King and the Dead V1.1 - coming soon!

Two.E

Hello all,

If you are one of the lucky 45 people who downloaded King and the dead in the last month, you are going to be in a for a real treat.
Thanks to all the very critic feedback I received (and the hate emails... who knew), I have been working every spare minute to improve. And to maybe reach 50 downloads worldwide... or even 100. I mustn't dream too big though

While the update is still not quite finished as I am still finishing up every small detail and a tutorial. I would share a screenshot of the difference and if any would give any first impressions.

Hopefully players think the 50+ changes will be an improvement. I am quite proud how well the new gameplay turned out.
More details coming soon.
Best,
Two.E

Icebox

Hey good luck ill wait for the update , its fun

BigDave

good attitude and I feel your pain
its a very polished game but unless it featured or played by some you tubers, or get a review on major side most games just sink in to the depth of the store.
This has not so much to do with the quality of your app.
Your app looks neat. But I realised with my own apps actually the crazy stuff / with simplistic graphics worked best.
my dead on simple and clean games got an "ok" reaction my nerdy crazy wieldy looking stuff got sympathic "good work" from fellow dev but almost no downloads.
The success formula that worked for me was a in-between.
Having crazy ness in clean graphics.

Two.E

@Icebox Thanks for the continued support

@BigDave

In all honesty, I feel like it can be a good strategy game, I just haven't found a the right way to present it/create it to attract enough attention. Its been a great learning curve.
However, I always have messages like this one to help me through the rough days:

"Hi Developer,

I came across your game and downloaded. Not because it was good, but because it was sht. It looks terrible and I have no idea what it is even about. After playing it, it became a big pile of sht. Seriously, its so pointless. Anyone who enjoys this is stupid. And you are stupid. Stop filling the App Store with crap. Deleted the game."

Definitely helped inspire to create a better game. Here is a showcase of the new version in development a about a week ago.

Icebox

These messages are awesome everyone gets them! you learn to love them

Edit: you improved the graphics looks much better btw good job its smooth

BazookaTime

I grabbed it on release and was very impressed. I loved the art style and the gameplay. I am glad to see you sticking with the game.

-Timo-

awesome! glad you are still working on the game. I really enjoyed playing it and I'm looking forward to play the new version

Two.E

@BazookaTime said:
I grabbed it on release and was very impressed. I loved the art style and the gameplay. I am glad to see you sticking with the game.

Thanks again, your support (review) has been greatly appreciated.

@timolapre1998 said:
awesome! glad you are still working on the game. I really enjoyed playing it and I'm looking forward to play the new version

That good to hear. Little bit more motivation to get it finished

Two.E

Update: First Look at the actual gameplay. This is what a quick game looks like.
Still got a few things to add and adjust.

Best,

BazookaTime

Wow, that looks great!

Braydon_SFX

@Two.E said:
Update: First Look at the actual gameplay. This is what a quick game looks like.
Still got a few things to add and adjust.

Best,

Wow! Looks much better than it use to! Excellent job!

Dues

Nice work! Hope for a better download rate this time

Two.E

Thanks all,
King and the Dead was my last (final) game, so I want to leave it in the best shape possible. Thats why the update is taking a little longer than expected because I want to add/fix all the small details. So as I am going down, I am going to go down swinging the best I can. Its the least I can do for my 12 active players

Also, big thanks to the beta team who are finding all sorts of bugs. Much appreciated.

BazookaTime

@Two.E said:
Thanks all,
King and the Dead was my last (final) game, so I want to leave it in the best shape possible. Thats why the update is taking a little longer than expected because I want to add/fix all the small details. So as I am going down, I am going to go down swinging the best I can. Its the least I can do for my 12 active players

Also, big thanks to the beta team who are finding all sorts of bugs. Much appreciated.

You're not going to make any more games?

Two.E

All my games in total have not even reached a total of 1 000 downloads. Divide that by the five years I have been using GS, its a very small number of downloads a year. From that, I say it's time to find a new interest that is a bit more rewarding... like Roller-Skate Belly Dancing.

Icebox

@Two.E said:
All my games in total have not even reached a total of 1 000 downloads. Divide that by the five years I have been using GS, its a very small number of downloads a year. From that, I say it's time to find a new interest that is a bit more rewarding... like Roller-Skate Belly Dancing.

are they all paid apps ?

Two.E

All have been Free and Ad Free (Except Squirmin). No worries though, I tried to keep those players happy by releasing regular updates. Can't give up on those supports have been there from the start

Icebox

"People say you have to have a lot of passion for what you’re doing and it’s totally true. And the reason is because it’s so hard that if you don’t, any rational person would give up. It’s really hard. And you have to do it over a sustained period of time. So if you don’t love it, if you’re not having fun doing it, you don’t really love it, you’re going to give up. And that’s what happens to most people, actually. If you really look at the ones that ended up, you know, being “successful” in the eyes of society and the ones that didn’t, oftentimes, it’s the ones [who] were successful loved what they did so they could persevere, you know, when it got really tough. And the ones that didn’t love it quit because they’re sane, right? Who would want to put up with this stuff if you don’t love it?"

Steve Jobs , 2007

I was watching it yesterday so thought id type it in you shouldn't look for another interest , your good in making games and you have the passion so forget the downloads and continue what you do best , but off course its your choice and you know whats best for you ! just thought id share cause i enjoyed your game and i think your talented, you can make better in the future. Good luck

BazookaTime

@Two.E said:
All my games in total have not even reached a total of 1 000 downloads. Divide that by the five years I have been using GS, its a very small number of downloads a year. From that, I say it's time to find a new interest that is a bit more rewarding... like Roller-Skate Belly Dancing.

