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AppGameKit/AppGameKit Studio Showcase / [Released][Android] years in light - classic arcade game with a twist

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 6th Aug 2014 14:02 Edited at: 26th Sep 2014 10:24
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Update 25/9:

Global Highscore - courtesy of Phaelax from the forums!
Tweaked the difficulty
Tweaked controls

Paid: years in light
Free: years in light free

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 10/9:
New version with improved controls and some other minor updates!


In the far distant future. A ship is on the hunt for a planet to call home, humanity's last hope. Your target, as captain of the ship, is to survive for as long as possible. To your aid you have the ship's laser cannon, but be aware, your resources are finite and every shot will cost you...

"No adds, no in app purchase, no social media fluff
Games like they should be."

^-- One can dream eh..
We now have a free version with ads... sob







Link to app store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tonkgames.yearsinlight

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Funnell7
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Posted: 6th Aug 2014 14:55 Edited at: 6th Aug 2014 14:55
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Quote: "No adds, no in app purchase, no social media fluff
Games like they should be."


Lol... I give it a month, and I bet you change this to either Free, or Free with ads

Unfortunately people just do not pay for apps anymore (especially on Google Play) which is why most developers are now opting for Ads/IAP...

Looks good though, I wish you much success!
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JLMoondog
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Posted: 6th Aug 2014 15:04
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I love the look! I also have to agree with Funnell7...no one pays for apps. People love free.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 6th Aug 2014 19:00 Edited at: 6th Aug 2014 19:06
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I guess you could say it's an experiment. It's the way I feel about games anyway. I (censored) hate IAP in games, not if they are completely optional and the game isn't broken if you don't do IAP's I guess, but still. There just has to be a market for people like me

Commercials might be an option on future games, this game won't change however.

JLMoondog: Thanks for the purchase and great review!

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JLMoondog
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Posted: 6th Aug 2014 19:06
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No prob.

Are the high scores global or local?

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 6th Aug 2014 19:47
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They are local for now. I think I might fix that in an update so there is both

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baxslash
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Posted: 7th Aug 2014 12:39
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I pay for apps all the time and actually I'm pretty happy to find a good game for a cheap price rather than a crappy game that's only any fun if you spend $15 on IAP or you have to watch/put up with ads all the time.

I'm sure I'm not the only person with enough of a disposable income to spend less than a pound (or heaven forbid a few pounds) on something I get some fun out of...

The only reason free games do well is because most phone gamers are kids who don't pay the bill. That's the market that gets flappy-angry-bird-saga games noticed. The best thing you can do is create a great full game, put it out there "Free for a limited time!" with no ads and if it takes off stick a price on it that's reasonable. That way you can get rich, hold your head up and sleep at night (on your mattress of 50 pound notes...)

That's my plan anyway...
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Funnell7
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Posted: 7th Aug 2014 13:19 Edited at: 7th Aug 2014 13:20
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Quote: "The best thing you can do is create a great full game, put it out there "Free for a limited time!" with no ads and if it takes off stick a price on it that's reasonable. "


You'd probably have to do a Lite Version for this to work, you cannot change an app to Paid once you have set it as Free (on iOS at least - although I'm sure I've seen this before)... I hear yah though, I'm not saying people never pay for apps, because of course some do, but nowadays, in my experience and through extensive research IAP or Ad's tend to be a better business model...
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baxslash
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Posted: 7th Aug 2014 14:31
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Don't want to derail this thread but I'm only saying I'd rather create games that don't have hidden costs or adverts in and are either free or you pay an up front cost. I'd rather make nothing than make money that way these days, but I already have a job that pays well so I can afford to. This game looks fun BTW so I just bought it I'll add a review.
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Digital Awakening
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Posted: 8th Aug 2014 12:23
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I like the art style and the video is very good

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 9th Aug 2014 18:36 Edited at: 9th Aug 2014 18:36
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Quote: "Don't want to derail this thread but I'm only saying I'd rather create games that don't have hidden costs or adverts in and are either free or you pay an up front cost. I'd rather make nothing than make money that way these days, but I already have a job that pays well so I can afford to. This game looks fun BTW so I just bought it I'll add a review."


