Messages

31

Ask a Question / Re: how to detect google play connected?

« on: May 08, 2017, 02:33:12 am »

I'm not sure but I think that if you're putting it under "when created", saying "if not connected" makes the code want to check the connection but since the action is required immediately. I usually put Game Center and Google Play connections in a loading screen before the main menu.

Otherwise you could add a boolean game attribute to the setup and call it Connected or something.

>When created
"If [Connected] = false,  init Google Play"

When updating >
"If connection is established, set [Connected] to true
otherwise set [Connected] to false"

32

Shared Resources / Re: Shared Mechanics

« on: May 04, 2017, 02:22:02 am »

Pretty neat TCE. I definitely think cross promotion is a good idea once you have some popular games.

I agree!! thats awesome.. all my links are hard coded in, i have to go back and update them. ill be trying this out for sure!! thank you

Yup, that's the thing. Having to update older games just to add a new link sucks, this system takes care of that

33

Shared Resources / Re: Shared Mechanics

« on: May 03, 2017, 05:49:48 am »

Whoa, this thread is awesome! To contribute, I spent some time turning my mobile cross promotion setup into its own behaviour.



Basically it pulls an image and some other data from a server you set up and uses it in your game. The idea behind this is that when you release a new game, you can "advertise" it in your earlier releases.

What you'll need:
- the behaviour attached to the scene you want to show the image on
- webspace
- As many images as you need, 584x584 pixels in size.
- a .txt file that contains the link to the image followed by the link you want the image to have (when a player then clicks on the image it will open, for example, the app store page for that game). Each image and its link should be on one line, separated by a "," like this:



You can also add one more thing after the link, a number that will be used as the frequency of which ads are shown. This allows you to change a game without updating and resubmitting it to the app store, like if you get too many complaints from players about too many ads being shown.

 
You upload the images and the .txt to your webspace, and then point the behaviour to the url where the .txt is stored, and you're all set!   

34

iPhone / iPad / Android / Re: What do you think of my game? Coming out soon

« on: April 29, 2017, 09:39:42 am »

I think you would benefit from watching this talk by JW from Vlambeer about game feel . You're on the right track but still have some ways to go, comparing what you've got to what JW talks about is a good way to keep things moving

35

Paid Work / Re: [PAID] A shopping list of mobile-focused extensions / behaviours I'd like to see

« on: April 25, 2017, 04:30:52 am »

With iOS Game Center you can  savegame to iCloud as you said

https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/GameKit_Guide/SavedGames/SavedGames.html

I suggested Firebase because the cloud Feature is cross-platform.

Personally I wouldn't advise any mobile dev to invest in cross platform syncing unless they have a gigantic, Crossy Road-sized active userbase.

iCloud savegame via Game Center would be absolutely ideal though! If anyone could turn the code in that Apple developer doc into blocks to be used in Stencyl it'd be amazing. I'd even suggest making it a part of Stencyl itself, much like the Game Center and IAP blocks are now. Same with the Android equivalent. Not only would players appreciate the feature, the platforms themselves would be taking note which helps a ton with getting noticed and featured.

36

Paid Work / Re: [PAID] A shopping list of mobile-focused extensions / behaviours I'd like to see

« on: April 24, 2017, 07:31:23 am »

I think you'd need to look into Google Play's "Saved Games" service specifically, I found some info here: https://developers.google.com/games/services/common/concepts/savedgames

There's a good chance that using outside services to store people's information isn't allowed (I know Apple doesn't like it anyway, which is why we'd need iCloud specifically)

37

iPhone / iPad / Android / Re: Yo! Let's UP

« on: April 24, 2017, 07:23:47 am »

Sorry, but is there even this applestorepromotions email? What would this email be? applestorepromotions@apple.com?
[/quote]

Just googled it and apparently it's appstorepromotion@apple.com.

38

Paid Work / Re: [PAID] A shopping list of mobile-focused extensions / behaviours I'd like to see

« on: April 24, 2017, 06:05:12 am »

How about the iCloud saving? How easy would it be to create "save to iCloud" type block?

That would work for iOS games(android games can use google play's alternative), but saving and loading on all platforms simply requires a dedicated server.

Saving and loading on all platforms isn't really a big deal. What you want is to support the respective ecosystems, cross-platform syncing is a secondary concern I personally wouldn't bother with. The point is that if someone has an iPhone and an iPad (or an Android phone and tablet), they'll complain that their progress doesn't carry over from one device to the other. It'd be a worthwhile feature to have for sure.

