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AppGameKit/AppGameKit Studio Showcase / [WIP] CyberGlyphs

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Scraggle
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Posted: 7th Apr 2015 11:07 Edited at: 13th Apr 2015 11:27
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[New Name]Having learned that The Transformers written language is called Cyberglyphics, I have decided to rename my game. Since the idea is to unlock rows using images, then a combination of Encyption and Images (glyphs) seems like a good idea. So the new name is CryptoGlyphs

A nice long weekend with no plans meant I was able to bang out a quick game



Here is a screenshot:


For anyone that has been around long enough, you may remember the Puzzle Compo back in 2005. For that I wrote The Alchemists Apprentice and won 3rd prize (I know, only third, I was robbed! )

Anyway, that game looked like this and CyberGlyphs is largely based on that.



The idea is to place your 'glyphs' on the screen to complete rows. Once a row is complete, the red lock at the end is unlocked. Once all rows are unlocked the level is complete.

As for game play - you can only place a glyph on screen if all those around it match either the colour or the shape of the one you are placing. Each level adds another style of glyph and another colour so the difficulty soon ramps up.

I have created an Ironman style HUD which still needs some more animating but I am very happy with what is there at the moment.

Done:
All Graphics are made
Game play is complete from start to level-up to game-over
Some HUD animations - Next glyph and discard glyph animate nicely, so does the Bonus wheel
Discard glyph is working nicely - The HUD changes colour from cyan, through yellow, orange then red. Once it is red, all of the glyphs vibrate to show that it is your last chance to correctly place a glyph.

To Do:
More HUD animations
Start of game screen
End of game screen
Level complete screen
Warning pop up when on last discard level
Hint
Options menu
Sounds - All of them, there are none at the moment
Music - I suppose it should have some.
Release it

My plan for releasing it is to have adverts between levels but with the option to buy an ad-free version. I have no idea how to go about that though so any suggestions will be gratefully received.

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SpecTre
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Posted: 7th Apr 2015 11:32
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Game looks like it will be good, looking forward to having a play of it. Not sure how to do ads as haven't used them myself yet either so will watch this space.

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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Scraggle
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Posted: 7th Apr 2015 23:54 Edited at: 17th Sep 2015 11:37
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A well timed screenshot that shows some of the HUD animating.



Here a complete row is being removed, the lock at the end of the row is rotating and changing colour from red to green, There is a flare just appearing over the 'Next Glyph' (top right) part of the HUD (which is also rotating) and the bonus wheel is reducing - you can just see part of it is yellow which is also rotating (not that you can tell)

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BatVink
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Posted: 8th Apr 2015 00:08
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Looking good, I remember the original. The presentation has come on fantastically ]

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Scraggle
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Posted: 8th Apr 2015 16:23
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Cheers buddy!

It's surprising what a difference 10 years makes and not just to the presentation but to the code as well.
I had a look at the code for the original to see if I could re-use any of it but it looks very amateurish even though I had over 10 years of coding in me at the time.
I wonder if I'll look back on todays code in 10 years and think that it looks amateurish?

I've uploaded a video of the game to the first post

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fog
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Posted: 9th Apr 2015 03:32
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I can't believe that puzzle compo was 10 years ago. I do remember playing a lot of Alchemists Apprentice though.

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Scraggle
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Posted: 9th Apr 2015 18:14
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Me too! I played the hell out of the game and it seems I'm doing the same again now - it is a fun game

I'm going to have to come up with a new name though - I just learned that Cyberglyphics is the written language of the Transformers and that is too close to CyberGlyphs for comfort

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Scraggle
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Posted: 16th Apr 2015 09:49 Edited at: 16th Apr 2015 09:51
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Minor update.
I have been spending my time creating my own tween and chain commands.
As much as I love the ones that are native to AppGameKit, they are lacking some features that I needed like being able to add non tween commands to a chain for example and being able to clone tweens and chains.

My new system allows me to create a single chain that tweens multiple sprites, plays sounds and changes text and then I can clone that chain and place it elsewhere. Perfect for score display system I need each time I place a glyph on screen.

Here is a screenshot. Not much has changed. The new name is in place and you can see one of the score reticles on the main game board. That's the thing that I needed my own system for.



