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[greatforest]

Dear Friends,

I'm honoured to present to such a magnificent audience my first finished game, The Great Underground! This is a classic mining game full of beauty and little delightful flourishes. I'll let the game speak for itself - it's free and vast to play (with more content available upon purchase).



Trailer:


Android game: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waterfallstudio.underground.android
Website: http://greatforeststudio.com/underground.php

I loved making this game. The process was the most intensive period of study and professional growth that I've had in my life. So many new skills, so much refining and discovering and subtlety. And I'm astounded by what I produced.

Now my task is to get this game discovered. An amazing game by itself can, I'm sure, sit quietly on Google Play for a decade without anybody noticing. So If you love the game, please tell your friends! And absolutely, if I may ask, give me advice on how to spread word on my game. I'm quite the grizzly on some aspects of game production, but I admit to being an absolute novice on having people find my game!

Thank you for your attention,
Risto
The Great Forest Studio

*Edit:

I forgot to mention, all feedback on my game is as precious as gold! Post your thoughts here, or use my form at http://greatforeststudio.com/contact.php. Thank you! Deep bow.
---
Added link to trailer on Youtube.

[Joeb Rogers]

Are you planning to release on any other platforms? I must say I love mining games, but sadly don't own an Android. Would love a desktop release though!

[greatforest]

Absolutely. A desktop version for PC, Mac and Linux is underway, and I mainly need to decide how to publish it. So far Steam looks like a good option, and I'm preparing the game for their Greenlight Process.

I definitely hope to also release games for iOS, but that is something for a slightly more distant future.

If you know a good publishing channel that you like, let me know!

[Dacke]

I tried the game on Android for a bit.

Maybe I'm just unfamiliar with mobile games, but the movement mechanic felt a bit backwards to me. Pulling in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go just felt kind of clunky and I struggled to get it to do what I wanted. How did you decide on that mechanic? Did you consider any alternatives? Perhaps dragging for looking, tapping for setting a route and tapping again for executing the selected path?

Maybe I was just tired, but I felt that I had to read a bit much before I could decide if I wanted to invest emotionally in the game. I think I'd prefer to only get a little bit of text initially, then get a taste of the gameplay. If I enjoyed the gameplay I'd even appreciate to get tons of story-text along the way.

Though as a person who has English as a secondary language (just like me), you may want to have your texts proof read. I spotted an error or two in that initial text.

[Joeb Rogers]

Are you planning to release this as paid or free?

If free, then GameJolt and itch.io are my suggestions also, indieDB and Desura?

[greatforest]

Dacke,

Thanks for the excellent feedback!

Yes, I chose this movement mechanic for several reasons. I know there's a learning curve, however:

• You can travel huge distances by simply scrolling. This allows for huge worlds, and The Great Underground is not the only game I'll make with a huge world.
• You can do pretty much anything, including very complex mining, with simply a gesture.
• You can drag anywhere on the screen and there is no need to repetedly hit tiny target areas on your screen. Dragging is auto-corrective.
• There are no extraneous life-wasting taps and confirmations.

But I agree with you that something is missing, perhaps an introduction mode that makes it immediately clear how things work. I made a prototype and I'm testing it now.

As for the intro story, I agree. I'll give players the option to read it later.

Would you mind pointing out to me a grammar error or two? Just so I know what level of error we're talking about.

---

Pixcel Studios, the basic game is free and the paid version simply gives even more content.

[Dacke]

I think you may want to playtest the movement mechanic. While it may conceptually seem like a more efficient system, there are no guarantees that it actually is in practice. I had huge problems with accuracy. I'd much rather have a slower system (scroll, tap, scroll, tap) than an inaccurate one. It may just be me, but maybe it's be indicative of a bigger problem

With regard to the intro text, I would suggest you restructure it so that you dole out a bit of story at a time if possible.

I'm not 100% sure there are grammatical errors. The writing just felt distinctly like it was written by someone with English as a secondary language. Very long sentences with tons of commas. Sentences starting with "And". Questionable choices of prepositions (is it really "sand in my feet"?). Phrasing that felt a bit "off".

As an example, this doesn't feel like correct English phrasing to me:
"There's a magic here in the quiet."

edit: after reciting that last line to myself a dozen times it suddenly started to feel like proper English phrasing. I dunno. You should ask someone who knows the language more better well than I.

[MMS]

As an example, this doesn't feel like correct English phrasing to me:
"There's a magic here in the quiet."

I think it is supposed to be "There's magic here in the quiet." No need for the "a".

[greatforest]

Hey Dacke,

Thanks for taking the time to elaborate!

Those points I listed were not concepts, but my observations after playtesting with a small group of people over several months. However, I want to make a game that's intuitive to everyone, and I'm open to the possibility that I've been blind to better options.

I'm experimenting with a new control scheme now, inspired by your suggestions.

As for the language, the "a" there is a conscious choice. "A magic" as in a special or unique kind of magic. I see that as a correct, unusual and beautiful choice of words. I work the limits of all languages I speak - I'd even go as far as break my grammar to convey something interesting. Also note that the passage is in the protagonist's voice, and he's a bit of a rebel (with his language and everything else).

I'll take your feedback on the long sentences to heart though. I dislike needless rambling and I've been guilty of it before.

[Dacke]

You should definitely take all my feedback with grain of salt. I tend to struggle with accuracy in most mobile games and English is not my first language, so I am by no means an expert. My only advice is to maybe check with some fresh playtesters and some people who actually know English, if you want to find out if I was onto something or if I'm just terrible

I appreciate the fact that you're playing with the language. The use of "ha ha", for example, doesn't feel typically English, but I think it worked well in the character's voice. But when doing interesting things with language there is always a risk that it comes across differently than you had intended. If you feel like it, you could always start a thread over in the writing subforum and get some English buffs to look it over.

[greatforest]

A new version is out, and it has a completely new movement system. It's fun and easy to use.



Get it on https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waterfallstudio.underground.android

Thanks for the great feedback and keep ideas and comments coming!

[greatforest]

Hey friends,

I just started an Instagram account: http://instagram.com/playing_in_the_woods

Come see what I'm working on and join the fun!

[Dacke]

My phone is broken, but I'll try to remember to try the new movement system when I get it repaired