IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Monthly-008: July 29-August 31- 2013


#1

IP INCUBATOR CLUB:
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
(Every month I will spotlight one of the Incubator projects. To have a chance for a spotlight, just post a WIP on out IP incubator threads.)
This is a post release spotlight
PROJECT NAME: Blaster X HD by 2GMG

Blaster X HD: Blaster X HD

COMPANY: 2GMG LLC (2 Guys Making Games)
CONTACT INFO: www.facebook.com/2GMGames and www.twitter.com/2GMGames

CATEGORY: Games

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Blaster X HD is an Arcade Action-Puzzler that is designed for all generations of iPad and iPad Mini. Experience Over 400 Levels of non-stop gameplay spanning across 9 Diverse Worlds. You have free-reign to start from almost anywhere on the screen - Fling, Guide, and Manipulate your Blaster as you try to collect all of the Power Orbs. These Power Orbs are the fuel to your Blaster and keeps it moving. A perfect mix of reflexes and wit are needed to propel yourself to the next level!

STATUS NUMBER: 8

TEAM MEMBERS: 2
Rudy Gjurkovic / Co-Founder
Joshua Chapman / Co-Founder

START DATE: End of 2010

COMPLETION DATE: 5-1-2013 (Released)

WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK: We finalized our list of updates for our new version of Blaster X HD. We sent the updated version to Apple and were approved without any issue. Our release date for Version 1.1 will be tomorrow 07/25/2013! We added some polish were it was needed and also added a lot of suggestions/improvements that were offered by our players.

VERSION 1.1 UPDATES:

  • New Game and AppStore Icon
  • New art and modifications to End-of-Level Screen
  • SoundFX enhancements and additions throughout
  • Overhaul to Tutorial Section with added visual guides and replay of Tutorials
  • Modification to Blaster physics allowing for greater agility and ease-of-play
  • Fixed collision detection in Arena Level 33
  • Fixed bug with Orbs sometimes moving when touched - crushed minor bugs
  • Additional tweaks to game throughout
  • Added system to allow us to make enhancements based on User feedback/gameplay to maximize future updates

One of the notables that I worked on from the above list was making a new In-Game and AppStore Icon. I think the new ones are an improvement from the old while also tightening up the cohesiveness between the In-game and AppStore Icons. (AppStore Icon update will be shown below.)

Another thing I did, was to greatly update our Social Media presence. I made a new Facebook Header, while also taking full advantage of Twitter’s design features, and also touching up our YouTube Channel and started a Google+ page as well.

Those Updates can be found here:

2GMG on Facebook
2GMG on Twitter
2GMG on YouTube
2GMG on Google+

I also created some Wallpapers of our game and that will be posted below in the “Show and Tell Section.” They are created in HD, Retina, and PC resolutions. Please feel free to share them :slight_smile:

Wallpaper can be found here: Blaster X HD Wallpaper

WHAT WENT WRONG THIS WEEK: Not too much really. Just keeping the “drive” alive and hoping and working towards the best outcome that we can.

SHOW AND TELL: Here is the Old and New Version of our AppStore Icon - some things take place on Apple’s end, such as, rounded corners, etc. that may not be present here.

Blaster X HD Wallpaper: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1rbrs70x1uprl8l/TlQ41VFSgi

(Version A)

(Version B)

Thanks,
Rudy

[u][i][b]Rob Note:[/b][/i][/u]
 Please do post projects you are working on, I WILL eventually spotlight them.
 
