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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperPlaytestingSplatter - Blood Red Edition - Now also Linux & OSX
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Author Topic: Splatter - Blood Red Edition - Now also Linux & OSX  (Read 18088 times)
Schrompf
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« Reply #40 on: July 02, 2013, 02:07:10 AM »

So Splatter is released for nearly two weeks now. And from the feedback I got most players seem to have enjoyed it. We even got coverage by a few LetsPlayers! If you like LP videos, have a look!

English:


German:


or even Russian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKOsUORk1ys

I don't have any idea what this last guy is talking about. But it's obvious our game has deficiencies if the player isn't familiar with the languages. We currently only offer English and German, with Turkish being in preparation. I'll look for people helping me to translate it into other languages.

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Schrompf
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« Reply #41 on: July 16, 2013, 02:20:48 PM »

I'm mostly talking to myself here, so it probably won't upset anyone that I completely forgot to announce the first update of Splatter.

  • much more money in all Story levels
  • added Gameplay statistics after completing Story mode
  • two new Survival maps
  • reworked the flame thrower and Imp fireballs
  • added Feedback screen and Update check
  • and a million more details fixed

http://www.splattergame.net/downloadpage/
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Schrompf
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« Reply #42 on: July 23, 2013, 03:27:56 PM »

And thus we launched on Desura. It's time for the button  Hand Any Key



Of course you'll get the most current version, and Desura keeps it up to date for you from there.

And it's even a bit cheaper there. Tried to stay below the apparently magic limit of "10", and to be honest: 10 US$ aren't worth a lot anymore. So I lowered the prices in all the other currencies to make the deal fair again.
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heisenbergman
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« Reply #43 on: July 23, 2013, 05:16:34 PM »

How have the sales been so far, if you don't mind me asking?
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Schrompf
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« Reply #44 on: July 24, 2013, 01:43:47 AM »

I don't mind. There have been 66 copies sold so far. About 62 to people I know from some forums. So we're only 14950 copies away from break even. Either the game just isn't good enough, or nobody knows a thing about it, or they hesitated to buy it from an online shop at an unknown website.

The latter can be checked against the Desura Release - you got all sorts of payment methods there, not just PayPal, and it should be more widely trusted. We'll see how it turns out.

The PR part... I'm not comfortable with that, and it already eats waaayyy too much time for my taste. So I felt lucky when I was contacted by a guy who offered to do the PR for a percentage of the revenue. I wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise.

And the game simply not being good enough: can't tell. I think it's a cool game, but obviously that doesn't count. Feedback from the few players so far ranged from "nice" to "great!!", so I think it's good. Maybe it's just the perspective of the game, everything happening in trailers and such is *small* and hard to decipher. I got feedback saying that "trailer and ingame graphics were worlds apart". So my next try would be to do a new short video of zoomed-in gameplay. That video might stand better against the YouTube video compression.

I'll also do a demo version in the next weeks. It's usually said that putting out a Demo reduces your sales, but I have nothing to loose there. And maybe I'll get a few more clicks to the Greenlight page, for example. I added a "Feedback" menu to the game from where you can send us an EMail, or reach the various pages (website, Facebook, GooglePlus, and Greenlight) via a simple click. Let's see if it helps.

Oh, and I'll be to the Gamescom, joining a German Indie Booth that a great guy here organized on a very short note. I have hopes that this will get me in direct contact with some press people.
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« Reply #45 on: July 24, 2013, 04:18:01 AM »

Have you send review copies to popular sites like RPS or getting on another store like gog? I didn't expect a runaway hit but those sales still seem too low, especially in an age where something like Hotline Miami can be a success. I don't see why your game couldn't be likened to such games by the press.
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Schrompf
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« Reply #46 on: July 24, 2013, 05:24:44 AM »

I don't see it, too. Especially Hotline Miami... it sure is stylish, but next to unplayable in my books, and still has a lot to learn in terms of usability. [edit] Or Teleglitch. Just spotted on Steam, looks good. I might pick it up some day. But why is it celebrated so much? Should I make my game unplayable hard to satisfy the press? I don't get it.