Dang, that's too bad. I took over a year off for similar reasons (not Roller-Skate Belly Dancing) so I understand where you are coming from.

Two.E

@Icebox An inspiration person in some ways Jobs was. Glad you enjoy the games.
@BazookaTime I hope your time off pays off well and all fresh and motivated to make some cool things

Some times, its just time. I do have a few things I need to get finished for a few members at GS, so I might have one last surprise down the road.

Update: Working on a certain part of gameplay sort of broke the game. Now, the dead think its ok to move as many times as they seem fit and make the player lose the game pretty quick. Its got me a bit stumped.
Working on a tutorial. Feedback from the last one was that no one knew what the tutorial was about, or they just skipped it because no one likes reading words. So I made it into the actual game. Which prob doesn't sound like a big deal, but it meant I had to basically make a miniature version of the game with set rules. Taking a lot of time (currently 1.30am here) but I feel it be well worth it.
Fixed Several bugs. Added in small details that no one will ever notice but should improve experience.
Best,

Two.E

Update: Fixed the random AI movement, but now its caused the score to count in 1 or 2 or 3 instead of just +1 each time. Not sure why it suddenly stopped working correctly but should be easier to resolve.
Almost finished the last bit of animations, and smaller details. Just have the buttons to do.
I have to add in the Archer piece, because it behaves completely different than the other pieces, it requires a lot of additional logic. I've been putting it off because its a big job.
I have this weekend off now so I expect the final build to be sent to Apple by Sunday if adding leaderboards and Chartboost ads go smoothly.
Working on an actual trailer. Will be spending a bit of time working on Kingandthedead.com to get it ready for the new update. And of course a press kit (something I have never done before)
I can't wait for some of you to play it because I feel its really involved to a great little strategy game for those spare minutes.
If anyone has any advice or tips that they found to be effective in any way, I would love to hear.

Also, the game was download twice in one day two days ago, so 47 is the new number and I may even make it to 50 before the new update hits.
Best,

Two.E

Update: Game finished. Works well. Doing some last minute testing. Well release sometime end of the month. Thanks all for support. Will give one last update when released. Until then, all the best with your future game development. And thanks GS team for the software that allowed me to develop.
Best,
Two.E

Two.E

Out now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/king-and-the-dead/id1062850572?ls=1&mt=8

Best,

BazookaTime

Great to see what you have done!

Two.E

Not sure the update was worth the 3 extra downloads it generated. I feel better leaving it like it is now then what it was before though. Thanks all for the support!
Bye.

Braydon_SFX

I still have it downloaded and it's much better now with the animations. Too bad it didn't generate traction - it's a very nice game!

-Timo-

This game deserves so many more downloads.. it's such a great game and the update makes it even better. you really did a great job!

Adrenaline

I'm only learning about this game now - absolutely going to download it. The visuals look significantly better, so great job improving the experience in a big way!

I understand the feeling of working really hard and not seeing a fair return...but I suspect you would benefit more from some time off rather than a hard quit. I haven't played this game yet so I don't know how good of a game designer you are, but from reading your posts and seeing the update to this game I suspect you are a great one. Find some perspective, freshen up, and come back!

Two.E

The underlying problem is that I lack the skills to turn an idea into a polish quality game.
I love problem solving and working out new ways to get things done with GameSalad. However, once the initial gameplay is over, I have no idea how to transfer it into a quality game. Ui placement, animation, sound. They seem to be something I struggle with and then the game feels rushes and cheap, despite some great works going into behind the scenes of the actual gameplay, its overlooked because the rest of the atmosphere of the game is poor.
I have many unique games finished in terms of gameplay, just not the presentation that is needed to help sell them.
My next steps from here is to take a few courses about design and animation to have a better understanding in that field in hopes one day I will come back and re visit previous games that are collecting dust.
Thanks again for the support, if there is any feedback or improvements that need to be fixed, I would love to hear.

Best,

BazookaTime

The update is great, really improved on the initial release that was already great. It is next to impossible to get a game noticed in the overcrowded App Store, it is not a reflection of your game, you have a quality release here.

Socks

@Two.E said:
The underlying problem is that I lack the skills to turn an idea into a polish quality game.

Get in touch with someone from Poland and team up.

But seriously, you aren't the first to find yourself in that situation, using Icebox's Steve Jobs reference, he needed others to cover the areas he wasn't great at (e.g. Wozniak).

@Two.E said:
I love problem solving and working out new ways to get things done with GameSalad. However, once the initial gameplay is over, I have no idea how to transfer it into a quality game. Ui placement, animation, sound. They seem to be something I struggle with and then the game feels rushes and cheap, despite some great works going into behind the scenes of the actual gameplay, its overlooked because the rest of the atmosphere of the game is poor.

Team up !! There is probably some designer on a design forum right now saying . . . .

"I'd love to design apps, but although I've played around with coding I haven't really got a clue what I'm doing, what is an 'attribute' any way ?. I love designing games but have no idea how to transfer these designs into code. Ui placement, animation, sound, all no problem, but making stuff appear on a mobile screen and actually work is way beyond me, these code dudes move things with maths ! What's that all about ?"