[i][b]Welcome to the IP INCUBATOR CLUB[/b][/i]
[i]Past Threads:[/i]

IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-007: July 1-July 28- 2013
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-006: June17-June 30- 2013
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-005: June 3-June 16- 2013
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-004: May 20-June 2- 2013
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-003: May 6-19- 2013
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-002: April 22-May 5- 2013
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Week-001: April 15-21- 2013

[b]Projects So Far:[/b]
[b]---Click To Expand---[/b]
[SPOILER]
[b][i]The Projects so far this week:[/i][/b]
 
 
[b]Project Name:____________[/b][b]CATEGORY:___Start Date:___ First Post______Link[/b]

[color=#ffffff][color=DarkOrange]Pole Force 1____________Games _Jan 2013[/color][/color][color=#ffffff][color=DarkOrange]Q4 2013 ___Link
[/color][/color][color=#ffffff][color=DarkOrange]STASIS_________________Games ______Dec 2010_____04-16-2013 ___Link
NeverEndingPrincessStory___Animation____TBD__________04-16-2013___ Link
Le Gouffre_______________Animation July 2011______04-16-2013 Link
Top secret project ________Animation TBD_________04-16-2013 Link [color=DarkOrange]
Spec Commercial__________Animation___ April 2013___04-17-2013 Link
I am the Antagonist________Cross Media TBD__________04-17-2013__ _Link
SCHIRKOA_______________Animation___ Mid 2010______04-17-2013___ Link
HYPERREALITY ENGINE_____3D Engine ___ April 2013_____04-18-2013___ Link
[color=DarkOrange]Blaster X HD_____________Games ______End of 2010____04-25-2013 ___Link
[size=2]Soliloquy of a Madman _____ Games _____January 2013___04-23-2013 ___Link
[size=2][color=DarkOrange]Le Gouffre _______________Animation_____ July 2013_____ 04-23-2013___Link[size=2][color=#ffffff][color=DarkOrange]
I LOVE KAIJU_____________Animation___ April 2013______05-04-2013___ Link
NeverEndingPrincessStory __ Animation June 2010_______04-29-2013_ Link
[/color][/size][/SPOILER]
THE IP INCUBATOR CLUB.

[b]in·cu·bate[/b]
 
 
/ˈɪnkyəˌbeɪt, ˈɪŋ-/ Show Spelled [in-kyuh-beyt, ing-] Show IPA verb, in·cu·bat·ed, in·cu·bat·ing.verb (used with object)
1. to sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching.
2. to hatch (eggs), as by sitting upon them or by artificial heat.
3. to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions   promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born   infants.
[b]4. to develop or produce as if by hatching;[/b] give form to: His brain was incubating schemes for raising money.
 
[b]Welcome to the IP Incubator Club[/b]
The idea behind this Club is simple
 
 
[b]POST WEEKLY UPDATES of Original IP that you are developing.  Hopefully  IP that can eventually help the creator generate some income.  [/b]
[b]Also you should provide CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK to the work posted by other posters of the club.[/b]
 
The idea of this "Incubator Club" is to get away from the gloom and  doom  and provide a lifeline of support for our fellow artists. 
 
The artists will have at their discretion how much they wish to share  on  the projects they are working on, what program they will be using  and  the medium . [b]But the IP HAS BE AN ORIGINAL CREATION.[/b]
 
 
[b]YOU HAVE ONE WEEK TO POST AND UPDATE..[/b]
 
[b]There are 3 ways to participate:[/b]

[ul]
[li]IP CREATOR[/li]

Post bi-weekly updates of ip you are developing. 















Some Examples:

[list]
[li]A 3d artist developing a line of Vinyl toys on ZBrush[/li][li]A game developing working on a mobile game that uses Geo spatial data.[/li][li]An Artist working to update his porfolio[/li][li]A group of animators animator working on a weekly web series[/li][/ul]
[li][size=2][size=2][color=darkorange]But If you post your idea, please provide feedback on other’s ideas.[/size][/color][/li][/list]IP REVIEWER

Provide reviews and comments of the IP being developed.

[ul]
[li]I am looking for people like Roger Eberts of the world and not the Simon Cowels.DIVAS will NOT BE TOLERATED.[/li][li] [/li]

[b][u]IP MENTORSHIP[/u][/b]















An experienced artist/ develop can offer mentorship for the IP creators.















Some examples:

[list]
[li]An AAA game developer looking to help upcoming talent[/li][li]Experienced feature animators could review game animations.[/li][li]Writers can comment on story points[/li][/ul]
[/list]ANYONE CAN JOIN.