I sent a mail including a review copy to RPS, Kotaku, ... I lost track. Sent out a lot, that is. Have been ignored by everyone so far. Maybe it's really that the journalists are swamped by mails and direct human contact is a requirement nowadays.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2013, 05:30:44 AM by Schrompf » Logged

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« Reply #47 on: July 24, 2013, 05:38:13 AM »

Next to unplayable? I finished it just fine and had a decent amount of fun though replaying it isn't engaging unless you're a high score junkie perhaps, which I'm not so I dunno. It was quite simple to play I dunno what you'd do to improve usability. I liked figuring out how to approach the levels and brutally killing everyone and the atmosphere was weird and cool. I'd like to see something more dynamic done in the sequel that allows for fun replays and more levels that change things up (like the hospital and the escape the cops etc).

Anyway, all I meant was that it's not a game that people would say has technically impressive graphics or modern mainstream gameplay yet it did well for itself so I don't see why a game like yours wouldn't do well just because it's top down or any other superficial reason. I didn't mean anything negative or for you to jump on it like your game is better because it's different (maybe it is, I dunno).

I wanted to play Teleglitch but haven't yet, still I dunno what you think about it is unusable, especially since you haven't played it.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2013, 05:44:03 AM by Games Inquirer » Logged

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« Reply #48 on: July 24, 2013, 05:58:20 AM »

@Hotline Miami: I gave up at the second chapter, I think. It was too difficult for me personally, but of course I know that a lot of people out there enjoyed it. By "usability" I just meant that I wondered several times how to skip that or to reach that.

@Teleglitch: never said it's unusable. It sure looks good, and I already said that. It's just that from the press about it and the trailers I concluded that "harsh difficulty" is the only feat that sets it apart from the rest. Which is why I wonder if I should make my game so much more difficult, and maybe force the player to replay the whole level after death, like Hotline Miami.

I didn't intend to turn this in a design discussion, even though I enjoy the topic.
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« Reply #49 on: July 24, 2013, 06:11:06 AM »

Judging from what I've seen of the game, I would doubt that it's because the game isn't good... because from the looks of it, it seems like a solid game.

I guess the thing here is regarding the marketing. You know, getting the word out and getting the slightest buzz about the game.

I like that you're doing a demo, I could see that definitely helping.
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« Reply #50 on: July 24, 2013, 06:34:23 AM »

Hotline Miami's replay whole levels thing works because the levels are very short, similarly to Super Meat Boy. They don't need checkpoints. They're over in minutes at worst. Quitting on the second level just tells me you didn't actually give yourself time to get accustomed to the gameplay, perhaps you tried to play it like you play your own game which seems like the wrong thing to do. Maybe watching a few youtube videos will work for you (not of expert high scorers or anything, just average let's plays).

It's extremely simple and you basically rely on the element of surprise rather than attempt to fight off everyone fairly as their simple AI will own you anyway, at least after they start having guns. So what you do is watch the immediate area for the enemy patterns and then barge in wherever they have their backs turned having planned in what order you will kill the enemies with your available weapons beforehand. If you'll throw your melee weapon to the first guy then pick up his shotgun and shoot the other guy who has a melee weapon and will surely be charging at you at that point, then finish off the first guy with a fatality, etc. Simplistic twitch based plans like that. Other times when you have a better weapon you might exploit their chasing AI to mow them down as they come around corners, etc. There's some trial and error if you're careless and don't look ahead and enemies you hadn't noticed spot you and one shot you etc. The game's easier than it seems at first and it's not because the controls are hard to learn or anything.


