There could be some sort of compromise there, where it's like "okay, the red squares are Barbarians, the white squares are magicians, the blue squares are knights" and then you can pause and issue commands and see the actual character there. Or something.
The main issue isn't so much compromising graphics as touch input guidelines. Basically, because you're using fingers and not a stylus on iOS/Android, the best practice is to never go below 40x40 "points" for any touchable element. A "point" is 40 pixels on the old resolution, or 80 pixels on retina resolution. This puts a hard limit on how big the map can be on phones without requiring scrolling or zooming. Basically, if it's going to be on phones, we have to design it specifically for the phone.
Then, you have to throw in all the market/pricing/discoverability problems that specifically come with the phone form factor. Now, let's assume there *IS* some magical UI solution at the end of that dark tunnel, if we put in enough effort. Even so, we still find ourselves in a market that is severely price-collapsed and hostile to any business strategy that isn't heavily F2P based. So, unless I get a call from Apple and/or Google and they swear up and down that they will totally have our backs with guaranteed promotion, I'm very reluctant to go after the phone market at this point, because pretty much everything is set against me there. Even Vita is a more promising target.
It's definitely a gamble to expand into new markets, and rest assured we're doing as much research as we can before committing to anything. It's also really hard to make these decisions based on anecdotal info, such as tons of people emailing me wanting the game for, say, Android tablets. Some devs I know had that exact experience, ported to <whatever> and then the market just wasn't there.
So, these "unscientific polls" aren't super reliable data, but if anything I'm most interested in what people *DON'T* vote for at all rather than what's #1.
Basically, here's some of the variables that go into the decision:
1) How many proven success stories are there on this platform?
--->If so, how close are they to us, and what chance do we have of pulling the same thing off?
2) How big is the market?
3) How difficult/expensive/time-consuming is it to port to this platform?
4) How much promotion will we get from the platform holder?
Point 4) is the most important one by far. My experience so far has taught me that absolutely nothing compares to the "eye of sauron" effect of promotion. So, I'd be more than happy to release on a platform with a smaller install base if I knew a) the audience was generally receptive to that kind of game and b) the platform holder absolutely has our back. The reasoning for this is that we're *already* on the world's largest platform -- there's over a billion PC's, but we haven't sold a billion copies of our game, let alone a million. Kongregate and Newgrounds were basically entirely responsible for our early success, and later it was GOG and Steam bringing the eyeballs. Promotion, promotion, promotion.
0
RandomHajileNot actually a SnatcherThe New KremlinRegistered Userregular
Of course, I should have known you had put way more thought into that than you were initially letting on. I've read some of your articles. I'M ON TO YOU!
Actually, that topic would be interesting expanded to an article (if you haven't already written one that I haven't seen), exploring a PC developer thinking about branching out to phones/tablets/consoles.
Yeah, the Apple app store is sometimes a complete wasteland. I can't imagine how difficult it is to stand out there with something new.
Also, that's a good idea using this poll to essentially confirm which platforms are less viable instead of which ones are more viable. You're coming to a forum with people who are interested in games, to a thread where people like me and Dude are interested enough in your game to keep it somewhat active. I'd probably deal with any UI weirdness to be able to play it on my phone, but it would be a tough sell at even $3 for most people. And while I wouldn't want to play it on the PS3, I could see why someone would. The Vita (if I ever get one) would be a good compromise, I think. Small enough to pocket, but way more inputs than a typical phone. (Clearly, the solution is an Android phone with a full keyboard. Those are still cool, right?)
Android phone with a full keyboard... well, if we support Android, that's an operating system more than a form factor. That's a whole nother question... but luckily our current tech framework (Haxe/OpenFL using HaxeFlixel) has been tested pretty robustly on those platforms so it should work in theory. As long as the screen is big enough to show the basic things and there's a not-terrible input mechanism, it's at the very least technically feasible. It all really comes down to what the rest of the market research suggests -- so far Android tablet is actually the #1 requested platform in our informal straw poll (if you don't count the higher plurality of votes crying "LONG LIVE THE PC GAMING MASTER RACE!")
0
RandomHajileNot actually a SnatcherThe New KremlinRegistered Userregular
Yeah, I was joking. Basically the only decent Android phones with a keyboard are the Motorola Droid series, and I'm not even sure they're working on a new one after the 4. That market is completely dead. It's all Galaxy S4 this and HTC One that. I miss my Blackberry's keyboard, but I'm finally getting used to the iPhone keyboard.
We haven't officially committed to this just yet, and if we do we haven't decided whether it would be on kickstarter or just our own site as a straight-up preorder campaign. What rewards are most important to you?