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CJB
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Posted: 16th Apr 2015 11:42
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Very well done Scraggle! A very polished looking game! I hope it makes you lots of £££s!

How will you be monetizing this?

Another great showcase for AGK2!

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Scraggle
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Posted: 17th Apr 2015 09:27
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Thanks CJB

My plan is to have adverts between levels and at Game Over with the option to buy an ad-free version but I have no idea how to go about that.
So, I would very much appreciate it if anyone can shed any light on:
a) How best to use ads in a game
b) How to provide a free and paid (ad-free) version of a game.

Thanks

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CJB
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Posted: 17th Apr 2015 13:43
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I have always thought the easiest way would be to submit two versions of your app to the store (free vs paid). I guess a cleaner way would be to have an in-app-purchase to remove the adds, but some people don't like that for some reason (extortion?).

Don't underestimate a player's ability to ignore ads too. If the paid version doesn't offer anything apart from the removal of adverts, people probably won't bother paying (especially on Android).

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Scraggle
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Posted: 20th Apr 2015 00:06
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Quote: "submit two versions of your app to the store (free vs paid)"

I think you're right, that is probably the best way.

Quote: "Don't underestimate a player's ability to ignore ads too. If the paid version doesn't offer anything apart from the removal of adverts, people probably won't bother paying"

That's a really good tip!
I hadn't considered that but now I'm thinking that I should limit the free game somehow. The only things I can think of are to limit the number of levels you can progress through or limit the time you can play for. Not really sure which is the best way to go but I've still got plenty of time to consider it before release ... I've still got a lot of polish to add!

I'm a firm believer in the 80:20 rule of game programming but for me I think it is closer to 95:5. I can bang out a quick puzzle game like this in a weekend but adding all the polish to make it look as good as I want it to seems to take forever!

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Scraggle
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Posted: 28th Apr 2015 19:26 Edited at: 28th Apr 2015 19:42
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New video.

I\'d appreciate some feedback please. There\'s no game-play in this one (and still no audio), it\'s just the menus. They\'re not complete yet, I\'m more interested in the opinion of the animations.
I have icons for Info, Achievements, quit and start and at random times I have an icon that appears above them with text on to say what they are.

I like it, I think it adds to the whole 'Ironman' type animation thing but I have been told they are just in the way and unnecessary.
So, what do you think? A cool addition to the menus or an unnecessary intrusion?



The frame rates a bit off because of the Fraps recording, it's usually smoother with faster flickering and less flashing.

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BatVink
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Posted: 28th Apr 2015 19:52
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In cartoons, they say you should only have one focus if you want people to notice the important things. People are easily distracted.

I think the rotating animations are perfect, they don't distract and add to the menu.

As for the text - I would get them to appear when your pointer is over the icon, but otherwise keep them hidden. They are a little distracting when they appear for no specific reason. The animation of the text is good

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Scraggle
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Posted: 28th Apr 2015 20:51 Edited at: 28th Apr 2015 21:48
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Thanks for the feedback, that is what a few people have said - they're in the way.
You're suggestion of having them appear when the pointer is over them would only work in windows but I wan't to release this on mobile devices, so there is no pointer until clicked

It's a shame, I really like them and I want them in but it doesn't look like anyone agrees with me

[Edit]How about this?
Leave them in and have them behave in exactly the same way but have them only appear after a period of inactivity - 10 seconds maybe.

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BatVink
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Posted: 28th Apr 2015 22:52
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Quote: "Leave them in and have them behave in exactly the same way but have them only appear after a period of inactivity - 10 seconds maybe."


Sounds like a good idea. So good I almost suggested it earlier, but looking back on the thread I thought it was a Windows game.

This will be an excellent tablet game.

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Scraggle
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Posted: 29th Apr 2015 09:46
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Not just tablets, it works well on phones too.
I wasn't sure that it would when I first started it. I thought that maybe the screen size would be an issue and make selected the correct square a little tricky but it works really well

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Scraggle
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Posted: 2nd May 2015 21:54 Edited at: 7th Jul 2015 23:48
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A small update to show off some of the animated reticles in the game.
I'm very happy with them



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BatVink
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Posted: 3rd May 2015 14:16
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Is it wrong of me to say...nice reticles

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Scraggle
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Posted: 27th May 2015 00:30
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Everything on my original To Do list on the first post is done and has been for a while but my To Do list grew

I had a few friends play test it and I found that they were doing thing s just to challenge themselves - like trying to complete a row using only red shapes. There was no reason for it. You didn't get any extra points. But it got me thinking that maybe you should.

