Post Mortem – What’s wrong with my games?

Post Mortem – It did not pay off
I finished two game projects over the last 6 months. For both I worked through nights and tried the best possible  to make them shine. The effort did not pay off at all. Except some flattering words and good critiques, I’m happy that at least some players have played them .

Check out the statistics:
(iTunes only)
Units per month shows the amount of downloads. Consider that „The Sha Man“ was priced and had no marketing.
Sha Cat had intense marketing (unfortunately couldn’t reach the market making big sites). And I invested roughly 300 euro in marketing. Beside that I did obvious marketing fail investments (article coming soon) I conclude my games are just not ready yet, to appeal to the masses.

Payoff
Conclusion – Make it simple make it meaningful
Since I try  to make a living out of it I do now re-orient myself, let’s hope this road is paying off . I will switch to create smaller apps in a much higher frequency instead of investing months into one project and than having a hard time receiving any attention. It’s time to speed up the development process and increase my portfolio variance.

I will create a lot of app’s all of them free using iAD, a Banner service that pays me for player impressions. Which fit’s best for such small games.

Looking forward  ->   (Hidden Future)
I’m actually released from a big pressure to make it artistically appealing.
The more time you invest in a project the more you can feel the pressure rising.
I now focus on simple game mechanics, game app’s I can finish in 3 days up to an absolute maximum of a week.
This will enable me to swim through different waters and test them and maybe discover my niche.

Dave 🙂

Sha Cat – Update 1.1

Sha Cat Patch 1Sha Cat Map
Sha Cat’s first update is here! Patch 1.1 extends the journey of magical Cat lady and leads her through a mystical forest and crystal dungeon to find a magical potion. A potion to cure her boyfriend from his stone form.

Download the game free for your iPhone:
Itunes.apple.com

What’s New in Version 1.1
– 8 New levels!
– Lightning Shock does now charge up energy from flam fists, which can be released in a powerful storm!
-The flower Dress and all above, now have a chance to summon a butterfly that heals your wounds.

Sha Cat Mystic Forest Sha Cat Butterfly

The story still ends open ended so stay prepared for Version 1.2!

 

Gamemanifest – Diary 17 – Build a Complexe game on a simple Foundation

My thought on building complexity based on a strong game mechanic foundation. Start simple, think about the triangle mechanic from „Rock, Paper, Scissors“ and go from a root as simple as this example. Add an mechanic and connect it to the already existing ones. Build from the minimum up to create a rich experience.

About me:
I create mobile games for living check my games.

The Sha Man
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/the-sha-man/id733552273?mt=8

Sha Cat
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/sha-cat/id797575987?mt=8

Lindsey Stirling my music muse of tonight

Ok time to work on some new levels, story progression and new talents for the Cat Lady.
This work night has just started! ( I prefer to work at night)
Bild
Today I’m totally into Lindsey Stirling, I’m playing here some songs back and forth right now.
Such an inspiring, passionated and energy driven person she is.

Lindsey Stirling and Peter Hollens – Skyrim

 

My short definition of dreaming

Dreaming
Our reality making engine during sleep, not using the information coming in through the senses to shape our experience and instead using what already has experienced, confronting you with a clearer or more abstract version of your positive and negative encounters. Coming at you with an intensity which is in every day life blended out/ dimmed down by your persons tunnel of attention. This subconscious stream of manifesting information could even contain information of dimensional layers we normally not have access to at all..

lucid-dreaming1

That would be my spontenous definition.

5 Star Rating for Sha Cat

Sha Cat the iPhone game received a 5 star rating in every category by appcomrade.com.
A review site for mobile gaming.

„Every part of this game is perfect. From the soundtrack to the graphics and combat system you won’t be disappointed.“
Octavian Ristea, appcomrade.com

Bild

Read more about it here:
http://appcomrade.com/sha-cat/