little frustrating because the same is true for the promo video, and the one I created won't work at all. Boo.

Well, I'm excited to be close to submitting. I did a Unity Cloud Build of my final iOS version, but then I found out that I can't just submit that. I have to build and submit from a Mac. So hopefully I'll be able to do that tonight.

Anxious to get it on the App Store so I can really start promoting the game. I'm excited to be able to stop hearing people say "Oh you released your app? Oh well, let me know when it's on the App Store".

Social Sessions Promo Video

Big plans, little schedule

If you're wondering, I've got a handful of changes that I'd like to make before Christmas, along with getting the game on iOS. I'm also going to be away from my computer for a little while around Christmas, so I'm starting to feel a little bit of self-imposed pressure to get stuff done before then (otherwise I won't be able to stop thinking about what I have left to do).

I sat down and made a schedule of my tasks, and tried to figure out if it's even possible. I think it should be possible, but it leaves little room for testing and unknowns.

I'm also debating whether to prioritize iOS, or these new features. It'd be nice to have the game solid and ready when I release on iOS, since it's a more fertile market. But I'd also like to get my game out on iOS sooner rather than later, so I can start marketing the game harder. Right now, when I market, I hate always having to say "Sorry, it's only out on Android right now."

Also, milestone! Someone 100%'d my game. And they did it all in one sitting, no less. I think it took them 2 or 3 hours. It's actually someone I know. He had nothing but good things to say about it, which is great! He's head and shoulders above everyone else on the leaderboards!

Okay, those are my scattered thoughts for right now. If you've played the game, you have something more to look forward to in a few weeks, and if you haven't played it, go play it! It's free to try!

Moving toward first update since launch

Well, I've been getting a lot of great feedback from people coming out of the woodwork to help. This is greatly appreciated.

The first update that's going to come out of this is not anything that affects gameplay, but it'll give the game a little more character. I spent last night and tonight creating a system of speech bubbles that will appear in 3 different situations during a level: you've encouraged someone, you've discouraged someone, or you've taken too long to make a move and they're getting bored.

I've attempted to craft these to be at least a little bit humorous, and also attempted to balance the random values so they don't pop up so often to be annoying and repetitive.

Speaking of repetitive, the one thing I have left to do before I push this update out, is create a long list of these funny, short little quotes to avoid repetition, and keep the game fresh. Here are a few examples, for your reading pleasure:

When encouraging a patient:

• "Worth every penny"
• "You're just saying that"
• "Am I your favorite?"

When discouraging a patient:

• "Why am I paying you for this?"
• "It's all meaningless"
• "Maybe I don't get your humor"

When you're taking too long:

• "Should I go and come back?"
• "Are we still on the clock?"
• "I think I just fell asleep"

I hope this helps with keeping the game interesting (and maybe a little less frustrating on those harder levels). In case anyone is reading this... thanks for reading! 

48 hours after launch

Today wasn't quite as exciting as the day before, but then again I didn't spend all day posting about my app today like I did yesterday. I can, at least, celebrate the milestone of my first in-app purchase! I'm pretty sure it was a friend of mine, but I don't know who. Thanks to you, whoever you are!

Google shows that I have a total of 41 installs. And 8 ratings, with an average of 4.9 reviews (again, mostly from friends). I'm happy about the installs. Google shows your number of installs in increments. From 5 to 9 installs, it shows that you have "5" installs. From 10 to 49 installs, it shows that you have "10" installs. I'm excited about passing 50, because "50" is going to look a lot more credible than "10", even though I really have a lot more than 10.

I've been doing a lot more thinking about the feedback I'm getting. Multiple people have suggested I come up with ways of making the meta game more interesting, and adding some more "flavour" to the game. I'm considering adding in a little system where comment bubbles pop up over people's heads during a level with an excited or depressing comment when you do an action. I think I agree that it'll add a little something extra to the game. I'll have to channel my inner Strong Sad and come up with some depressingly hilarious comments to pop up occasionally.

Another thing that's been suggested, and that I've been thinking a lot about, are alternate ways for people to continue the game besides just a single upgrade purchase option. For example, the ability to watch ads to keep playing, or earn a resource that would allow you to unlock further levels. I actually like this idea. Because, really, all its doing is giving players more options. Instead of being totally locked out of more levels for those that don't want to pay, they still have the option to purchase and continue playing unobstructed, but this way they would have other options as well. I need to think more on this, though. My goal is for the best player experience, and NOT for maximum profits. I hate to see someone genuinely interested in the game, and then just drop it because they won't (or can't) pay for the upgrade. It's heart breaking. I want to give those people a chance to keep playing one way or another.

Hope you're enjoying the game!

24 hours after Android launch

So here I am. Nothing has exploded. 24 hours after launch. Life actually does just keep going.

I've had a slow-but-steady flow of installs throughout the day. Anywhere from 1 to 3 downloads per hour.

(If you're wondering, I'm using Game Analytics for metrics tracking. I'll post more about them later)

This download rate was actually pretty encouraging, as I hadn't exactly pulled out all the stops with trying to market myself. I basically blasted on Facebook, and to everyone at work, and on this blog, and on a few applicable subreddits. But other than that, I hadn't sent my app into any app review sites or anything like that. Partially, I want to see how it does, and if anything might need to be changed... and then also publish on iOS. Once I do that, I'll be blasting as hard as I can for sure!

I had a few people give me criticisms and advice, both of which were valuable. One person said they almost didn't download my game because of how horrible my icon was. I was honestly a little embarrassed. I was going for simplicity, but when I really thought about it, it did look pretty out of place in the app icon world. I spent some time tonight making an upgraded version. I wouldn't call myself an artist really, but I try.

There, that looks a little more appy.

Other advice related to adding some more interesting meta game, and adding ads in there somewhere. I'm on the fence about the ads thing. I don't want to annoy players, but... then again... most players will never cough up even a couple of dollars for an in-app purchase, and yet they're able to enjoy much of the game for free. It would be nice if I could benefit slightly from their enjoyment, while finding a way to do some very minimally intrusive monetization. I don't know. We'll see what happens.

I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking about how to advertise my app most effectively. Obviously, I don't want to pester everyone on places like Reddit (I may have done some of that today), but it's hard to find appropriate venues. I wonder if anyone has ever just gone out and stood on a physical street corner and told people about their game. Hmm... could be fun.

Anyway, I'm excited and anxious to see how downloads progress, and anxious to start working on getting on iOS.

My Facebook Post

Just thought I'd share what I posted on my Facebook, in case anyone is interested:

2 years ago, I had an idea for a game. In order to bring that idea to life, I learned programming and game development in Unity. Last month, I formed a company, Hester Games LLC, and today I launched my first mobile game on the Google Play Store.

But this isn't really a success story. Not yet. 20,000 apps are released every single month. Most of those are "zombie apps". No, it's not an app about zombies, it's an app that almost no one has ever played. If no one spreads the word, no one will find it or play it. I've spent at least a thousand hours, and hundreds of dollars from my own wallet to make it happen. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but sometimes knowing how much time someone put into something helps you realize how important it might be to them that you at least give it a try.

Last year, many of you tried my game in a web browser, and I'm grateful for your participation. It was a great learning experience. The game was rough at that time, and I've spent the last year bringing it up to a better, more polished experience, so I hope you'll give it another go.

I'd love it if you'd download it and give it a try, but more importantly, share it with anyone you think might like it. The game is free to download, and offers 28 out of the 120 levels for free before asking for an upgrade, but playing it and sharing the link is honestly the most important thing right now.

Right now, it's only available for Android (phone or tablet), but I'll be sure to update when I release my iOS version, hopefully before Christmas!