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AppGameKit/AppGameKit Studio Showcase / [Released] 6 Marbles

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Conjured Entertainment
AGK Developer
18
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Joined: 12th Sep 2005
Location: Nirvana
Posted: 11th Feb 2015 03:53
YAY! I finally finished something and got it up on the Google Play Store!!!

6 Marbles

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.conjured.ce6marbles

The instructions to play are in the description at Google Play.

This is FREE with NO ADS!
HAVE FUN!!!


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
JLMoondog
Moderator
15
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Joined: 18th Jan 2009
Location: Paradox
Posted: 11th Feb 2015 04:26 Edited at: 11th Feb 2015 04:27
Lol, fun game! I was able to get into a rhythm and doing awesome...than my girlfriend tried to talk to me and threw me off!

Got the high score!

May I suggest adding a few more obstacles to really up the difficulty, like dips in the game board or a rubber side that bounces the ball if your'e not careful.

Conjured Entertainment
AGK Developer
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Location: Nirvana
Posted: 11th Feb 2015 04:51 Edited at: 11th Feb 2015 05:24
65! Nice Job

Quote: "May I suggest adding a few more obstacles to really up the difficulty, like dips in the game board or a rubber side that bounces the ball if your'e not careful."

lol Get to a hundred, then talk to me about difficulty.
Seriously though, of course you can make suggestions, and I welcome them.

I was playing around with adding magnetic pulls on the bar, but never put that in because I was afraid people might mistake that for the ball not rolling properly and think the physics were junk.
So, I opted to just speed the bar up every 5 points until you get to 50, then its every 10 points.
It starts out slow and seems a bit boring at first, but once you get over 50 it gets hectic as you well know.
It did have a Bonus Pinball level, but I scrapped that idea too in favor of making it a separate game.
I already have an idea for another version that will have an infinite scroll, as long as your ball doesn't drop in a hole.

Thanks for trying it out, and more thanks for the suggestions.



Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
Battoad
AGK Developer
17
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Joined: 12th Feb 2007
Location: A Dark Place
Posted: 11th Feb 2015 15:03
Really well done C.E for both developing a good game and for getting it published.
I'm pretty useless at it though, embarrassing score but I will get better. I keep tilting the screen instead of using the arrows to tilt and then each time I lose a ball another hole appears to make it harder.
I'm in favour of no ads for a free game, that's the way I've gone, maybe with in app purchase for any advanced 2nd versions looking the way to go.
Well done again, hope it gets up there.


Funnell7
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Location: UK, England
Posted: 11th Feb 2015 15:23
Looks good Conjured Entertainment well done... Perhaps increase the difficulty/speed a bit sooner. I played it for a good few minutes and whilst my score wasn't that great, I couldn't imagine getting anywhere near 100 (that must take a very long time)... IMO this is one of those games which you want the user to play repeatedly, i.e. pick up and have a quick play. You don't really want to be spending a long time racking up a big score, just my 2 pence (or cents) of course...

Also, I reckon if you miss the goal hole then you should lose a marble! That would increase the difficulty straight away

Good luck

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Conjured Entertainment
AGK Developer
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Location: Nirvana
Posted: 11th Feb 2015 15:41 Edited at: 11th Feb 2015 16:01
Quote: "Looks good Conjured Entertainment well done..."

Thanks!

Quote: "Perhaps increase the difficulty/speed a bit sooner. I played it for a good few minutes and whilst my score wasn't that great, I couldn't imagine getting anywhere near 100 (that must take a very long time)... IMO this is one of those games which you want the user to play repeatedly, i.e. pick up and have a quick play. You don't really want to be spending a long time racking up a big score, just my 2 pence (or cents) of course..."

I agree, and had tried it out a little faster, but got bad feedback from the testers.
The beginning is a bit slow, so that new users can get the hang of the controls, but that is a bummer for replays.
I need to put in a menu at the start for a 'relaxed mode' level, which would be at this speed, and a 'normal mode' that starts faster.
Once you get to 40 or 50 though, you will see a fast pace. (going from there to the end of the game is quick, trust me)
So fast, that if I increase it very much at the start, then I will have to reduce the frequency of speed changes, else it will get too fast too soon.
Thanks for that feedback though, because the speed dynamics could use a little more work.
AS far as time to play though, if you last more than 5 minutes, then let me know your score. (I think my longest game was about 6 minutes)

Quote: "Also, I reckon if you miss the goal hole then you should lose a marble! That would increase the difficulty straight away"

Maybe that should be a speed increase then, but I do not want to take a ball for that as it is penalty enough having to start at the bottom again.
Once your board is half full of holes you will appreciate that more.