[b][u]DEVELOPER CO-SPONSORS[/u][/b]
[b]My wife is a social worker and she suggested the idea that we use a SPONSOR model similar to AA. [/b][size=2]The   idea is to match developers with individual sponsors. People whose   responsability is to monito the progress of a specific project. The   sponsors would be fellow developers. It would be their responsibility to   provide support and provide guidance to the developer from an   outsider's point of view. I'm not advocating "mentorship" where there   usually is an imbalance of expertise/knowledge between two parties.   Rather, I envision sponsorship to be a vehicle for peer support, for   consultation between and among artists who each have valuable tools,   experience, and knowledge to share. Sponsorship is method for both   parties to learn and grow professionally and perhaps personally as well.[/size]
 
 
[font=Verdana]
[b]The Concept[/b][/font][b]___________________________[/b]
Ok so lets recap:
[color=white]The idea behind this IP incubator club is to provide a cool hangout place for IP creators. [/color]recap....
Weekly threads will be posted, to provide encouragement for developer to keep working on their idea.
 
On way to see this is to think of us as a spotter on your local gym.
You use your WIP thread to post your regular updates, But ONCE A WEEK   you post on the IP INC thread a summary, based on the forsmat posted   blow.
 
[b]GENERAL RULES: [/b]

[ul]
[li]FOR GEN DISCUSSION of the IP CLUB CLICK HERE: Your Own IP?[/li][li]WEEKLY WIP are encouraged[/li][li]On your weekly post please Fill the following information (you can cut and paste it:)[/li][/ul]
CONCEPT NAME:

[b]STILL IMAGE: (VOLUNTARY)[/b]
[b]CATEGORY:[/b]
[i][b]Art[/b][/i]
[i][b]Animation[/b][/i]
[i][b]Comics[/b][/i]
[i][b]Design[/b][/i]
[i][b]Fashion (3D Printing)[/b][/i]
[i][b]Film [/b][/i]
[i][b]Games[/b][/i]
[i][b][i][b]Merchandizing[/b][/i]
[i][b][i][b]Publishing[/b][/i]
[i][b]Technology[/b][/i]
[i][b]Toys[/b][/i]
[b][i]Web Comics[/i][/b]
[i][b]Video[/b][/i]
 
[b]PROJECT DESCRIPTION:[/b]
[b]STATUS NUMBER: 1 [/b]
[b]TEAM MEMBERS:(Voluntary)[/b]
[b]START DATE[/b][b]ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE : (Voluntary) -[/b]
[b]WIP THREAD:[/b]
[b]WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK:[/b]
[b]WHAT WENT WRONG:[/b]
[b]SHOW AND TELL: [/b]
 
[/b][/i][/b][/i]

[ul]
[li]WIP thread should be posted on the appropriate CGSociety/Game Art Sub forum and should follow the following naming convention: IP Incubator!:xxxxx:[/li][li]Only participants who follow the rules and submit a weekly Entry entry will be eligible for a monthly spotlight ( A frontpage plug).[/li][li]Any piece caught breaking the rules will be taken off the thread.[/li][li]When you are done creating your IP please do give at least a thank you to the IP. We need the press.[/li][/ul]RESOURCES:
ART LAW RESOURCES:
–CLICK TO EXPAND–
[SPOILER]
What is a Trademark?
http://www.uspto.gov/faq/trademarks.jsp
What is a Copyright?
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

[b]US[/b]
[[b]http://www.copyright.gov/[/b]](http://www.copyright.gov/)
[[b]http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp[/b]](http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp)
 
[b]INT[/b]
[[b]http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en[/b]](http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en)
 
[b]Notable Laws:[/b]
[[b]Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works[/b]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention)
[b][Copyright Act of 1976](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Act_of_1976)[/b]
[b][Copyright Act, 1978](http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Copyright_Act,_1978)[/b]
[/SPOILER]
[b]MARKETPLACES:[/b]
[b]--CLICK TO EXPAND--[/b]
[Spoiler]
[b]Film/ Video/ Animation Content[/b]