Thanks Bax!

I completely agree with this sentiment as well


On another note, I will relase an update tonight or tomorrow with small bugfixes.

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easter bunny
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Posted: 11th Aug 2014 01:57 Edited at: 11th Aug 2014 01:58
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Just for my two cents, on Google Play at least, paid apps aren't so bad. Why? Well, all you need to get is 10 installs, and you're skyrocketed onto the top new paid list (in the top 20 results even). Suddenly you get hundreds of users seeing your app all the time, and if it looks good, you'll get heaps of installs (and money). You can always set it too free after the 30 days are up (although existing users might not be too happy about that)


Years in light looks really cool, I might end up purchasing it, but there's no space on my phone right now, so I'll have to do some uninstalling first. The graphics look great btw


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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 17th Aug 2014 10:48 Edited at: 18th Aug 2014 09:18
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Yeah maybe you are right. We'll see how things end up.

I think perhaps one model that feels ethically ok for me is have a free version with ads and a paid one without. Or perhaps a free trial stand alone app and a paid full game.



Please place a vote for years in light on this weeks indie roundup.

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29 games
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Posted: 21st Aug 2014 00:41
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I downloaded this the other and have to say the overall presentation is very good.

The graphics, menus, sound effects and music are all excellent but I'm struggling a little with the controls.

I'm going to persevere, though, and see if I can get any better at it. What's a respectable score? My highest is 47.538.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 22nd Aug 2014 19:08
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I agree the touch controls are not perfect. It's easier and more fun on a keyboard for instance. Might fix that.

I usually get to something like 80-90k, but I saw someone on facebook said 250k Which isn't bad at all

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fog
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Posted: 30th Aug 2014 11:23
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Love the aesthetics of this. It's rather lovely.

Gameplay wise it would feel better IMO if the player bullets were speeded up quite a bit. That would help the weapon feel a bit more powerful as it looks a bit weak ATM....and all players like to feel powerful

Nice work.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 30th Aug 2014 21:12
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Thank you for you feedback fog! I'll make a memo and see if it makes it to the guys at the top!

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BatVink
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2014 17:52
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Haven't downloaded but the video looks good. I like the use of sprite effects and flying scores to disrupt the screen.

Why haven't I downloaded? I don't have time to play it, nothing to do with price.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 4th Sep 2014 16:09
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Nice to hear Mr BatVink, thanks for the positive words

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 11th Sep 2014 08:29
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Quote: "Funnel7

Lol... I give it a month, and I bet you change this to either Free, or Free with ads"


You are correct sir!

We now have a free version with ads... sob

This comes with a substantial overhaul of the controls, this of course applies to the paid version as well. So all you lovely people who bought the game, try it after the update. And everyone else, just get the free one to try it out

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Funnell7
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Posted: 11th Sep 2014 13:05
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Quote: "You are correct sir!"


Lol, almost to the day Welcome to the dark side
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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 11th Sep 2014 23:25
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Quote: "29 games

I downloaded this the other and have to say the overall presentation is very good.

The graphics, menus, sound effects and music are all excellent but I'm struggling a little with the controls.

I'm going to persevere, though, and see if I can get any better at it. What's a respectable score? My highest is 47.538."



I'd be interested to see what you think of the controls now. You can now drag the ship around. I'm very pleased with the controls now as opposed to before.

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Posted: 24th Sep 2014 19:52
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Right, I've had a go with the updated version.

The new "drag" controls are alright, it's definitely easier to control, but it suffers from the issue of the player's hand obscuring the screen - this isn't unique to this game, a lot of games suffer from this.

Using the original control method, I really don't like the way the shoot and boost buttons move up the screen. I can see why you've done it but I found it really annoying.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 25th Sep 2014 10:33
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Quote: "Right, I've had a go with the updated version.

The new "drag" controls are alright, it's definitely easier to control, but it suffers from the issue of the player's hand obscuring the screen - this isn't unique to this game, a lot of games suffer from this.