Unlike previous surveys, answers here are probably very useful data as people on a forum thread like this are probably decently representative of potential backers.
For the special friends tier, we'll have a list of monster types that can appear in that wave and you can pick which it is, and we'll let you put your name on them. I'll have to check with Anthony about whether "Herpes" is too much for our approval rating, but I'm sure we can find some way to accommodate your enthusiasm And if you've already submitted a name via the form and decide to change it later, we can always do that by talking with you directly
For the special friends tier, we'll have a list of monster types that can appear in that wave and you can pick which it is, and we'll let you put your name on them. I'll have to check with Anthony about whether "Herpes" is too much for our approval rating, but I'm sure we can find some way to accommodate your enthusiasm And if you've already submitted a name via the form and decide to change it later, we can always do that by talking with you directly
Yeah, that occurred to me. Herpes isn't just a STD though! You can get Herpes almost anywhere, including your brain!
But yeah, I'll change it if it's not cool. I'm easy. :P
For the special friends tier, we'll have a list of monster types that can appear in that wave and you can pick which it is, and we'll let you put your name on them. I'll have to check with Anthony about whether "Herpes" is too much for our approval rating, but I'm sure we can find some way to accommodate your enthusiasm And if you've already submitted a name via the form and decide to change it later, we can always do that by talking with you directly
Yeah, that occurred to me. Herpes isn't just a STD though! You can get Herpes almost anywhere, including your brain!
But yeah, I'll change it if it's not cool. I'm easy. :P
Hopefully! Dean's been busy so we're still working on the first few bits of animation, but as soon as we've got stuff to show off we'll post it. And Karen's been working on some great new environment art.
Hey, that post says you've started giving alpha backers access to the game even though it's still pre-alpha; do you need me to hit you up with an email or anything? I'm a Special Friend backer, but I don't go to the forums over there, so I am probably missing stuff.
Yeah, it's been kind of a mess with Humble's notification thingy I'm supposed to use. Best pipeline I've got is to PM me on the leveluplabs forums with your email address since I can do everything there from one place, and that way I'll have everything I need (your forum username and your email address).
I mean, due to some poor generalizations ferrets are often tossed into the same category as weasels and in english they're often used interchangably; but scientifically they're distinctly different branches of the same genus.
Got a new update on our progress with the DQII engine, which we're of course going to use for the upcoming DQ1 HD re-release.
I used the recent release of Final Fantasy V on steam as a nice excuse to share all the crazy things you learn when working on an HD remake, especially because the FFV remake somehow managed (in my view) to do everything just about exactly wrong.
Posts
The main issue isn't so much compromising graphics as touch input guidelines. Basically, because you're using fingers and not a stylus on iOS/Android, the best practice is to never go below 40x40 "points" for any touchable element. A "point" is 40 pixels on the old resolution, or 80 pixels on retina resolution. This puts a hard limit on how big the map can be on phones without requiring scrolling or zooming. Basically, if it's going to be on phones, we have to design it specifically for the phone.
Then, you have to throw in all the market/pricing/discoverability problems that specifically come with the phone form factor. Now, let's assume there *IS* some magical UI solution at the end of that dark tunnel, if we put in enough effort. Even so, we still find ourselves in a market that is severely price-collapsed and hostile to any business strategy that isn't heavily F2P based. So, unless I get a call from Apple and/or Google and they swear up and down that they will totally have our backs with guaranteed promotion, I'm very reluctant to go after the phone market at this point, because pretty much everything is set against me there. Even Vita is a more promising target.
It's definitely a gamble to expand into new markets, and rest assured we're doing as much research as we can before committing to anything. It's also really hard to make these decisions based on anecdotal info, such as tons of people emailing me wanting the game for, say, Android tablets. Some devs I know had that exact experience, ported to <whatever> and then the market just wasn't there.
So, these "unscientific polls" aren't super reliable data, but if anything I'm most interested in what people *DON'T* vote for at all rather than what's #1.
Basically, here's some of the variables that go into the decision:
1) How many proven success stories are there on this platform?
--->If so, how close are they to us, and what chance do we have of pulling the same thing off?
2) How big is the market?
3) How difficult/expensive/time-consuming is it to port to this platform?
4) How much promotion will we get from the platform holder?
Point 4) is the most important one by far. My experience so far has taught me that absolutely nothing compares to the "eye of sauron" effect of promotion. So, I'd be more than happy to release on a platform with a smaller install base if I knew a) the audience was generally receptive to that kind of game and b) the platform holder absolutely has our back. The reasoning for this is that we're *already* on the world's largest platform -- there's over a billion PC's, but we haven't sold a billion copies of our game, let alone a million. Kongregate and Newgrounds were basically entirely responsible for our early success, and later it was GOG and Steam bringing the eyeballs. Promotion, promotion, promotion.
