Making Fish Feaster - Part 2

     The first thing I did with Fish Feaster was make solid colored boxes in MS Paint to prototype. The actual fish graphics were made after I had the game working perfectly. It was a long and tedious process, and one I won't let myself fall victim to again, and I'm very pleased with the end result. A cute fish game that's fun to play. Find out how it came to be below the break.

Making Fish Feaster - Part 1

     Last August I set out to make my first iPhone game. It was going to be done quickly. It was going to be a port of a game I made in C++ with SDL. It was going to make thousands of dollars. It was going to rule the app store. Then reality came smashing down and smacked those expectations down to size. After having my first game erased, I started on what would have been my second project instead of enduring the frustration of starting the first one over. That second project was a game I called FisheatFish.

More Peace Through Simulated Violence

     I don't know about you, but I'd like to see a world where people are killing each other only in games instead of real life. Humanity just has this bloodlust that's lasted throughout history. Maybe through sports and simulated violence we could eliminate the need for war and urges to murder. Psychos can get their fix in virtual worlds and maybe governments can settle things with high stakes games or sports instead of murdering each other's citizens and getting the strongest ones to fight with the biggest weapons.

    I guess it really falls down to me personally. I don't like to control how other people act and just focus on myself. I think it's really sad how we will never reach a point where reason and open-mindedness are all we need to solve our problems. I dunno, just a crazy thought I had today...

The Power of Recommendation

     Having the kind of game that draws crowds is a dream for game designers. If people gather around your game and get excited to ply it, you obviously made something special. No matter how many advertisements and banners you post, the biggest thing to help grow your game into viral popularity is to make a game people want to talk about.

     Make a game that makes a passerby want to stop and look at over another person's shoulder. If the player is expressing excitement,  it'll make nearby people curious as to what the fuss is about. Give the player something to laugh about and want to tell to their friends later. you could even try to tickle a niche's funny bone and get them to spread it on forums.

     The big picture here is to not forget that the players are the most important part of your game. Players are not just numbers and sales figures that stop mattering after you've taken all the money you can from them. They keep the game alive and running for as long as they choose to.

     So give them a reason to choose to.