Greetings to any who bothers to read my development blog.
Once again I find myself in a local cafe on a Saturday morning, drinking a couple of short blacks and enjoying epic space battles on my mobile.
No..this is not marketing talk. I've played a lot of mobile games in the past 24 hours and I played a bunch before I made my game. None of them have held my interest like Star Dancer.
Now, I may be in a significant minority - in fact a minority of 1 when I say this - but i love my game Star Dancer.
The space battles are truly mesmerising to watch. As the beams zap, the explosions burst into space and the fighters and bombers dodge and weave I can't help but be hypnotised by the slow dance of death the ships fly in through space.
Mobile games are well known for being install, play 10 minutes, uninstall but Star Dancer (perhaps because it is my own game?) has kept my interest for over 12 months.
Now - I must be fair here to other games and other users - I am an exception to the rule.
When I look at my game's stats I can see that the majority of users play 1 battle if that. For many of them it is complex and hard to fathom. But for me, the creator - I enjoy and love every minute of the action. I understand what the decisions I make in the AI section do to the flight patterns and I know how to adjust my settings to defeat the opponent. Also - I simply love to watch.
Like the old guiness ad - "I like to watch" - this game has everything I want from a space battle.
Getting back to the stats for the game - it is obvious to anyone who checks the numbers that I like my own game. With over multiple hundreds of battles played by me, and the next nearest having under 20 and the majority being a single battle - it is clear that this game resonates with me quite strongly.
I admit I am an odd individual. I am different. I am unique, like everybody else as a friend likes to add. But this game contains a part of me, I've invested myself heavily into it over the course of 12 months - even spent time in hospital as a result.
It is a joy to play and watch for me. Others may disagree. Although the ratings do suggest it is well liked by the few who've played it.
No, for me this game is beautiful to watch and play. I can play for hours at a time - and often do on a Saturday morning when I'm drinking a few cups of coffee at my local cafe.
Whether you enjoy it or not, whether it gets downloaded once or one million times - I am well pleased with how it plays. It is my favourite game of all time I think - and I created it!
Not bad eh, to be able to be the maker of your own favourite game.
I must give credit where credit is due however. Brandie, the artist who worked on parts of the game I am indebted to very much (I did pay her however!) - her work has made the game really shine with the additions to the interface she has made as well as the little icons here and there in the game, gui elements and animations. Without her work the game would be much less interesting to look at.
Personally I think it is a visual feast.
I am glad I made this game, and I am actually quite glad I've made it completely free - free for anyone to play and download. I would love it if others found it as riveting as I do but no worries if not - the only person whose opinion really counts is mine when it comes to this game.
I'm planning to going out for a bit today and spending time with other board gamers, I may even bring a couple of phones along and play it on my own if I get bored at the game place.
These days I no longer, to use a bit of french, I no longer give a fuck about what most people think or about pleasing/impressing others with my efforts - and that's how it should be. Comfortable in myself.
from Matt
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