As for making your game harder, did people who actually play it say it's too easy, they finished it too fast, etc? Because it seems to me that people didn't play it at all. As for Teleglitch, it has other things that set it apart like the procedurally generated levels, unique visuals, weapon systems, etc (all this from someone who didn't play it, like you). Splatter, Hotline Miami and Teleglitch all seem to have very little in common and are distinct from each other beyond the fact they all have shooting elements from a top down view. Taking this or that element without thinking if it fits your game doesn't seem like the right idea.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2013, 06:44:22 AM by Games Inquirer » Logged

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« Reply #51 on: July 24, 2013, 06:37:29 AM »

@heisenbergman: Thanks for the insight. I'll report back when I know more about the impact of the demo.
@GamesInquirer: For sure I won't copy something directly. I got some feedback that the game was too easy, but I also got the opposite feedback from others. Still everyone played on "Normal" Smiley
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« Reply #52 on: July 24, 2013, 06:45:48 AM »

Sounds like the difficulty's about right then Tongue

It's normal they played on normal, everyone plays on normal, you can't know if it's too easy for you until you've finished the game thinking it would escalate any minute now etc, then it ends. I guess the too hard camp could easily switch to easy after getting stuck though.
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« Reply #53 on: July 28, 2013, 09:14:19 PM »

Hey, I just wanted to throw my experience out there.

Don't focus acutely on the reason the game didn't sell. Also, don't consider all that marketing - that only helps "indie" developers with a lot of money or reputation.

What you should be concerned about as a small studio is building your fan base. Make fun games and then cross-promote them.

To cut your losses, you might consider giving your game away free for a time (or forever.) This will give you enormous information. If no one plays the game, even when it's free, then the problem lies firstly in your presentation of the game. If it doesn't look fun, people won't bother downloading it to even try. If they do play, you'll get a lot of great feedback.

It's possible the 'genre' just doesn't have a big audience and even the best game in the world in that type won't draw a lot of sales.

Forget review websites, journalists, all that crap. You won't get anywhere at first.
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« Reply #54 on: July 30, 2013, 04:41:02 AM »

Hi Schrompf, first of all congrats for getting on to Steam GL, secondly the game looks awesome so it may be just a matter of time before it really takes off.   Grin

Just out of curiosity, did the game generate a lot of interest through the Green Light forums?  Did any of the people who were enthusiastic about it follow through in the end?

What are your thoughts on the community you built around the game?
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« Reply #55 on: July 30, 2013, 05:16:33 AM »

I'm not sure about the "community". All the LetsPlay videos I've seen on YouTube were pleased, but I can't check whether they kept sticking around after that, and all-but-one got their copy for free anyways. Most by contacting me for a review copy, some others by pirating it.

All the friends and colleagues from the developer boards have been very supportive, especially when it comes to money. They haven't been around for the game, though, but rather for all the techno-babbling we exchange regularly.

And then there's IndieDB and Desura. 160 followers translated into 28 sales so far and a few comments. I'll see how many of these people are still around when I'm releasing the next update.

And Steam Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=154177789 - 25k views, 5500 "yes" votes, comments mostly positive or even excited with the occasional "looks like a free flash-game" and "not zombies again" comments inbetween. We put the link to the website and online shop at the beginning and thus 25k views translated into exactly zero sales. It might end up being the most important thing, though, in case we're ever making the jump to Steam.
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« Reply #56 on: August 01, 2013, 08:57:05 AM »

RPS Wot I Thinked it so there you go.
www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/01/wot-i-think-splatter/

Doesn't seem like he enjoyed it very much sadly.
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« Reply #57 on: August 01, 2013, 10:10:53 AM »

Oh, thanks for the hint! I just read it, and well... I'm afraid he's right. The game *is* fun, and the variety offered in all the story levels was praised by both testers and players. But well... if the story seems too disconnected to make sense, any action feels random. I think it makes sense, but that's not surprising as I wrote it. And comparing what I once outlined to be the story and what it ended up like, I don't wonder anymore. Time was just too short at the end, and I had to do both coding and scripting.

And the RPS autor called the language "weird" multiple times. My english probably sounds weird to native speakers, the same issue as Gimym is facing, I guess :-) I had multiple native speakers read over it and suggest corrections, though, so maybe it's just a matter of taste.

Next game is going to be better :-)
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« Reply #58 on: August 01, 2013, 05:45:25 PM »

RPS article!

I saw the article on my feedreader and went to this thread ASAP.

Any publicity is good publicity Wink And publicity + constructive criticism is great.
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« Reply #59 on: August 20, 2013, 11:07:11 PM »

Hey you're in the latest Groupees bundle

http://groupees.com/bm9

Wink

Congrats!
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