Genius Greedy Mouse Released!

[BdR]

If I do that I guess Apple would reject its due limited use of the app. So no I cant just give 3 levels, since its would take few minuttes to complete those 3 levels. I calculate its will take around half hour or max a hour to complete those 21 levels and 4 stars is also easier to get too.

Its not a 100% copy of the paid levels, since most will been changed a little bit, but still have same style as the paid.....

In Snake Slider he gave 18 levels away and Greedy Mouse is on same boat as this game with time taken on each level generally.

The original game have 80 levels.

I also think 21 levels is a bit too many for the Lite version. It's giving a bit too much away; why buy a cow when you can get milk for free? In my Snake Slider Lite game there are 18 levels (2 sets x 9 puzzles) but I did this only because I was copying from Cut The Rope. Looking back now, I think it was a bit too many free levels actually. Especially in the beginning when the full version had "only" 75 levels. I probably should have gone for 2x6=12 free levels or something like that, more than enough for a Lite version..

You shouldn't guess when Apple will reject an app, just try it and see. Besides, if the first version of the lite app is rejected.. who cares? Then the free version is not available right away, and the freeloading cheapskates will just have to wait a little longer. This also rewards the paying customers because they've got an "exclusive" app.

I've only had 1 app rejection for Triple Dutch Lite, because it displayed all the level icons, but the user could only open the first few levels and the rest had a locked icon. If you pressed a locked icon it showed a popup "please buy full version for all levels". That app was rejected (Reasons for Rejection: Apps that are “beta”, “demo”, “trial”, or “test” versions will be rejected) but if I removed the lock-icons and just showed the X number of puzzle icons it was fine. Later, the Snake Slider Lite (also a "demo" version) was approved without any problems.

Btw: be sure to make backups of your source files regularly! very important

[spacefractal]

The free version would been called "Greedy Mouse Freeasy" and its would been same game as "Greedy Mouse", just with a easier 21 levels with many levels is changed or redesinged rom the full game, and take about half hour to complete (some levels is even a easy version of a much later level from the full game). So I have not just taken 21 levels from beginning of the fullgame, since its would been boring to complete them all again. The full level have about 110 levels. Actuelly only the very first level would been the extractly the same level.

So think about the free version as a little easy version as the full game and I also want people to enjoy a free easy game as well. That why I dedicated to do 21 levels, all pretty easy. I do might include those Freeeasy levels in the full game with a cheatcode, that could been found somewhere in a note.

The gamesize is still not finalized and the graphics is today around 20mb now and could reach around 25-30mb when finished (due phototiles is bigger than placeholder). I redraw each frame due shadows tiles and such can changes as well keep memory low (since levels can been pretty big), so I scaling on the fly, but not using offbuffer (was too slow). I have 3 size to chooice from (x50, x100 and x200 tile sizes). I also use a lots of POLYVECTOR to keep so few textures as well drawcall as possible (tiles is on one texture, mouse have its own texture as well few onscreen icons using DRAW).

We also didden't use typcial 64x64 pixels size for each tile, but 50x50 pixels (for the small version).

[Albert]

That is a nice idea, I read that Trainyard made the same, as the Express edition contains only levels that the full version doesn't.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/trainyard/id348719156?mt=8

[Sokurah]

So think about the free version as a little easy version as the full game and I also want people to enjoy a free easy game as well. That why I dedicated to do 21 levels, all pretty easy.

I think fewer levels would be better - like 12, and it should contain both easy, medium and hard levels (like 4 of each). That way the player will get a better idea of how challenging it'll become later on.

Personally, if I download a game that is so easy I'm through the demo in no time, I'll automatically think "this is too easy and completely uninterresting" and just never buy the full version. Give people quality - no quantity.

[erico]

Hello Spacefractal,

I´m a bit bizarre when it comes to demo/lite/free. I don´t like those namings and pretty much avoid such.
Then again, I only buy indie game, it has been more then 10 years that I actually bought anything main stream.

I think IMHO, that the way to go is to have the lite version as a full smaller game, possibly with a bit different story, but with uniqueness enough to go like a full game.

Back on the amiga days, there was this isometric game called cadaver.
2 or 3 unique demos were released prior to the game, mostly on cover magazine´s disks.
They were kind of lite versions of the final game but only shared the engine, gfx, and the story took place on special ocasions prior to the story of the final game. Those levels were actually not inside the final game at all.

So those were unique games, I can call them a rare collector´s piece.
The one that came on the CU amiga magazine(last supper) was different then the one on ONE magazine.

I like this approach better, IMHO, a demo/lite cut down version of the final is offending (for a bizarre user like me) while a set like I said, makes it unique.

At the end, it isen´t much different from a free version, it is just that its uniqueness makes it also a required download for those that bought the final version and enjoyed it and I think it could promote the whole brand a lot more. It will provide a few extra work to the coder, but should I be working on a bigger game myself I would follow this path.

Take a look at the internet about cadaver, see if you think it is a good idea.

[spacefractal]

Yes its actuelly not far from that, also doing a exclusive free version and suited for the younger player which doesn't normally get full versions anyway. I could stil use ads anyway.....

It's allways balance what a demo should do and how to deal and spread the game, and not boring the user again with same levels. Also I have critic to the game to been a little bit too hard and I was finish design them all (except tweeks) and not want to have more easy kind levels. I so got a idea to just do a fun easy version and release it as free (and it's still take time if you want all 4 stars). Also personly I perfer too many levels than too few.

Snake slider mightbeen have to many levels, but I brought it anyway as its was a excellent versions.

[erico]

Great! are you going on any ´story´ base for the game?
Maybe you could do unique levels and unique story for the free/lite whatever.

Personally I prefer the hardest possible.
IMHO games have to put up a challenge.
But I know there are a lot of people that play things just for the general relaxing of it, and they get pissed by hard stuff.

[spacefractal]

No, there is no real story other there mightbeen fun drawings scratted around the mazes, which could been something differents eventuelly (if got time). Howover I just want to design a fun puzzle game without distrubt the users too much.

so...
- Greedy Mouse Freeasy is designed as a fun little relaxed mainstream version with unique and changed levels.
- Greedy Mouse Full version do contain wacky puzzles with more challenges.

Also trying to get all 4 stars on each level, can been a quite little challenge, even in Freeasy later levels. Yes I might have a bit too many levels, but I do prefer too many than too few...

PS. Inspiration here came actuelly from ICO to PS2 (demo levels in the full game was quite harder to complete).

[spacefractal]

Greedy Mouse Freeasy could do well on android platform, so they can got tested performance and checking how well doing that, before getting the full version.

So I might try on that platform first.

Also if I did free version harder, then 21 levels would been too many (because it take longer time to complete).

[BdR]

Just a reminder for when the app v1.0 is ready and you do the first upload in itunesconnect: Take the time to fill in the keywords box. For example "puzzle,sokoban,pacman,ghost," etc. (max 100 chars, use them all) will probably attract lots of users, keywords are very important for sales in the appstore.

[spacefractal]

Today we finally return to the games I and got some clay tiles today, so after a nice vaccation and the theather is finished. So we have now a full focus on this game until it got released (its a bigger game than excepted). I also got a really nice little title song for the game my a friend of mine.

But anyone which want to beta test can still pm me.

(for late answear): Yes of course I have some search words, but of coruse I cant use pacman, due its still copyrigted by Namco and Pacmans here is just a enemy which eat any itmes on its away and can been killed by the ghost.

[spacefractal]

Got few more tiles today, so there is progress .

Today I got a idea to experimeent easy/norrmal versions of each level, which seen to works nice (this is in progress). I do that because I still got some people still the levels at the beginning mightbeen is too hard and I not want the game to been too easy. Howover the easy/normal mode should fix that issue, so people just can change mode instead. The only downside in the easy mode is you get lower score, so you can only possible to get 3 out of 4 stars.....

Greedy Mouse Freeasy would by now not been touched at all, and its might only been Android Exclusive (so people can test the game running on thier devices).

I'm brought The New iPad yesterday, so I soon post more Retina Images of the game and hope its works without those iCade issues (I not use iOS rotation, but just that one glbasic use).

[spacefractal]

Here is some iPad Retina screenshots. I have not used Image link here, because they are pretty very big. iCade issues is still here, howover I dont get the line issue (etc I using software rotation, not OS rotation). on Android I have disabled rotation totally by now.

Retina Screen 1
Retina Screen 2
Retina Screen 3

PS. Yes Mouse still need to been clayed, but we have few tiles left to do first, then we clay mouse. Its can not been that long (howover there are 100 images to been shot for the mouse, 25 for each direction).

[Hatonastick]

Xor? this one: http://www.mobygames.com/game/prospector-in-the-mazes-of-xor ??
That was one great puzzle game!

Looks totally fab!

I had a version of that on the Atari ST (one of the few games our computer came with).  I _loved_ it.  Always wanted to do a remake myself.

[spacefractal]

Except the annoyring camera, XOR was a excellent game and drove me to create Mouse Runner for Amiga (never really relased that time and a lots of issues, but still playable). Xor was cheap too and nice game.

I wich I could contact author behind XOR for eventuelly a official release of the original levels in Greedy Mouse (as bonus levels), howovere there is some rules that is incompatible with XOR and there is missing few items (no problems to add them) as well the second player (which should been pretty easy to add, but no plans doing that in Greedy Mouse own levels).

Greedy Mouse was never do a direct remake of XOR, but just resemble the gameplay of it with own style....