Actually, that topic would be interesting expanded to an article (if you haven't already written one that I haven't seen), exploring a PC developer thinking about branching out to phones/tablets/consoles.
Yeah, the Apple app store is sometimes a complete wasteland. I can't imagine how difficult it is to stand out there with something new.
Also, that's a good idea using this poll to essentially confirm which platforms are less viable instead of which ones are more viable. You're coming to a forum with people who are interested in games, to a thread where people like me and Dude are interested enough in your game to keep it somewhat active. I'd probably deal with any UI weirdness to be able to play it on my phone, but it would be a tough sell at even $3 for most people. And while I wouldn't want to play it on the PS3, I could see why someone would. The Vita (if I ever get one) would be a good compromise, I think. Small enough to pocket, but way more inputs than a typical phone. (Clearly, the solution is an Android phone with a full keyboard. Those are still cool, right?)
This is a clickable link to my Steam Profile.
This is a clickable link to my Steam Profile.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1he9-m_nP9IMiELm6uKAU5puhKQBKSnDa5yAHX_pw_kE/viewform
We haven't officially committed to this just yet, and if we do we haven't decided whether it would be on kickstarter or just our own site as a straight-up preorder campaign. What rewards are most important to you?
Unlike previous surveys, answers here are probably very useful data as people on a forum thread like this are probably decently representative of potential backers.
Dust: An Elysian Tail animator Dean Dodrill will be our lead animator for Defender's Quest II
Karen Petrasko will be handling visual designs (ie, everything 2D, and character/monster designs)
Dean Dodrill will do all the actual animation
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
http://www.defendersquest.com/2/
Already blocked for me at work - Congratulations!
(How do they do that...?!)
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Give me this game now
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
Amazon flagged my payment for review, says it should go through within 24 hours, but I totally bought the shit out of the Special Friend copy.
My name was in the first games credits and I wanna actually be in the sequels credits!
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
@larsiusprime Payment went through.
Now I'm paralyzed not knowing if I should put in my real name or The Dude With Herpes as the name I want as an enemy.
EDIT: If I do Herpes can I get a funny attack that is disease related? :P
EDITx2: Oh, the description says I get to pick the monster that bears my name. Cool. TDWH it is.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
http://www.defendersquest.com/2/?page=preorder#approval
For the special friends tier, we'll have a list of monster types that can appear in that wave and you can pick which it is, and we'll let you put your name on them. I'll have to check with Anthony about whether "Herpes" is too much for our approval rating, but I'm sure we can find some way to accommodate your enthusiasm
Yeah, that occurred to me. Herpes isn't just a STD though! You can get Herpes almost anywhere, including your brain!
But yeah, I'll change it if it's not cool. I'm easy. :P
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
... hence the herpes.
But yeah - getting on this real quick!
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
Finishing up final work on Defender's Quest 1's last big patch. Trying to get it ready for Thanksgiving. It's available on Steam now if you opt in to the test_public branch:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/218410/announcements/detail/1604701326354408578
Also there may or may not be CRAZY SECRETS that have been under your nose the whole time but you just never noticed.
I'm not quite sure.
Big news today.
Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy composer) will be working on Defender's Quest 2!
This is not a joke. This is real!
Hey, did you ever find out if the name I put in for the Special Friends enemy will fly?
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
That's amazing
How many copies of your game can I buy?
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
This is a clickable link to my Steam Profile.
Tossed ya an e-mail; no rush.
Any hints on alpha?
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
1) Defender's Quest 2 Art, characters, music, news, etc.
2) Announcing DQ1 HD special edition upgrade.
Read all about it!
DQ1 in HD?????
Indeed. With spiffied up art, too:
Sprites are getting fancied up too.
And some DQ2 stuffs:
DQ1 HD will be a FREE Upgrade for existing owners.
There's plenty more details in the blog post so be sure to read it!
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
http://www.fortressofdoors.com/defenders-quest-2-weaselmancer-and-archer/
It has weaselmancers and stuff.
I mean, due to some poor generalizations ferrets are often tossed into the same category as weasels and in english they're often used interchangably; but scientifically they're distinctly different branches of the same genus.
Pedantry! :P
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Got a new update on our progress with the DQII engine, which we're of course going to use for the upcoming DQ1 HD re-release.
I used the recent release of Final Fantasy V on steam as a nice excuse to share all the crazy things you learn when working on an HD remake, especially because the FFV remake somehow managed (in my view) to do everything just about exactly wrong.
How to do an HD Remake the Right Way
IE, not like this: