All the features, which isn't saying much, that I planned for an August release was already there. The only thing left for us to do for the remaining two weeks was let other people sample our game. However, during the last leg of the weeks that I have been in "Gamedev Hermit" mode, this article, referred by my wife, caught my attention. It made me think twice about going through with the release.
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| Old screenshot of Tiny Monkey |
I am fully aware that Tiny Monkey is just slightly differently dressed, but a clone nonetheless. The article does have a point, and I'm not oblivious to the fates of the multitude of clones of that game. Despite all that I managed to convince myself that Tiny Monkey can set itself apart from the rest of its kind. The important thing was that I had a simple goal, that goal was met, and it was good enough for me. It’s time to play test this with other people and go through with the release, or so I thought.
One sample player just kept on tapping the screen, and it made our Monkey jump and glide erratically. Sure they can reach past the 20 mark line, but it all felt random; like it was just some sort of fluke. Also watching the game being played like that was sort of painful. There was no grace; the sensation I was expecting from watching someone time their jump from one tree to the next was absent. That was when I first had the thought that maybe our game really isn't good enough for a release.
I discussed this with the team, and it turns out they did have the same experience. One feedback we got was that the controls are overwhelming and complicated. I stepped back for a bit to think about it. Were they really overwhelming? Tap to jump when you’re on a tree. Tap to glide when airborne. Swipe right when on a tree to kick. Swipe down when airborne to dive. Swipe up when airborne. I made sure that the information is accessible to players by putting a bouncing HELP button that brings up a multi page visual aid, but it seems that was not enough. Another proof of this was that I had to explain the controls each time I get a new person to play the game. We had to think of a way that can make the information even more accessible and visible to the player. We concluded that a progression system is needed.
With the progression system, our players will be slowly introduced to the different controls of the game. At level 1 all the player can do is tap on the screen so that our monkey can leap from tree to tree. Of course that would mean that the trees need to be evenly spaced and reachable with a single leap. This also means that obstacles need to be removed, to be introduced gradually. At level 2 the player will be taught how to perform a kick from tree to tree. On level 3 the player can swipe up to lift our monkey. This goes on up to level 7, where the player would have access to all abilities and super powers that our hero has.
The progression system gave the game a bit of a RPG flavor-- players will earn experience points based on the number of trees it passed by. The Stars awarded to the player also serve as multipliers to boost the experience. With enough experience points, the player will level up, and the process begins again. Excess Exp is carried over to the next level. When the level cap is reached, which will sit at 7 at the time of the beta release, players will stop earning Exp.
With the decision to add a progression system we had no choice but to push the release date to a few more weeks. The initial game was already ready early August, but with this we were aiming for a late August release. But wait a minute, it's already September. Why hasn't the game released yet?
A progression system gave the game a little of the much needed polish it requires. It also added replay value. Tiny Monkey has taken a step to evolution from being a clone into being a game of its own. It was a good feeling, but I was not satisfied. Since we already missed the first deadline, why not extend it a little more and push it back to the next month? Why should we still pin ourselves to an August release when we could do something more for just an additional month? We are not under pressure from anything aside from awaiting fans. "I'm sure they'll understand", I thought. I'm sure you'll understand.
So here we are now adding missions. These are optional goals for the player. We believe this can increase the replay value of the game and give us more time while we work on additional content (e.g. new maps, new obstacles, power upgrades, etc.) Some missions are trivial activities that the player will probably complete unknowingly, while some will require skills and dexterity. They reward the player with golden bugs (ingame currency), Exp, and the rainbow butterfly-- a special currency. Once the interface is implemented and the missions are fully tested, we will publish a public beta release for both Android and iOS.
While we're trying to deliver a more complete game, we're still a very small operation and we do all this work on the sideline. We're maintaining that balance between what we can achieve given our limited time and the quality of our product. In this regard, the game Tiny Monkey has officially changed its release date to "when it's ready". Apologies if you've been eagerly waiting for this. Hopefully you can wait just a little more!
-- LJ
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| Progression system implemented |
With the progression system, our players will be slowly introduced to the different controls of the game. At level 1 all the player can do is tap on the screen so that our monkey can leap from tree to tree. Of course that would mean that the trees need to be evenly spaced and reachable with a single leap. This also means that obstacles need to be removed, to be introduced gradually. At level 2 the player will be taught how to perform a kick from tree to tree. On level 3 the player can swipe up to lift our monkey. This goes on up to level 7, where the player would have access to all abilities and super powers that our hero has.
The progression system gave the game a bit of a RPG flavor-- players will earn experience points based on the number of trees it passed by. The Stars awarded to the player also serve as multipliers to boost the experience. With enough experience points, the player will level up, and the process begins again. Excess Exp is carried over to the next level. When the level cap is reached, which will sit at 7 at the time of the beta release, players will stop earning Exp.
With the decision to add a progression system we had no choice but to push the release date to a few more weeks. The initial game was already ready early August, but with this we were aiming for a late August release. But wait a minute, it's already September. Why hasn't the game released yet?
A progression system gave the game a little of the much needed polish it requires. It also added replay value. Tiny Monkey has taken a step to evolution from being a clone into being a game of its own. It was a good feeling, but I was not satisfied. Since we already missed the first deadline, why not extend it a little more and push it back to the next month? Why should we still pin ourselves to an August release when we could do something more for just an additional month? We are not under pressure from anything aside from awaiting fans. "I'm sure they'll understand", I thought. I'm sure you'll understand.
 |
| Upon completing a side mission, a notification will appear |
So here we are now adding missions. These are optional goals for the player. We believe this can increase the replay value of the game and give us more time while we work on additional content (e.g. new maps, new obstacles, power upgrades, etc.) Some missions are trivial activities that the player will probably complete unknowingly, while some will require skills and dexterity. They reward the player with golden bugs (ingame currency), Exp, and the rainbow butterfly-- a special currency. Once the interface is implemented and the missions are fully tested, we will publish a public beta release for both Android and iOS.
 |
| Quest rewards |
While we're trying to deliver a more complete game, we're still a very small operation and we do all this work on the sideline. We're maintaining that balance between what we can achieve given our limited time and the quality of our product. In this regard, the game Tiny Monkey has officially changed its release date to "when it's ready". Apologies if you've been eagerly waiting for this. Hopefully you can wait just a little more!
-- LJ
To contact the author, just send your e-mail to hobbigames@gmail.com
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