39

Paid Work / Re: [PAID] A shopping list of mobile-focused extensions / behaviours I'd like to see

« on: April 24, 2017, 05:57:12 am »

How about the iCloud saving? How easy would it be to create "save to iCloud" type block? At the moment, stencil is a bit limited in terms of creating long-form games where players gradually level up.

That one is quite high on my list! But someone would have to dig into the Apple side of it to make Stencyl and iCloud talk to each other, the same way it works with the Game Center and IAP blocks. I have no idea how complicated that is.

40

Paid Work / Re: [PAID] A shopping list of mobile-focused extensions / behaviours I'd like to see

« on: April 24, 2017, 04:45:18 am »

Well, Colburt and me often make physics-based 2 player sports games so I suppose you'd need some serious speed to make that work. Anyway it's just a wish list, some things can be impossible

41

iPhone / iPad / Android / Re: Yo! Let's UP

« on: April 24, 2017, 04:25:53 am »

I didn't email appstorepromotions, but I'm p known to Apple at this point through previous games, and it's definitely a good idea to email them. I read about that in the thread for The Contender as well, and it has served Faisal well from what I see!

That said, the reason I keep coming back to "Make A Good Game" is that I know games that were featured by Apple and still didn't do very well, which is a shame. I'm a bit weary of the whole "what's the trick" discussion because even if there were a secret shortcut to guaranteed features (which there isn't), you could still end up getting nothing out of it.

As far as what a good game is, it's subjective but there are things to keep in mind. Good art, easy to understand interface (i.e. your gameplay can be complex but people have to be able to understand what's going on and what buttons etc to press immediately), compelling enough gameplay / enough content / replayability to keep players coming back, and integrating as many platform-specific features (Game Center, Google Play Services,  ReplayKit, etc etc). Good screenshots / video on the store page and a good icon also matters a lot.

EDIT: Kappsule is owned by GeorgeN, who handles Android ports for some Stencyl devs.

42

iPhone / iPad / Android / Re: Yo! Let's UP

« on: April 23, 2017, 08:03:18 am »

Did you advertise your game at all? Did you write to anyone? How did it become so popular?

No advertising, I emailed TouchArcade and PocketGamer a couple of days before release but didn't bother w any other press than that. In the end PocketGamer wrote an article but TouchArcade never bothered.

People keep asking how this happens but there really isn't a magic trick to it. They either gloss over it when I say it or just don't want to hear it, but the goal HAS to be "make a good game". A game that's good enough to get featured by Apple, and then good enough that people keep playing it because they like it. (note: this isn't aimed specifically at you or meant as a complaint, Noroup)

43

iPhone / iPad / Android / Re: Yo! Let's UP

« on: April 21, 2017, 03:12:35 am »

Yo! is now available on Android!

I think I'll go that model as well.  What's the best reward video company?  . I know there's rules with some companies about reward videos.  What about get a skin or outfit when video is watched?

Unity is p good for video ads, I use them and Applovin at the moment. You can do anything you want as far as rewards go

44

Paid Work / Re: [PAID] A shopping list of mobile-focused extensions / behaviours I'd like to see

« on: April 21, 2017, 03:10:32 am »

Yeah both would be ideal. I'm not asking for all these features for one specific project; these are all things to expand on Stencyl's capabilities in general, so the more the better

45

iPhone / iPad / Android / Re: Yo! Let's UP

« on: April 20, 2017, 02:18:21 am »

The Android release should be happening very soon

Dude... How did it feel to make this much money? Are you overwhelmed?

Also, could you please give advice as to where to place ads, what ads to use, etc.

It was nice but I've made that type of money with other Stencyl games before so it wasn't super overwhelming! I'm just grateful to be able to do what I love and make a living, I owe Stencyl so much

Far as ads go, I tend to focus on arcade games so it's not too difficult to put interstitial ads in the game, every X amount of game overs seems to work best. I don't like banners (and I don't think they make that much money, though I could be wrong there!) so I don't use those. I try and put rewarded video ads in my games if I can place them in a non-intrusive way (in Yo a button to watch an ad is barely noticeable placed in one screen where players can earn a few extra coins if they want) just because I think it's nice to give people the option, and it DOES make decent money even tucked away in a corner like that. I also always have IAP in my games so players can remove the ads if they want.

Awesome. At least 95% of it would be from ad revenue isn't it?

More like 80%, the IAP did (again, surprisingly!) quite well, people have been very supportive by buying the 'remove ads'