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[slash000]

In Japan, a single vote on a game's rating can change its position in the charts drastically.

Anyway, since the topic came up, I'll post our regional breakdown of sales for BODVII:

USA, UK, Canada, and Germany were our biggest markets with everything else kind of divied up.


Of course -- certainly our sales would be bigger in regions that we supported the native language.

If we had supported, say, Spanish for example, sure that region would represent a greater piece of the pie.

 

[Fire Walk With Me]

I am anxiously awaiting the XBLIG release on WP7 it sounds very cool. I really hope more games come out on the platform a la 'I Maed a Gaem'. BoD and Cthulhu would be better than any game I've downloaded on the phone to this point and would work really well portable.

I'd even rather play games like Train Simulator on the phone as the graphics/gameplay style fit a mobile better imo. More XNA ports to WP7 is what I'm after!

 

[slash000]

We're working with Tinkerhouse Games to release Cthulhu Saves the World on Iphone, Ipad, Android, and Mac right now, so there's that

 

[Fire Walk With Me]

We're working with Tinkerhouse Games to release Cthulhu Saves the World on Iphone, Ipad, Android, and Mac right now, so there's that

I'm not a programming obviously but wouldnt it be semi-easy to go from XNA to WP7? I thought that was the whole idea.

side note: I feel like I am talking to Indie Game Royalty. I think you people are the greatest of talents. I hear a lot of complaining about how XBLIG sucks, doesnt get sales, blah blah blah (maybe its all true idk) but me and quite a few others have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it. My hope is that one day XBLIG will be a portal to a larger market on WP7. Lots has to happen for that to take place though most of it out of your hands.

 

[slash000]

Well, it's not just a flip of the switch to go mobile of course. You have to rework the entire user interface, presentation, and controls essentially. I mean it's obviously easier than starting a new project from scratch, but it's not as simple as telling it to compile for another platform.

Right now we're in the midst of working on Rainslick 3, and getting ready for PAX. We haven't really even had time to figure out a workflow or schedule for a WP7 version of CSTW yet, let alone make one; which is why it's been great to work with Tinkerhouse on the multiple other platforms for Cthulhu Saves the World. It allows us to focus most of our attention on Rainslick 3.

 

[Gaspode_T]

The key decisions/possible game-changers for future of Windows Phone gaming are:

1) How much can they open up XBL services to indies
2) Will people be able to develop games in something other than XNA (native code, would enable easier ports from iOS)
3) How much will Windows 8 Windows Store for tablets overlap with Windows Phone marketplace and how will the marketplaces for mobile gaming converge in the future

oh and ...

4) How many phones will Nokia sell in 2012

If #4 works out well, there will literally be a demand for games exceeding supply so big opportunity, if it's only mediocre maybe not as much but this is really hard to predict what will happen! Either way Windows 8 will drop on the world soon enough and that I know for a fact will shake things up.

 

[FunInfusedGames]

My biggest complaint about WP7 right now is the separation of Live / non-Live games. Microsoft is essentially giving Live games (which are limited in how many are available, similar to XBLA games) top billing. It's not like the Android or iOS marketplaces were everyone has the same opportunities. I'm all for live enabled games but why not open that up for everyone? Wouldn't that be more attractive for gamers? It certainly would be more fair to smaller indie devs.

Also the fact that Hypership WP7 is essentially the same game as Hypership iOS and Hypership iOS has outsold it 4000+ to 20.

 

[Metallix87]

I'm pretty excited for the XBLIG app, but I agree that it needs to be on iOS and Android as well.

 

[DaveVoyles]

The XBLIG companion for WP7 should be out in the next few weeks. Casey is rolling out another update tonight.

He said it should only take him a few weeks to port it to iOS and Android from that point, which would obviously be a much larger market share. We've also put together a website for it, here.

I'm not one to pimp my own work, but I wrote another marketing feature, this time detailing how to approach the press and write press releases. I wrote it a few months ago, but forgot to post it until now!

Bill, I'm surprised that you guys don't have a larger market share in Japan as well. I figured they would eat up JRPGs over there.

 

[Gaspode_T]

WP7 market is either going to explode in size or it won't, it totally depends on Nokia's success. You are right that up until now it's a small market.

As far as I know CSTW is only in English...most Japanese have decent reading skills but an RPG is pretty much pushing it...if they translated into Japanese i would expect it to sell better

 

[OnPoint]

Just played a bunch of Balloon Guard today. It's... interesting. Like, the balloon physics are surprisingly good, but I'm not sure about the level design. There's a couple of spots in the second chapter that are super frustrating.

Could be worth a look though.

 

[HadesGigas]

RunningPixel has tossed their hat in the Minecraft clone ring:
http://www.runningpixel.com/2012/02/miner4ever-playtest-first-playable.html

Sounds like it is trying something different, but I don't really understand what the description means.

It's more than a Minecraft style game, it's a mining game with several browser games and RTS gameplay elements.
Start building your empire! Mine resources, dig and build structure to increase you hourly production. Miner4Ever will update your production even when you're not playing with it. Miner4Ever is a game where the classic mine crafting game meets the online real time strategy.

 

[Gaspode_T]

Yeah if it's Mining + Tower they should call it "Mining Tower Defense" or something clear like that...

I am still frustrated about the game "OCD", it could be brilliant but the match-3 mechanics are kind of strange in that you are done with a 'round' of match-3 in like 3 or 4 seconds. I hope it gets tweaked and patched because it could be a fun one. Maybe the grinding gets more serious as you level up more. It's basically like a match-3 progress quest.

 

[slash000]

Bill, I'm surprised that you guys don't have a larger market share in Japan as well. I figured they would eat up JRPGs over there.

As far as I know CSTW is only in English...most Japanese have decent reading skills but an RPG is pretty much pushing it...if they translated into Japanese i would expect it to sell better

Gaspode is right. Our games are neither translated nor localized for Japan (or Spain, or France, or etc.). Despite CSTW and BODVII being JRPGs, a lot of the appeal still comes from the writing, and when you lose that you lose a lot of the quirk and all of the humor. So I'm not too surprised that sales-wise it's not blowing Japan (and other non-English countries) away.

That said, CSTW has rated very well in Japan and in most countries, so that's always encouraging to see.


We originally wanted to translate CSTW to multiple languages, but considering the array of other things that go along with translations (such as language and word lengths being different / screwing up UI stuff, as well as not truly being able to know if the translation came out properly or not), and the hurdles of passing Peer Review with multiple languages supported (some games go for nearly a month without passing because of missing a couple of language reviews), it became increasingly apparent that perhaps the amount of trouble outweighed the potential benefits, at least at the time.

 

[mairsil]

I am still frustrated about the game "OCD", it could be brilliant but the match-3 mechanics are kind of strange in that you are done with a 'round' of match-3 in like 3 or 4 seconds. I hope it gets tweaked and patched because it could be a fun one. Maybe the grinding gets more serious as you level up more. It's basically like a match-3 progress quest.

O.C.D. was a completely experimental design (which, unfortunately seems to be lost on the XBLIG market). The intent was:

• Grind to earn points
• Use points to increase stats
• Use higher stats to grind/farm longer
• Repeat

The different classes have different starting stats which affect how long they can grind initially. I realize now that I should have put in some reminder/hint text mentioning this, but I wanted to try and avoid the incessant "hand holding" that current games have.

 

[Gaspode_T]

O.C.D. was a completely experimental design (which, unfortunately seems to be lost on the XBLIG market). The intent was:

• Grind to earn points
• Use points to increase stats
• Use higher stats to grind/farm longer
• Repeat

The different classes have different starting stats which affect how long they can grind initially. I realize now that I should have put in some reminder/hint text mentioning this, but I wanted to try and avoid the incessant "hand holding" that current games have.

Yeah, I actually kind of guessed that farming would take longer and longer as you level up. Just I mean the game concept is pretty unique and would actually make a nice "serious" match-3 game with some tweaking If you level up and then start getting things like the power gems in Bejeweled 2 (maybe those are the magic items you buy) then can grind more efficienctly. Essentially my assumption as a gamer would be "grinding becomes more fun as you level up because you have more stuff to do", maybe just making it a little more clear how the leveling affects match-3 playing and then having some awardments for doing things would be enough to get lots of people to play it through.

 

[DaveVoyles]

Hey mengs, if you have as hard of a time as I do with game dev, then you know the importance of reading. I do work with Packt Publishing every now and then (like on two Unreal Engine books!) an this time on an XNA one.

So they've teamed up with us at Armless Octopus this time and are giving away two (2) copies of two (2) books. XNA 4.0 Game Development by Example: Beginner’s Guide – Visual Basic Edition and Windows Phone 7 XNA Cookbook. Enjoy.

http://www.armlessoctopus.com/2012/02/24/contest-win-two-xna-development-books/

 

[Gaspode_T]

I actually heard good things about this one: https://www.packtpub.com/xna-4-0-game-development-by-example-beginners-guide/book

Some people code in Visual Basic for XNA??

