Tag Archives: game design

The Twist: Released

And it’s out!

For the small price of 99c

or

Free (with limited features)

Short entry today. Brisbane is crazyflooding.

A bit of info

The Twist is on the home stretch – at least for the initial release. Today I’m sending the game out to some people for testing on various devices. Personally I only own a Nexus One, Samsung Galaxy S 2, and a Google Nexus 7. So getting it tested on more devices is a no brainer. I don’t think I need to write a blog about the importance of testing!

I’ve set up a lander page which will be updated when the game comes out, you can visit it at http://anthonymassingham.com/thetwist/

I’ve also recently uploaded a trailer video. Have a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQCdXfw6vu0

So I’ve had a few questions about the game I figured I’d just answer a few of them here.

“Will the twist be free?”

damsel The Twist will cost 99c. However, soon after release ( not sure exactly when, could be days, or weeks ) I’ll be submitting a free version. The Free version will lack Damsels (which provide time bonuses) and the online high-score system.

“What is it coded in?”

The Twist is coded in Adobe Air, using Starling.

“How many game modes are there?”

Currently, just the one ‘Twist’. However a second ‘Grab’ is in production, and will be added sometime after the initial release of the game.

“Will it come out on iDevices?”

Not in the foreseeable future I’m afraid. In order to develop for iPhone, you need two things that I am without. Money, and a Mac. If my situation changes, then I will most certainly look at porting it.

“When will it be out?”

Very soon!

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Ludum Dare + The Twist

I recently took part in Ludum Dare – A 48 hour game competition. The theme for this round was “You are the villain”. Originally I spent my time working on a ‘Scooby Doo’ themed game, where you dress up as ghosts and scare people away from real estate and castles and the like. Eventually I decided to move away from that idea. I was going to give LD a miss at this point, it wasn’t until a few hours later that my brain threw ‘The Twist’ into view.

I ended up coding a game about twirling moustaches (because what good villain doesn’t twirl his moustache deviously?) called “The Twist”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4IAWbp30xE

The finished LD version can be played here (Android version here) and the slightly modified post-competition version here, however I have decided to move forward and go for a commercial release. It will be a good trial run for later projects. My initial plan is to release for Android ($1 ish), and maybe a feature-lite version for Kongregate. I hope to have the game released before the end of voting (which I believe is January 9th?).

I’ve got a lot to do before then. I want to implement a scoring + ‘achievement’ (notoriety is what I’m calling it) system, fix a variety of bugs, add some extra features, and I’ve also got a second game mode lined up (though that will probably be a second release, later down the track).

Currently, I am working on the scoring system – utilizing CouchDB. I’ve been working on security, and it should be close to secure for the time being. The system will be designed in such a way that if it turns out not to be acceptable, then I can switch in another solution.