Quote: "I'm in favour of no ads for a free game, that's the way I've gone, maybe with in app purchase for any advanced 2nd versions looking the way to go.
Well done again, hope it gets up there."

Thanks!
I hope so too.
That was the idea behind "FREE with NO ADS!"... to attract more users.
I wanted this first one to be an 'E'verybody rating too, for the same reason.
Releasing this in as many countries as I can, and can only hope that the game play is simple enough that the game will not need translation.
I LOVE AGK2, and I thoroughly enjoy seeing that splash screen at the start of the program.
I hope the game is not too simple that it misrepresents AGK's capabilities, because that was not my intention.
I was just hoping to get as much as exposure for the game as possible.

Quote: "I'm pretty useless at it though, embarrassing score but I will get better. I keep tilting the screen instead of using the arrows to tilt and then each time I lose a ball another hole appears to make it harder."

I haven't used the Gyroscope yet.
Not letting the button up on one side can prevent the other button from having its press detected too. (that one button at a time override is what gets me)

Quote: "Really well done C.E for both developing a good game and for getting it published."

Thanks, but getting it published was not a bad process at all. (I had been putting this off thinking it was going to be a hassle)
Google Play is streamlined with lots of help info, so they make it easy.
Even easier was building the APK with AppGameKit, because that process is streamlined too. I had difficulties getting an APK built when AppGameKit first came out, but it was brand new, so I knew it would be improved rapidly. I went back over and followed the Reloaded development for awhile, then came back to find we have an AppGameKit 2 that can make an APK with the push of a button. Even the keystore file tool included was just fill in a few blanks and its done!

My hat is off to TGC right now, because AGK2 is a far greater development environment for mobiles than I could have expected or ever hoped for. My only regret is that I didn't hang around in here and follow AGK's development closer, because I would have had that first app up a long time ago.

When first submitted this game was compatible with 8,204 Android devices, so AppGameKit is covering all the bases in that build.
I had imagined a long approval process, but this went from my submission of the APK to seeing it in the store in just a few hours. (blew my mind)

Now that my submission nightmare fears are out of the way, I can stop procrastinating and start developing!
One down, eleven to go! 2015 here I come!

THANKS AGAIN TGC!!!


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
Crazy Programmer
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Posted: 11th Feb 2015 22:02
Very nice game...Just got 2nd on the high scores with 42 I think it was...That's something I could just keep playing Well done!
Conjured Entertainment
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Posted: 11th Feb 2015 23:23
Quote: "Very nice game...Just got 2nd on the high scores with 42 I think it was...That's something I could just keep playing Well done! "

Thanks!
Sometimes I caught myself playing again while testing.


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
Crazy Programmer
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 01:00
Gave it another shot and man its addicting...Highscore #1 with 68.
I would make the holes more random up to about score 55 I only had to click the left button twice and ball drops in the hole every time. I would make the holes more random around the start point, so this dosnt happen(make the bar level and it would always run straight into a hole).It starts off falling to the right for me. Also maybe if the ball falls off the back of the screen its a dead ball.
Conjured Entertainment
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 01:25
Quote: "I would make the holes more random around the start point, so this dosnt happen(make the bar level and it would always run straight into a hole).It starts off falling to the right for me. Also maybe if the ball falls off the back of the screen its a dead ball. "

Yeah, I am considering eliminating the hole directly above the start position, as it is difficult to get around that. (impossible at high speeds)
I start it with a roll and it never stops. I made it so the ball will always be rolling.
You can make it sit idle by tapping back and forth, but no free rides straight to the top. (was like that originally)
lol My friend thought they would lose the ball if it went off the side of the screen.
I watched them play and noticed they were always trying to stay in the middle of the board, so I told them it was okay to hit the side.

I'm glad you like it, and congrats on the high score.


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
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Posted: 14th Feb 2015 15:12
I really like this.

I downloaded it a couple of days ago and have been playing offline - I'm also responsible for a few of the "player_1"s on the score board.

Whilst I understand people's frustration with having to start at the beginning each time, I feel this is part of the games play as it is a game of skill and concentration. But that's just my opinion.

There are a couple of points.

Quote: "I am considering eliminating the hole directly above the start position"


Yes! Or maybe start the player from further down, if there's room.

You could also add a pause feature, especially if the player is using a phone, so that the game doesn't automatically start if it's resumed.

I think the graphics are a little dour, a simple gradient on the green back ground would make it look a little nicer. But that's a minor thing.

Conjured Entertainment
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Posted: 14th Feb 2015 18:04 Edited at: 14th Feb 2015 19:00
Quote: "You could also add a pause feature, especially if the player is using a phone, so that the game doesn't automatically start if it's resumed."

Yeah, that would be easy enough to just jump out of the main loop and hang around in a another loop until the input causes return.
I thought the built in pause is okay, and wasn't aware of specific devices having trouble with it. (which phone is was that?)

Quote: "I think the graphics are a little dour, a simple gradient on the green back ground would make it look a little nicer. But that's a minor thing."

Yeah, good old pool table green came about in an indecision as to whether or not to include RGB sliders for users to choose their own colors.
I just tried that felt green color and figured it would be good enough until I decided, and opted for RAD and moved on.
The sliders are definitely something being put in if this gets another version.
That insta-death hole needs to go too, a pause button is better to have than not, and an option for faster starting speed is a v2 feature too.
I am not doing any revisions though unless this gets a lot of downloads.
The plan is to release at least 12 causal games this year, so I am focused on the first version of each being RAD.
Only the ones with the best feedback and largest user base will be improved in a new version.
If the number of downloads for a particular title goes crazy, for whatever reason, then it would be revised before finishing those other first releases.

Thanks again for the suggestions people, and thank you 29 Games for playing.


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
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Posted: 14th Feb 2015 19:08 Edited at: 14th Feb 2015 19:10
The game pauses when it's passed to the back ground so that's fine. When the game is reactivated then it resumes instantly but the player may not be ready.

I actually think the general art style suits the game but, as I said, it's a little dour.

I think you're probably doing the right thing not updating it and just doing another game, especially as there aren't any game breaking issues with it.

Ooh, one last thing seeing as we're not adding new features, a local high score table would be nice for us offline players.

Conjured Entertainment
AGK Developer
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Location: Nirvana
Posted: 14th Feb 2015 23:34
Quote: "I think you're probably doing the right thing not updating it and just doing another game, especially as there aren't any game breaking issues with it.
"

Right on man, we're on the same page.
I didn't say it that way, but that is what I meant. ('game breakers' would require an update)

Quote: "Ooh, one last thing seeing as we're not adding new features, a local high score table would be nice for us offline players."

Good idea, I share, but less permissions not writing locally, and maybe increased feeling of security by user on install.
That was the thought behind not writing files for an offline high score system anyway.
I probably am on the wrong track there though, and should add it in.


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
Crazy Programmer
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Posted: 15th Feb 2015 16:48
Would like to see a homepage for highscores, So you don't have to play a game to see what the scores are. Also when I type my name in as CrazyPro it ends up being Cra_yPro.
Conjured Entertainment
AGK Developer
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Joined: 12th Sep 2005
Location: Nirvana
Posted: 15th Feb 2015 22:27 Edited at: 27th Feb 2015 20:58
Quote: "Also when I type my name in as CrazyPro it ends up being Cra_yPro. "

Yeah, it's my filter doing that.
The word crazy shouldn't be filtered though, so I will double check that range and the lowercase 'z'. THANKS
Another users wants another digit for the name, so might as well put that in too.

EDIT
Per suggestions, here are the features I am working on for Version 2 of 6 Marbles...

1) Relaxed and Normal mode for faster starts (means 2 scoreboards also)

2) No insta-kill hole. The hole above the starting point is going bye bye.

3) Scoreboard Update. I am getting rid of the name filter and just manually deleting any offensive names posted. Name length will be increased as well.

4) Pause Button with Resume

5) RGB Sliders for custom background colors

6 Marbles v2 will be $2.00, and v1 will stay like it is and remain FREE, for a try before you buy approach.

I have decided not to wait to update this before moving to the next one, but only because I got turned onto FlexIndie.
They have a twist that offers a 'pay what you want' model for the first Friday of every month.
So, I want to go ahead and release a FREE and a PAID version of each game as I release them.
I hope to have this ready for March 6th, which is only a week away, so I can have a 'For Sale' app up in the store for the site's first Friday sale.
Then, the plan is to release one game title each month, and in time for the First Friday twist.


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1

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