[ul]
[list]
[li]http://vimeo.com/[/li][li]http://www.youtube.com/[/li][li]Stock Footage:[/li][li]http://www.pond5.com/index.php?ref=orbitrob[/li][li]http://submit.shutterstock.com/[/li][li]http://www.stockfootageseller.com[/li][li]http://www.stockfootageseller.com/w…ostock-logo.jpg[/li][/ul]
[/list]Games/Apps

[ul]
[list]
[li]http://store.steampowered.com/[/li][li]http://www.microsoftstore.com/store…DisplayHomePage[/li][li]http://developer.android.com/index.html[/li][li]Web Comics[/li][li]www.comixology.com[/li][/ul]
[/list]3D Models (for Animation)

[ul]
[list]
[li]http://www.turbosquid.com/[/li][li]http://www.daz3d.com/[/li][li]3D Models (for 3d Printing)[/li][li]https://www.ponoko.com/[/li][li]http://www.shapeways.com/[/li][li]http://www.sculpteo.com/en/[/li][li]http://i.materialise.com/[/li][/ul]
[/list]Clip Art

[b]Custom Merchadize:[/b]
[http://www.zazzle.com/](http://www.zazzle.com/)
[http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/](http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/PS)[b]Make Magazine: Ultimate Guide for 3D Printing is a FANTASTIC resource. GET IT if you are interested in getting into this market:[/b]
[http://www.amazon.com/Make-Ultimate...s=make+magazine](http://www.amazon.com/Make-Ultimate...s=make+magazine)
 
[/SPOILER]
[b]CONFERENCES:[/b]
[b]--CLICK TO EXPAND--[/b]
[Spoiler]
Digital Media:

[ul]
[li]SXSW[/li][li]Shepton Digi Fest[/li][li]NAB[/li][/ul]Gaming:
[ul]
[li]PAX[/li][li]PAX East[/li][li]Independent Games Festival[/li][li]E3[/li][/ul]Europe:
[ul]
[li]Edinburgh Interactive Festival[/li][li]Eurogamer Expo[/li][/ul]Comics:
[ul]
[li]Comicon[/li][li]SPX[/li][/ul]Animation Festivals:
[ul]
[li]SIGGRAPH [/li][li]Bradford Animation Festival[/li][/ul][/size][/color][/size][/size][/color][/color][/color][/color][/color][color=#fffffe][color=#ffffff][color=#fffffe][/color][/color][/color][color=#ffffff][/Spoiler]
[/color]


#2

I was just about to post in the other thread and I saw this one. I might be a touch early, but I guess I should put my update here. :slight_smile:

PROJECT NAME: Blaster X HD by 2GMG

Blaster X HD: Blaster X HD

COMPANY: 2GMG LLC (2 Guys Making Games)
CONTACT INFO: www.facebook.com/2GMGames and www.twitter.com/2GMGames

CATEGORY: Games

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Blaster X HD is an Arcade Action-Puzzler that is designed for all generations of iPad and iPad Mini. Experience Over 400 Levels of non-stop gameplay spanning across 9 Diverse Worlds. You have free-reign to start from almost anywhere on the screen - Fling, Guide, and Manipulate your Blaster as you try to collect all of the Power Orbs. These Power Orbs are the fuel to your Blaster and keeps it moving. A perfect mix of reflexes and wit are needed to propel yourself to the next level!

STATUS NUMBER: 8

TEAM MEMBERS: 2
Rudy Gjurkovic / Co-Founder
Joshua Chapman / Co-Founder

START DATE: End of 2010

COMPLETION DATE: 5-1-2013 (Released)

WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK: We finalized our list of updates for our new version of Blaster X HD. We sent the updated version to Apple and were approved without any issue. Our release date for Version 1.1 will be tomorrow 07/25/2013! We added some polish were it was needed and also added a lot of suggestions/improvements that were offered by our players.

