I'm going to be writing some blog posts for IndieWatch.net.
Here's my first post. Go check it out!
Monday, June 6, 2016
Friday, May 27, 2016
Picture Puzzles
This is the first set of image-based Social Session puzzles. These are taken straight from the mobile app (get it for free!), but I thought that maybe people would like to try them in an old fashioned image-based form. (which makes for a good sampler, and then people can get the app if they like the puzzle!)
But really, this is a test run, because I need to see if this format is clear enough to explain the rules and get people to solve the puzzle. So, we'll see. Here it is!
(leave your answers in the comments if you can solve them!)
But really, this is a test run, because I need to see if this format is clear enough to explain the rules and get people to solve the puzzle. So, we'll see. Here it is!
(leave your answers in the comments if you can solve them!)
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Tough Crowd
Boy, it's tough trying to market a game. It's funny, it really seems like the gamer community is much more eager to fund a game that is in development, but that may or may not ever see the light of day, than to support a game that already exists. A post that says "hey, here's the latest alpha version of my game, check it out!" will gain way more interest than "hey, I released my game last week, check it out!"
It's weird, but I think it comes down to a couple of things.
First, I think we have this mentality that if something comes out that's absolutely amazing, we'll hear about it. Our friends will tell us, or we'll hear about it on the top gaming news sites. And so if you're telling me about a game that's already out, well, it obviously isn't THAT good, or else I'd have heard about it already.
Second, I think is just a much deeper human trait: potential is more exciting than a concrete thing. The woman or dude that walks by on the street, you imagine, would bring you far more happiness than the spouse you have now, surely. In other words, if the game isn't out yet, then my imagination is the only limit to how good it MIGHT be. I can still dream. But if the game is done and released, well then the result is concrete. It might be good, but it's still only "this" good, and can't possibly live up to my imagination.
We don't want to stop and realize that we're setting ourselves up to never be content and never enjoy anything in the present.
This may be a self serving post, but I've had a lot of time to sit and think about this as I sit and watch very few people download my game that I spent 2 years making, and I ponder how in the world do I break into this market without being one of the blessed big-name studios...?
Anyway, try it out. I think you'll like it.
It's weird, but I think it comes down to a couple of things.
First, I think we have this mentality that if something comes out that's absolutely amazing, we'll hear about it. Our friends will tell us, or we'll hear about it on the top gaming news sites. And so if you're telling me about a game that's already out, well, it obviously isn't THAT good, or else I'd have heard about it already.
Second, I think is just a much deeper human trait: potential is more exciting than a concrete thing. The woman or dude that walks by on the street, you imagine, would bring you far more happiness than the spouse you have now, surely. In other words, if the game isn't out yet, then my imagination is the only limit to how good it MIGHT be. I can still dream. But if the game is done and released, well then the result is concrete. It might be good, but it's still only "this" good, and can't possibly live up to my imagination.
We don't want to stop and realize that we're setting ourselves up to never be content and never enjoy anything in the present.
This may be a self serving post, but I've had a lot of time to sit and think about this as I sit and watch very few people download my game that I spent 2 years making, and I ponder how in the world do I break into this market without being one of the blessed big-name studios...?
Anyway, try it out. I think you'll like it.
Android store page
goo.gl/jbvIsC
iOS store page
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
Social Sessions Has A New Face!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Social Sessions has a brand new face.
It's late, and I'm glad to be done with this, but I'm tired, so I'm gonna keep this short.
Totally new art. New look and feel. Same great game. Available now on Android and iOS.
I hope you love it so much. Go download it free.
It's late, and I'm glad to be done with this, but I'm tired, so I'm gonna keep this short.
Totally new art. New look and feel. Same great game. Available now on Android and iOS.
I hope you love it so much. Go download it free.
Android store page
https://goo.gl/jbvIsC
iOS store page
Art Reskin Almost Ready!
To say "I've spent the last 5 months re-doing the art" would be a stretch, since I've spent most of that time NOT working on it... but IN the last 5 months, I hired a freelance artist to completely rethink the visual design of the game, and I've been integrating his new visuals into the game.
I'm happy to announce that the newest version of Social Sessions is in review for the App Store, and will be available for both iOS and Android in the next week if I don't hit any snags!
I'm very very ready to let out a sigh of relief for finally being totally done with the game, and I'm much much happier with the way it looks and feels now. I hope you'll take a look at it again when it's out if you've already played it, or, if you haven't, give it a try! You can play a generous portion of the game totally for free!
I'm happy to announce that the newest version of Social Sessions is in review for the App Store, and will be available for both iOS and Android in the next week if I don't hit any snags!
I'm very very ready to let out a sigh of relief for finally being totally done with the game, and I'm much much happier with the way it looks and feels now. I hope you'll take a look at it again when it's out if you've already played it, or, if you haven't, give it a try! You can play a generous portion of the game totally for free!
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
New Art
I hope you've been challenged by Social Session's puzzles. For most people who have played it, their response is quite positive. But here's the problem: the number of people who judge the book by its cover and never download the game is staggering. Only about 15% of people who view the game's app store page actually download the game. This is pretty low. And also, the number one critique I've gotten from people (that aren't my friends) is that it just looks bad.
Now, I'm not offended by this at all. I know I'm not an artist. I kind of thought the art would be okay because it's "simple", but in this case, simple just translated into "amateur" or "rushed" or "incomplete". And I'm understanding now, more and more, how important good art is for a game to be successful. It's like the sign on the front of your store. No one's gonna come into see what you offer if it looks bad on the outside, even if what's inside is great.
And I can't hold it against anyone, because, each of us is faced with a decision of which games to play, and when you have thousands of options at any given time, you have to judge a book by its cover. You just can't play them all and give a fair judgement. Unfortunately.
So, if you've played, thanks for looking past the "simple" art. But for all the others, I'm going to be looking into either purchasing some stock art, or getting someone to freelance some art for me.
Of course, the problem is that I don't really have a budget for it. I've spent several hundred dollars just getting the game done, and haven't made more than about 10 bucks on the game so far (it's a freemium game). It's hard to justify spending anything more on it. But I'll see if I can find something that's a lot of bang for buck.
Thanks for reading! #SocialSessionsGame
Now, I'm not offended by this at all. I know I'm not an artist. I kind of thought the art would be okay because it's "simple", but in this case, simple just translated into "amateur" or "rushed" or "incomplete". And I'm understanding now, more and more, how important good art is for a game to be successful. It's like the sign on the front of your store. No one's gonna come into see what you offer if it looks bad on the outside, even if what's inside is great.
And I can't hold it against anyone, because, each of us is faced with a decision of which games to play, and when you have thousands of options at any given time, you have to judge a book by its cover. You just can't play them all and give a fair judgement. Unfortunately.
So, if you've played, thanks for looking past the "simple" art. But for all the others, I'm going to be looking into either purchasing some stock art, or getting someone to freelance some art for me.
Of course, the problem is that I don't really have a budget for it. I've spent several hundred dollars just getting the game done, and haven't made more than about 10 bucks on the game so far (it's a freemium game). It's hard to justify spending anything more on it. But I'll see if I can find something that's a lot of bang for buck.
Thanks for reading! #SocialSessionsGame
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