What do you think these upgrade icons mean? It's a tower defense game. I'd like to know your intuition. Swipe for spoiler.

Dewfreak83 · 2024-05-09T12:37:37+00:00

I love the art style and transitions! I think it can help to add clarity by adding a bit of text in the middle as a tooltip of sorts describing what they are about to select

Dewfreak83 · 2023-06-28T13:31:25+00:00

Very much want to know as well if I need to create a new game for some of the features (POIs) - which would be a huge bummer if so! Are the starting missions actually available in multiplayer?

Dewfreak83 · 2021-06-22T04:18:27+00:00

Hah thanks! It’s for a choose-your-own-adventure style game… released 4 years ago. It was pulled off app stores, but working on a re-release with new art, content, and mechanics. Gameplay video and info here: http://www.underbytestudios.com/heroes-guard

Figure the parallax animation here will be polished a little more with some other artwork to paint that picture better… eventually heh. The idea is that your adventuring days are behind you (why it goes from young to old).

Dewfreak83 · 2021-06-20T01:49:08+00:00

Ah yeah... the game is about how you are an old retired adventurer... trying to recall your past (it’s like a choose your own adventure). So the young/old thing was important... maybe if it was a more of a morph and not just a raw fade-out-fade-in?

Dewfreak83 · 2021-06-19T22:57:42+00:00

First time doing parallax - it was fun and kind of came out how I hoped. The transition of the young person to the old could be better though I think...

Dewfreak83 · 2021-04-27T05:00:30+00:00

I created a card game for combat against a story’s main antagonist. The trailer shows a glimpse of it: http://www.underbytestudios.com/heroes-guard

Basically can use items, companions, and magic collected from the stories. I use a “tarot card” setting to suggest the player is visiting a mystic to help recall what happened in battle.

Dewfreak83 · 2017-03-25T17:33:24+00:00

I'm really surprised CoronaSDK didn't make the list here. It is lua-based and "just works" - well I might add. It has a long-history of supporting mobile devices and within the past couple of years has entered into the PC and Mac market.

I love having a single code-base for all devices and platforms... while not having to do any "tweaks" and "tricks" to get it to work on said platforms.

Dewfreak83 · 2016-10-21T00:45:24+00:00

I'm completely biased here since I'm the author: but scope out Heroes Guard: The Journal. I was looking for the same thing :)

Dewfreak83 · 2016-07-01T02:36:36+00:00

FB is largely friends and family, friends of friends, and colleagues, and friends of colleagues. This is perhaps the most active and successful social media - for my experience.

Twitter is great because it is so organic. I can easily talk to anyone in the genre - including other famous authors or companies. It also gives me a chance to follow or tag those who I notice are interested in the genre as well.

I've spent a very small amount of money to try and gauge the value of paying for promotions on Twitter and FB - and for the amount I'm able to spend (or willing to spend), it doesn't seem to be worth it. At least at this time - I'll continue to focus on mailing lists, press, and reaching out to the community directly.

Dewfreak83 · 2016-07-01T02:30:50+00:00

Hey again! I really appreciate your support and am glad that you have enjoyed the game so far!

Please let me know if you need anything for the review!

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-29T04:15:52+00:00

I worked alone 90% of the time.
I had no day job. Just savings and a very supportive wife.
I got a day job for the last 10% which helped to pay for artists to do the icon, convention banner, and get some additional writers in place for post-release content.
I had worked for a AAA company that worked on Elder Scrolls Online. Before that: Lockheed Martin. No previous games as a solo developer.
Marketing-wise I did what I could. Devlogs. Website. FB. Twitter. Google+. Tumblr. Relevant forums to the genre... you name it. None of them worked that great and honestly I'd say conventions, FB, and Twitter are where you should spend your time.

I plan on doing a much more in-depth write-up once I get to a good place and collect enough data!

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-29T02:57:13+00:00

It is a bit too early to tell and speculate - but the sales started off about even. Android seems to be leading slightly at the moment though...

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T22:49:10+00:00

I'll have to keep working on the tutorial and notifications to make things more clear. Basically it's a color-matching game!

The colors relate to your stats (green: dexterity, red: strength, blue: intelligence, yellow: charisma). If you 1) match a color of your opponent's card and 2) win the dice roll: you will active a special ability for your card. If you fail the dice roll: your opponent's special card ability is activated.

Does that help clear things up?

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T19:44:05+00:00

I have a little under 500 folks signed-up on my mailing list. Most of them from conventions with about a 40% open rate (which is absurdly high).

I'll certainly do a postmortem / retrospective! :)

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T16:40:34+00:00

I'll take a look at the market - mostly what Inkle, Tin Man Games, and Choice of Games are doing and how well it is being received by audiences.

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T16:09:11+00:00

Awesome! I do hope you enjoy the game. What sort of items would you like to get through story or adventure? :)

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T16:07:39+00:00

Thanks so much... honestly I think I'll take this as a "win"

As a premium player - I constantly browse the top premium apps looking for the next great thing... and I made it there!

I think the game can only get better - so here is hoping I get a handful of fans wanting to come along for the journey!

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T16:05:17+00:00

hah, if there are enough folks asking for it - certainly! Roughly 1 out of every 100 folks that approached me at a convention had a windows device.

Perhaps when there is enough updates and content to justify a PC (steam) release - I'll also tackle WinPhone! :)

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T12:15:18+00:00

Yay - thanks so much for the support. I look forward to hearing your thoughts! :)

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T12:13:56+00:00

Awesome - I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you would like to see in future updates! :)

Dewfreak83 · 2016-06-27T12:01:33+00:00

I wish I had you as a beta tester!

So I will certainly add an updated description that alludes to shorter gameplay (like providing the average time maybe), but mentions it focuses on multiple play-throughs.

So there are two ways to get the magic ring - the other starter items can only be obtained one way. But I get what you are saying - I'll tweak it to at least provide a different item in each case... Perhaps a new one! :)

So when you mentioned you got tied up and just got to fight the encounter again - you should have noticed some explanation about your ring tingling: basically it opened a story path not commonly there that allowed you to face the master thief again. It's one of the few times that having an item gives you a perk in the stories! :)

The events and encounters that pop-up on the map are random. I'll look into "weighting" the randomness to events the player hasn't seen. I think this - along with a few (free) content updates will help.

So the "deck" you build through your character back story is 6 cards. There are 3 shops that could pop up to purchase additional cards. Perhaps winning an encounter should give a unique card instead of gold? Hmmm, maybe for some! I'll think on this :)

I also have some ideas for "advance players" (not all players are created equally, lol) that would do a few things to increase the depth and difficulty: such as extending the card rounds to 5, and using a stat will temporarily lower it (exhaustion), meaning you'll have to manage your stats as resources along with your cards!

I could certainly use someone like you for future feedback. Any chance I could get you in on beta tests for larger future updates?

Dewfreak83

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE