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[Slader16]

Hey everyone!

2 days ago I released my first game Tapstronaut onto the Google Play Store.
I'm almost to 10 downloads atm, what are some good ways to improve that number?

I've tried tweeting about it; and while I get some retweets, it doesn't really result in more downloads.

It might be something that happens over time, just not really sure as this is my first game.

Thanks guys!

P.S Here's the link for anyone that's interested: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.SladerStudios.Tapstronaut  

[EvilDingo]

The screenshots don't look like much and you don't have a game play video. Also, your description isn't compelling.

All of these things matter if you're trying to get someone to try your game.

Are there leaderboards? Someone playing a game to beat their own high score isn't going to keep them playing the game. Assuming it saves the high score. If it doesn't then it's even less compelling!

You need to fix all that. Remember, someone one-off playing your game isn't an achievement. You need gameplay and content that's going to keep them playing. Then you'll build a fan base! (And subsequently anger them when you make unpopular decisions in updates.)

[Slader16]

The screenshots don't look like much and you don't have a game play video. Also, your description isn't compelling.

All of these things matter if you're trying to get someone to try your game.

Are there leaderboards? Someone playing a game to beat their own high score isn't going to keep them playing the game. Assuming it saves the high score. If it doesn't then it's even less compelling!

You need to fix all that. Remember, someone one-off playing your game isn't an achievement. You need gameplay and content that's going to keep them playing. Then you'll build a fan base! (And subsequently anger them when you make unpopular decisions in updates.)

Hey, thanks for the input!

-Yeah, I agree that the screenshots aren't that interesting. I'm going to get on that right now!

-I didn't actually think that a video was that important, I'm going to do some research on the best ways to make one etc.

-The description so far as been the hardest part, I just can't figure it out. Do you have any advice on writing one?

-The score does save, but I haven't added leaderboards yet. It's something that I'll definitely start working on!

If you have any thing else to add (or anyone, for that matter) feel free to comment!

[EvilDingo]

Some of my gameplay videos have literally, zillions, of views. People do watch them before downloading a game. I'm not sure if they won't download if there isn't a video, but they're certainly interested in seeing the video. I use Camtasia (pretty simple to use) to make gameplay videos. I don't talk or do a Let's Play or anything. And I try to keep them under 2 minutes. Apple requires them to be under 30 seconds even.

Some advice I think I can give is don't give up on your game. I had a game ready for Android on day one when it launched. I left the game up for about a week before giving up on the whole idea. There wasn't any traction and my game had about 1,000 downloads. If I hadn't unpublished my game, the downloads would have been ridiculous by now and the game would have evolved with the player base.

I released a Football game last year I thought was a dud. *I* liked the game. And *I* thought it was good. No one was playing it though, so I started on another project. Months passed. Suddenly, and without any warning, it found an audience and I was completely flat-footed on updates. I'm making cool updates now, but normally I'm a lot more punctual.

So if you make something you know is cool and it doesn't look like anyone is playing it, give it some time, it might be a dud, or maybe, it's just slowly building an audience. As an indie, you have the option to slow burn like that, and it's not a bad thing.

[Slader16]

@EvilDingo
Thanks so much for the kind words, it's really inspiring to hear that there's still a chance to gain more installs

I really do think that my game is something that can be popular. It just needs that extra push, to the point where it's well known. Adding leader-boards is the first thing that I'm going to work on I believe. It would be a bad idea to get a large player base without one, IMO.

The biggest thing that I can't figure out right now is improving the description, does anyone have any advice on the best way to write one?

[dca123]

The biggest thing that I can't figure out right now is improving the description, does anyone have any advice on the best way to write one?

Does your description answer the 5 W's (and one H): Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How?
Q: Who is the Tapstronaut?
Q: What is he trying to do? What kind of game is it?
Q: When should people play the game? (Hint: PLAY NOW!)
Q: Why should people play the game?
Q: Where does it take place? Where can people play it?
Q: How do you play? How do people get it?

Use enthusiastic language! "Exciting! Addicting! Amazing!"
What kind of game is it? (The Flappy Bird of space exploration?)

You may need some sort of main screen/advertising graphic. If you look at the old school games from Atari and Nintendo they showed "amazing" full colour art and then had the 8bit graphics. Try Fiverr or even a local person you may know. Put the picture as your first one on the gallery.

This part is all about the sale so get out the <blink> tag! (Well, maybe not the blink tag)