Using the original control method, I really don't like the way the shoot and boost buttons move up the screen. I can see why you've done it but I found it really annoying.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive."


All feedback is welcome.

Touch controls are a nuisance. My thoughts on dragging the ship around was born out of seeing my 4 y/o trying it out and immediately going for that approach. I was hoping the hand/finger wouldn't obscure too much as the ship will hover slightly above the finger after gripping.

The buttons move in case you drop the ship behind them, they won't move if you are dragging and don't release under them.


Big update any day now with global highscore and more tweaking regarding controls and difficulty and so forth.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 26th Sep 2014 10:22
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Update made, presented in first post

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Digital Awakening
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Posted: 26th Sep 2014 18:54
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I downloaded the free version. I quite liked it. Got the current global highscore.

The only thing I didn't like was the controls. Dragging the ship around worked great but it seems you had some other controls going. So sometimes I could only move left and right. I quite often flew into the buttons. I think for a simple mobile game like this I would go with only dragging the ship and tap anywhere to fire. Skip the boost, seems unnecessary to complicate the controls. Would play more with better contols.

Also, when I started the game it took a long time to start with lots of black. When hitting done on the highscore screen the game freezes for a few seconds. And when I tried to start the game a 2nd time I get nothing but a black screen with the ad on top, after seeing the credits. Tried restarting it twice. Using a Note 3.

Noticed you are from Sweden too?

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Digital Awakening
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Posted: 26th Sep 2014 21:23
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I got the game to start again. I was bored at work with nothing to do. Beat my own highscore

Is it trying to connect to the highscore server and thus not running sometimes? You should use SendHTTPRequestASync().

The game math does not add up. You loose energy over time, when you hit something and when you fire. The best way to play the game is to avoid getting hit, not fire the gun and hope that colliding asteroids drop energy. Is this the type of game that you are looking for?

I would suggest making firing the gun cost no energy. But use a slow recharge. This would encourage the player to shoot asteroids in order to gain energy. That, combined with tapping the screen to fire, sounds like a more appealing game to me.

I've never bothered with the booster because it's too complicated to try to activate it while I'm playing. I don't even remember it's there while playing. Almost the same with the gun. I think a game like this should be playable with a single finger.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 26th Sep 2014 21:40
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Sweden, yes.

Great feedback, the blackouts are indeed when the highscore is fetched/sent. Never had it happen more than a few hundred milliseconds so I left that.

The bug you mentioned where you couldn't restart is an odd one, maybe related to the communication with the server.

The boost actually has a hidden good thing, you can destroy rocks with the Ships boosters


Interesting ideas about the game mechanics, I suppose one often over-thinks these things.

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Digital Awakening
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Posted: 26th Sep 2014 22:06
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Quote: "The boost actually has a hidden good thing, you can destroy rocks with the Ships boosters"

If I was playing with a controller or a keyboard then I wouldn't mind the added complexity. Touch screens are far from optimal to play on.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 27th Sep 2014 11:11
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Agreed. But you only have to turn it on, not hold it down or anything.

I really find it hard designing games with touch controls. I've never played a platformer or such with controls I've actually enjoyed using on a touch screen

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Digital Awakening
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Posted: 27th Sep 2014 11:59
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I am not here to argue with you. It's your game and you do what feels right to you. I am just giving you my thoughts.

The way I play your game is that I hold my phone in my left hand and I play with my right index finger. I get very precise control of the ship but the buttons requires me to move away from the ship. If the game was played with buttons only then I could play the game with both thumbs instead and be able to handle more complex controls. But at the loss of the intuitive and precise positioning. For me it's one or the other, not both. This feels like an easy to pickup and play where ever kind of game, and so I would go with simpler controls.

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lilpissywilly
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Posted: 30th Sep 2014 18:01
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Yes indeed and the input is appreciated.

The way I play it is like you mentioned with thumbs, one on the ship and one on the buttons.

Would it work if you mirror the controls (options) and use your left hand to push buttons?

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Digital Awakening
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Posted: 1st Oct 2014 11:04
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Quote: "Would it work if you mirror the controls (options) and use your left hand to push buttons?"

I think that would help

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