 

[DaveVoyles]

VB was only recently added in the 4.0 update. I'm not sure who does, but I suppose if you're coming from that language it would be easier than having to learn C#.

 

[Gaspode_T]

For the 0.000001% percent of gaming population that both speak Japanese and have interest in Xbox Indie Games (only me??) this guy's weekly live webcast on Nico Nico Douga is pretty hilarious:

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm16895635
Topic: Sequels...Snake, Snake 2, then TurboRocket 2, TurboRocket 3...the point at the end is that TurboRocket 3 appears to be the same exact game as 2, even the string inside the game says "TurboRocket 2", the way he explains it is kind of funny.

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm16714880
Topic: Games that are made with love..."A Trip to Grandma's House in the Winter" and some terrible beat em up I can't remember

I've only watched these two so far (going backwards). There is live voting where people say if a game is "kamige-" (god game) or just a good game (no option for kusoge lol). He has a policy to only cover games that are 3 months old or more. For some reason he said in one of the videos he thinks the Japan Xbox Indie game community is about 500 people in total.

I could swear Niconico Douga already has English registration page, but if they don't there are registration guides here and there...it's a pretty nifty site when you understand it represents a similar sort of subculture almost comparable to GAF.

Edit: This is the query for "show latest videos with XBLIG keyword" just in case it's hard to figure out: http://www.nicovideo.jp/search/xblig?sort=f&order=d

 

[wwm0nkey]

Orbition is now the featured game on the indie section on the Indie games. Wonder how much this will boost the sales.

(yes its even the cover for the Indie game section at the moment)

 

[OnPoint]

Anyone see Nioki Adventure yet? Coming to XBLIG and PC

We would like to keep what makes Terraria-like games great (multiplayer, exploration, construction, bosses, etc.) while adding high definition graphics, associated with a new gameplay and richer contents (a main quest, secondary quests, hundreds of objects&#8230. The game will also feature RPG traits with a skill tree, and multiplayer gameplays, not only for the fights, but also for some construction missions; cooperation will be needed to explore every aspect of the game !

Looks pretty cool so far. Dev team of two people. They're looking for suggestions and stuff from people already.

Orbition is now the featured game on the indie section on the Indie games. Wonder how much this will boost the sales.

(yes its even the cover for the Indie game section at the moment)

That's fantastic news. Congrats WarmMachine!

 

[Warm Machine]

Orbition is now the featured game on the indie section on the Indie games. Wonder how much this will boost the sales.

(yes its even the cover for the Indie game section at the moment)

Really? I checked the Canadian dash when there when the update came out and I didn't notice a diff.

 

[WaaghMan]

I confirm the new icon for Indies is Orbitron : Revolution. This will boost your sales for sure . What I'm really looking for is how global XBLIG sales are affected by this picture change: Will they increase, decrease, or keep the same?

My personal opinion is that a white icon should be used, with a colored background, different for each section: Red for Arcade, Purple for Indies, Green for Games on demand...

You know, White icons are used in WP7 and nobody complained

 

[Gaspode_T]

Wow, I'm glad to see it confirmed that they are rotating games in that spot.

I mean, just to be clear, they usually make people pay $$$$ to have advertising space in the dash, you would probably be shocked to hear how much $$$$ I am talking about

Is Canadian dash still parkour girl?

 

[Warm Machine]

Is Canadian dash still parkour girl?

Sure is!

 

[DaveVoyles]

Wow, I'm glad to see it confirmed that they are rotating games in that spot.

Well I don't know if it *confirms* anything. But it's nice to see

 

[barkers crest]

Looking NICE! Hope you get a ton of downloads!!!

Edit: Alright, images are back up!!!!

 

[Ranger X]

Anyone see Nioki Adventure yet? Coming to XBLIG and PC
Looks pretty cool so far. Dev team of two people. They're looking for suggestions and stuff from people already.

This looks niice! Can't wait for the trial

 

[Gaspode_T]

It might be fun to compile list of high profile upcoming games...did you guys forget about They Bleed Pixels? Not very far off I think

 

[Dark Octave]

It might be fun to compile list of high profile upcoming games...did you guys forget about They Bleed Pixels and my #1 game of the year, Nono and the Cursed Treasure? Not very far off I think

Ah how nice of you to say that.

 

[Warm Machine]

We just reduced the price of Orbitron: Revolution down to 80pts.

With the dashboard highlight we received a nice uptick in trials but I think price is holding back conversion. Now that it is 80pts we should hopefully see better ratios.