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AppGameKit/AppGameKit Studio Showcase / [Released] Square

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Battoad
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Posted: 11th Feb 2015 16:43
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Please to announce that my game app Square has just been released.

[href]Square[/href]

Also free with no ads.
May do a 2nd version with more to it including in app purchase when I learn how to do it.

Hope you like.

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Conjured Entertainment
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Posted: 11th Feb 2015 18:22 Edited at: 11th Feb 2015 18:37
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I can't read the buttons.
Couldn't find an exit button.
I like the game though, and the graphics and effects.

My phones browser won't work on links here, so I have to search Google Play Store for games.
I put in "square" and scrolled through 250 matches looking for your icon and it was not found.
Then, I searched "batgames" and you were like the 6th match down.
Thought I would share that in case others have to search through the Google Play app instead of a browser.

Congratulations on your game release


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
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Battoad
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 10:26
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Good feedback comments, thank you.

Quote: "I can't read the buttons"

I had hoped that by increasing both the button and its label size might have sorted that one but apparently not. Its readable on a Nexus 4 so you may have something even smaller which I will need to cater for.

Quote: "Couldn't find an exit button."

No, I didn't put one in, but its easily rectified, next revision.
I currently use the phone/tablet built in buttons.
If you use the "Home" it effectively pauses the game so you can go back to where you left off. If you use the "Return" it clears everything so you start a fresh game next time.
If this is the wrong way to do an "exit" can someone let me know as I find it useful but I can easily build an exit button in if that should be the norm.

Quote: "I like the game though, and the graphics and effects.
"


Thank you.

Quote: "My phones browser won't work on links here"


I attach the long url to possibly help searching:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.batgames.net.square

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Funnell7
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 11:51 Edited at: 12th Feb 2015 11:52
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Good work... An interesting concept I like all the graphic animations you have going there...

Quote: "I had hoped that by increasing both the button and its label size might have sorted that one but apparently not."


I have a Samsung S4 and the text on the buttons were only just readable... Could definitely do with an increase in size...

Quote: "If this is the wrong way to do an "exit" can someone let me know"


There is a lot of debate about this. From Google's perspective the preferred method is not have an exit button and the user should just press the home button. The OS will then decide when to kill an app based on memory requirements... Apple will actually reject an application if they 'notice' an exit button... Personally, I like to give the user the choice by having an exit button, but seeing as I need to remove this for Apple, I'm actually slowly phasing out the exit button

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Conjured Entertainment
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 14:50
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Quote: "There is a lot of debate about this. From Google's perspective the preferred method is not have an exit button and the user should just press the home button. The OS will then decide when to kill an app based on memory requirements... Apple will actually reject an application if they 'notice' an exit button... Personally, I like to give the user the choice by having an exit button, but seeing as I need to remove this for Apple, I'm actually slowly phasing out the exit button "

That is wild.
I thought they would have wanted the exit button added in.
I guess I need to take mine out, but I like having a backup in case the button malfunctions or something.
Apple takes for granted that all users are familiar with the device, but a lot of elderly people are being introduced to smartphones for the first time, and some of them are easily confused (like game testers I have heard about who find a numeric keypad confusing, but they are veteran users?).

Anyway, having a little 'X' in the top right corner is familiar for Windblows users, and its probably the old war between Windblows and Apple that is behind the iCrap rejecting the 'X'. I can't imagine any other reason for not wanting a Exit button, unless the iCrap really can't handle the program closing itself, which is a bit odd to me. If your hardware gets fouled by a program closing, then maybe they need an i7 or i8 or whatever number they are using nowadays to sell essentially the same hardware back to the user.


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
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David Gervais
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 14:58
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Juney, I looked at a screenshot of the game and it looks like if you enlarged the menu buttons to 80x80 (up from 64x64) and used a 14 point bold font it would be easier to read and still fit with minimal change to the code.

If you want help just let me know. It's an easy fix for the graphics.

Cheers!

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Conjured Entertainment
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 15:12 Edited at: 12th Feb 2015 15:17
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Maybe you could reduce the button count there by making a menu for some of them. Then the button could be much larger.

OOPS! It looks like I forgot to review your app, sorry dude, I'll go back now and give you some stars.


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
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Battoad
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 15:12 Edited at: 12th Feb 2015 15:16
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Thanks for comments.

Quote: "Good work... An interesting concept I like all the graphic animations you have going there..."


Many thanks Funnell7, that's encouraging.


Quote: "the preferred method is not have an exit button "


Hmm. I think I might leave this one now and see how things blow.


Quote: "the buttons were only just readable"


Yes, I will increase the size somehow, again thanks.

Quote: "if you enlarged the menu buttons to 80x80 (up from 64x64) and used a 14 point bold font "


Thanks David, I have been playing with just increasing the font but keeping buttons same size but am not totally happy. I will try your suggestion of further increasing the buttons as well.
I was hoping that you had downloaded the game as you are included in the Credits under the Help section, thanks for your help with graphics.

Cheers All.

This one appeared as I was typing :

Quote: "Maybe you could reduce the button count "


A good call C.E, that's another good possibility for me to try.
I think I can combine some of the buttons to get the reduction.
I need to try out the 2 methods suggested to see which one looks best.
Thank you.

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David Gervais
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 15:42 Edited at: 12th Feb 2015 15:54
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Here is a custom button for the menus.. removing the frame gives you more room for text labels and makes them a bit different from the play pieces.. I also made a cleaner slider.. will post that in a sec..



Cheers!

Note: the right side button offsets should stay the same the left side just need an adjustment to their x value -16 I think should work. the sliders also need a wee bit of positioning.. not much though a pixel here a few pixels there.. you'll figure it out.

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David Gervais
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Posted: 12th Feb 2015 15:43 Edited at: 12th Feb 2015 15:56
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here is the slider..



Cheers v2.0!

P.S. I did download and play the game, didn't check the credits in help though LoL.. am I famous yet?

P.P.S. I gave you an AppGameKit Developer badge.. you earned it!! Cheers!


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Battoad
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Posted: 13th Feb 2015 12:06 Edited at: 13th Feb 2015 13:14
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Quote: "Here is a custom button for the menus"


Thank you David, I should have responded sooner but I was otherwise committed away from "fun". They are superb quality. Graphics are not a strong point for me so your help is really appreciated.
I'd possibly like to discuss graphics with you some time to see if I can get any tips or pointers.

I hope to test them today and will post back for comment before resubmitting my game app. I need to get it perfect this time.

Quote: "am I famous yet?"


Certainly in these forums and you could soon take over the world, ha ha ha ha ha! - - - (just fun)

Quote: "I gave you an AppGameKit Developer badge"


That's great. I felt really good just getting my game app released but the badge is equally rewarding and important, thanks again.

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Battoad
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Posted: 13th Feb 2015 21:43 Edited at: 13th Feb 2015 22:21
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Here is a screenshot providing improved legibility for both the button labels and score board.
I have also added a sfx to the volume adjustment slider, similar to the music one, so that you can hear the volume being adjusted in real time.



Thank you David Gervais for providing the basic images.

I believe its an improvement but want to make sure its right this time.
What do you think?

Edit : I'm not happy with score board so back to drawing board.

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David Gervais
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Posted: 13th Feb 2015 23:25 Edited at: 14th Feb 2015 01:16
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Hello Juney,

That screen shot seems to be at a different scale than the ones on google.. and the ones on google seem to indicate a virtual resolution of 1024 x 790 (am I right?)

Send me an email and I'll see what I can do to help you put a final polish on your GUI.

Cheers!

EDIT: Had a bit of fun..



If you like this sample, send me an email..

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Battoad
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Posted: 14th Feb 2015 11:52 Edited at: 14th Feb 2015 13:39
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Quote: "That screen shot seems to be at a different scale "


Yes it is, the scale i uploaded is different as i cropped it slightly and reduced the size to keep the file size low for downloading to here.

Your graphics are absolutely superb. Even my imagination could not get anywhere close to your example let alone my ability.

Many thanks for your help, will be in touch.


EDIT: I have pretty much replicated the GUI interface except for the font. Is this one you made or is it for general use? Can you let me know its name ?

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Battoad
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Posted: 17th Feb 2015 19:32
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With many thanks to David Gervais I have revamped the graphics to improve readability of button labels and scoreboard, plus improve the overall appearance.
David also planted the idea of having a coloured bar in the border which I have now applied so that these colours correspond to the colours of the squares occupying the centre 4x4 square, just gimmicky but nice.

I spent a lot of time exploring and creating font sets to use on the scoreboard, most of which looked great on larger screen devices, but most looked poor on small screened phones, so I have decided to use the font sets shown as this provides maximum contrast and clarity.



I hope you also think its an improvement but await any comment before I upload to the googleplay store as a revision as I would like to get it right.

Thank you.

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JLMoondog
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Posted: 19th Feb 2015 17:30 Edited at: 19th Feb 2015 17:30
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Looks really good! ..just one more suggestion. The title at the top right needs either a shadow or hard dark outline so it stands out a little more. Just my preference.

http://jmoondog.weebly.com/
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SpecTre
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Posted: 19th Feb 2015 21:26
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Yes black outline with drop shadow would look nice

Nice game.

Programming - AMOS on the AMIGA! / DBPro / Python / A bit of C C++ / now also AGK2! - Graphics - Deluxe Paint on the Amiga / Paintshop Pro / Photoshop / Lightroom / Grafx2
Previously worked for Prisma Software producing childrens educational software on the Amiga - Titles - Pepe's Garden - Paint Pot / Kids Academy range - Paint Pot II / Shopping Basket / Which Where What? / Blobs / Alvin's Puzzles
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Battoad
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Posted: 20th Feb 2015 10:07
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Quote: "The title at the top right needs either a shadow or hard dark outline "


Hi JLMoondog and spectrepaul, I think you are right, it definitely needs to stand out more. I will do either or both of the ideas suggested. Many thanks, appreciated.

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David Gervais
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Posted: 20th Feb 2015 12:17 Edited at: 20th Feb 2015 12:22
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I noticed that the button sizes have gone back to the tiny versions,.. not the way I designed it to be easier to see on smaller devices.. but meh, it's your game. imho, making the text on a button take up virtually the whole button size, looks odd. (hence the reason for my making the buttons bigger.) also, too much 'unused space (gaps) on the side panel shows that the space is not being used to it's maximum potential.. (GUI design basics say, make things bigger to fit, or add more buttons to fill the space. In your case the first option was the best use of space.)

You can see what I mean simply by reducing the scale of the screen..



I do artwork for free, but if my name gets 'attached' to a project, I have a reputation to consider.. "Some graphics by David E. Gervais, modifications made with his express permission."

Cheers!

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Battoad
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Posted: 20th Feb 2015 16:26
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Quote: "I noticed that the button sizes have gone back to the tiny versions"


Phew, glad you spotted that, I had a line of coding that altered the size of buttons and although I used the larger size image, this line reduced the size back, and I missed it.
I intended to use the larger size 80x80, so I will remove this resizing part of coding.

Thanks.

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David Gervais
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Posted: 20th Feb 2015 20:09
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I'm glad it was an oversight and not a design choice LoL.

Cheers!

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Battoad
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Posted: 20th Feb 2015 20:40
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Quote: "I'm glad it was an oversight and not a design choice LoL.
"


I appreciate all the help and support you have provided and would not even consider affecting your reputation as a fantastic graphic design artist in a bad way with my comparatively poor attempts. I don't think I would have got as far as I have without your help.

I simply goofed regarding the code set sprite size, and I forgot to change it but I fully understand where you are coming from and hopefully once I correct my mistake we should be back on track?

Thanks again for your help, I will keep in touch before any publishing of an update.

Cheers.

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David Gervais
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Posted: 20th Feb 2015 21:06
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weez arez backz on trackz. No worries.

Cheers!

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Conjured Entertainment
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Posted: 20th Feb 2015 23:38 Edited at: 21st Feb 2015 01:44
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Quote: "I noticed that the button sizes have gone back to the tiny versions...GUI design basics say, make things bigger to fit, or add more buttons to fill the space. In your case the first option was the best use of space."