So I have started adding Achievements into the game to add a little longevity and to increase the score.
I've also thought of a few ways to monetise the game which I'm trying to implement.

Anyhoo ... just for gigggles, here's a few more screenies:













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Scraggle
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Posted: 7th Jul 2015 23:59 Edited at: 8th Jul 2015 00:01
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A family bereavement had to put this project on hold for a while but I'm back on track now and I'm working on the achievements and the different language versions.

You'd think that since I work for a translation company I'd be able to get things translated really easily but no!
Most people that I asked were "too busy" to help. I managed to get Hungarian, Russian and German translated by friends (who are also professional translators) but the rest of the languages that I want, I have had to pay for.
Initially I tried the company I work for but they charge a minimum of £250 per language! When I asked if I could have a special rate as an employee they said the special rate is that they would do it. They don't normally cater for individuals. So stuff that!

Thank God I found fiverr.com. For $5 people are willing to do a lot of work. So I got quite a few languages translated now and I'm also getting some voice overs in various languages too. So far I only have the English (American) voice over but it is amazing!

I can't recommend fiverr.com highly enough. If anyone wants to give it a try (there are people that do 2D and 3D art and sfx too) then give me a shout, I can recommend you and get you a free 'gig'.

Anyway, here's a couple of French language screenshots:

The settings screen:

The Achievements screen:


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BatVink
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Posted: 15th Jul 2015 00:51 Edited at: 15th Jul 2015 00:56
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Fiverr is great. I have a very good British voiceover guy that I use, I can send you a link if you need it. He's quite upbeat. This is one he did last year for me.

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Scraggle
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Posted: 17th Sep 2015 11:36 Edited at: 17th Sep 2015 11:39
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Just a quick update to show off the "Shop" and "Level Select" screens.

The game is almost complete, I'm just dabbling with new stuff that I haven't done before, like:
On-line high scores
In-app purchasing
Adverts
Facebook integration
Multi-language versions

But once those are done I just have to source a few more sound effects and then get it released

The Shop:


The Level Select screen:


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SpecTre
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Posted: 17th Sep 2015 18:43
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Quote: "But once those are done I just have to source a few more sound effects and then get it released "


Great work, can't wait to try this when finished.


This is looking very professional

The Amiga and Amos were great!
My website LEAP - Download Paint Pot here!
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Crazy Programmer
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Posted: 17th Sep 2015 18:59
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Quote: "Just a quick update to show off the "Shop" and "Level Select" screens."

Sweet looking stuff man! Great work like Paul said...Looking fantastic!

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BatVink
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Posted: 17th Sep 2015 20:41
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Looking really good

Quote: "Facebook integration"

I tried it, but then I realised that there is a catch-22. You can't integrate with validation from Facebook, and you can't get validation without publishing. So how on earth do you reconcile that paradox?

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Scraggle
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Posted: 18th Sep 2015 09:11
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Really?
That's frustrating!
I haven't looked into Facebook yet but I thought it would be a handy way to get the users name for the highscore chart. It's certainly better than asking them to type it in when dealing with multiple languages and therefore multiple keyboards/bitmap fonts.

I also planned to have a feature where the user could post about the game to their wall and they are rewarded by removing adverts for 24 hours. It's not a feature I've seen in any other game but I though it would be a good way to get the games name out there.


I'll look in to it next week and see what gives.

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BatVink
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Posted: 18th Sep 2015 12:52
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Quote: "I thought it would be a handy way to get the users name for the highscore chart"


That bit is easy...ish. You have to create an App on Facebook, they log in once and accept the link to your app, then you can access their Facebook name and a few other details.

Quote: " also planned to have a feature where the user could post about the game to their wall"

That's the difficult bit. As far as I know, this command is either broken or blocked by FB until the app is approved. To get it approved you have to have the Facebook logo and link in your game...which is where the Catch 22 arises.

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