Pokemon X & Y Refresh the Franchise

     So, Pokemon is making a comeback huh? Well, it never really went away. This franchise has been going strong since I was born and something like that won't vanish without a lot of effort. No matter how popular it is though, there is no denying that a lot of people have burned out on good ol' Pocket Monsters. I was one of those people until a few months ago.  Looking at this game, I see a lot of my gripes being dispelled. If you loved Pokemon as a kid but feel sick of it now, I think I can teach you something that will let you relive those happy old times again. (At least as far as the games go.)

Simple Instructions

TriGrid's only instructions

     Nobody likes to read a mountain of text. After tons of playtests I've seen that about half of the players never bother to read tutorials. Lots of people prefer to jump in and figure things out for themselves. When making instructions, I try to minimize the amount text and provide pictures that can better explain the details. People like discovering strategies on their own, so I just give the basics on how to get started. One sentence is pretty easy on the eyes don't you think?

Bigger Than It Looks

     I've learned time and time again that every project is bigger than it looks. When I schedule out a game's development and look for an estimate of the time I need I always throw in a little extra, about 20%.You start a small project thinking it'll be easy, but it's always bigger than it looks. Those details come pouring out of your brain and only then can you see how much work you're in for.

    I just wrote up a GDD for my next game and ended up with a longer list of assets (sprites, particle effects, necessary text instructions, sounds, etc.) than I expected. Luckily, I expected to be surprised and gave myself 5 weeks instead of the 4 I thought I'd need. My game is still on schedule and I'm making buttons for the main menu today (to have something to start with).

    I like to keep the scope small for future games. a bit of polish goes a long way and it feels good working on a game you know you can finish.

Submitting Apps Made Easy with Google Play

  Being new to mobile development I had to learn a lot about submitting apps to Google Play and the Apple App Store. Getting things ready for submission caused a lot of headaches and overall I've found myself preferring Android. Unity helps a lot with the Apple side of things and just about everything else gets easier with practice.