Yeah, it helps us old folks who can't see those little screens as well as a young eye can.
I can only speak for myself, but I like the bigger buttons.

Quote: "Phew, glad you spotted that, I had a line of coding that altered the size of buttons..., and I missed it.
I intended to use the larger size 80x80"

I had a thought when looking at the screenshot of the large buttons when noticing the space left at top ones because of the sliders between the lower buttons.
If those sliders were gone, then you could increase the button sizes even more.
If you had the background color of the buttons used for the levels of fill for the button, then it would serve as the bar.
If the drop shadowed text was a separate image with a transparent background placed over the button, then the background color for the button creating the fill would simply be an animation that you are setting to each frame based on the variable, instead of playing it as you normally would an animated sprite.

Just a thought for making the buttons bigger by getting rid of the bars, but retaining the graphic for the level.


Coding things my way since 1981 -- Currently using AppGameKit V2 Tier 1
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Battoad
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Posted: 21st Feb 2015 13:54
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Quote: "Just a thought for making the buttons bigger by getting rid of the bars, but retaining the graphic for the level"


Thanks CE, thinking outside of the box again. All suggestions and ideas appreciated and noted.

I need to investigate several options and choose which ones may be overall best for this game app.

cheers

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baxslash
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2015 09:48
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Great work Juney! Love this game. I'll be playing it on the train a lot I think!!


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Battoad
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Posted: 22nd Feb 2015 20:40
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Quote: "Great work Juney! Love this game. I'll be playing it on the train a lot I think!!"


A developers dream comment. Thank you tons, and for the review.

I need a few more like you, do you have a million clones?



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baxslash
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Posted: 23rd Feb 2015 08:43
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Quote: "do you have a million clones?"

Still working on the clone machine...


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Battoad
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Posted: 21st Mar 2015 13:08
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Hi, I've been working on the next release of this app but because of commitments it has been a little slow for my liking.

Progress so far;
I have redesigned the graphics and GUI to make button labels clearer. Instead of trying to fit the button label on the button, they are now in larger fonts adjacent to the buttons.

Each level must now be completed before you can proceed to the next level, but you can repeat any completed level as many times as you wish. Level indicators are also showing for completed, next one to be completed and not completed.

Levels basically come in groups of 3, the 1st level have just 36 squares to remove, the 2nd 64 and the 3rd 100 but with the addition of the special "SQUARE" area to manoeuver lettered squares.

Levels 4-6 are effectively repeats of levels 1-3 but with the additional difficulty of not being able to use edging 2 rows and columns to slide squares.

Levels 7-9 are effectively repeats of levels 4-6 but with the additional difficulty of all coloured squares intermittently turning grey so you need to remember where the colours were whilst you make your next moves. They randomly then turn back to reveal their colours to give you the chance of both getting some more squares away and trying to remembering where the colours are before the next grey change.

Still some more levels to do so I will keep you posted as I proceed.

Cheers

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Matty H
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Posted: 6th Apr 2015 17:47
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Just downloaded, will try it later and rate and review for you

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Battoad
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Posted: 6th Apr 2015 22:38
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Cheers Matty, appreciated.

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SpecTre
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Posted: 7th Apr 2015 03:07
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Same also, downloaded and reviewed, missed this one before but its a good game. Well done.

The Amiga and Amos were great!
Download my game - Paint Pot from Amazon and Google here - http://leap.my-free.website/
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Battoad
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Posted: 7th Apr 2015 15:38
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Thank you spectre, as we are learning downloads can be very important. Its incredible that some of the top apps have millions of downloads, who knows, this time next year we could be millionaire downloads.

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SpecTre
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Posted: 7th Apr 2015 17:49 Edited at: 7th Apr 2015 17:50
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Lol you never know.

I know what you mean though as there is a Paint app similar to my Paint Pot app which has had a million downloads and I know I am biased but mine is far better! Haha

The Amiga and Amos were great!
Download my game - Paint Pot from Amazon and Google here - http://leap.my-free.website/
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