VERSION 1.1 UPDATES:

  • New Game and AppStore Icon
  • New art and modifications to End-of-Level Screen
  • SoundFX enhancements and additions throughout
  • Overhaul to Tutorial Section with added visual guides and replay of Tutorials
  • Modification to Blaster physics allowing for greater agility and ease-of-play
  • Fixed collision detection in Arena Level 33
  • Fixed bug with Orbs sometimes moving when touched - crushed minor bugs
  • Additional tweaks to game throughout
  • Added system to allow us to make enhancements based on User feedback/gameplay to maximize future updates

One of the notables that I worked on from the above list was making a new In-Game and AppStore Icon. I think the new ones are an improvement from the old while also tightening up the cohesiveness between the In-game and AppStore Icons. (AppStore Icon update will be shown below.)

Another thing I did, was to greatly update our Social Media presence. I made a new Facebook Header, while also taking full advantage of Twitter’s design features, and also touching up our YouTube Channel and started a Google+ page as well.

Those Updates can be found here:

2GMG on Facebook
2GMG on Twitter
2GMG on YouTube
2GMG on Google+

I also created some Wallpapers of our game and that will be posted below in the “Show and Tell Section.” They are created in HD, Retina, and PC resolutions. Please feel free to share them :slight_smile:

Wallpaper can be found here: Blaster X HD Wallpaper

WHAT WENT WRONG THIS WEEK: Not too much really. Just keeping the “drive” alive and hoping and working towards the best outcome that we can.

SHOW AND TELL: Here is the Old and New Version of our AppStore Icon - some things take place on Apple’s end, such as, rounded corners, etc. that may not be present here.

Blaster X HD Wallpaper: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1rbrs70x1uprl8l/TlQ41VFSgi

(Version A)

(Version B)

Thanks,
Rudy


#3

@Rez007 - Really liking the new logo, has the same feel but is much more polished. Also, great job on setting up the social media. I think there’s a lesson to be learned (sorry to pick on you, but it’s good to learn from each other) in that social media and getting the word out about our own IPs is absolutely crucial and should ideally begin well before the product is released. So hopefully for your future games, you can use the same momentum for BlasterX to push your fans to the next one. Keep making updates, it’s interesting to see the perspective of someone who has already released a game!

Do you have any plans to port it over to Android or other platforms? Unfortunately I don’t own an iOS device, so I can’t even buy your game :sad:


#4

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that Blaster X HD 1.1 came out today and is on the AppStore. If you would like to help us out by spreading the word or re-tweeting my tweet that would be greatly appreciated. Rating the game also goes a long way :slight_smile:

Blaster X HD 1.1

Thanks again to everyone for your ideas and suggestions that have been offered as we take all of those to heart. I am glad to be a part of this IP Club and community.

Thanks,
Rudy


#5

Thanks Grant, I think the new logo is much better as well. However, it gets a bit washed out when Apple loads it to iTunes.

You are right about the social media thing. I set it up originally around the time of the first release, but since it was very hectic, I really never had time to flush it out better. I think the new images, especially on Twitter, makes it look professional rather than a fly-by-night developer thing.

We are always open to future plans and platforms, being a two-man team sometimes it just takes a bit. Actually, you can buy our game or any game on iTunes without an iOS device. I have family whom do not have an iOS device either, but they just created an iTunes account via PC and then purchased it to support us. That is also a good way in case someone is anticipating possibly getting an iOS device in the future or there is a limited time sale on a particular game, one can grab it that way and it stays with their iTunes account to be used later. Thanks again for the continued ideas and feedback that you have provided since I started the IP Club. I am looking forward to seeing your updates as well. :slight_smile:


#6

My question is what can we do to help you promote it?

Have you been featured anywhere? Do you want to be featured? Where would you like to be featured?


#7

Hi Banman7,

Yes, Blaster X HD was featured as a recommended App during a week from Kotaku, which is a very big player in the games industry. We also got a great recommendation from Appolicious and a near-flawless review from TechnologyTell (just one soundfx issue which we took care of in the update).

Being featured would be awesome - anywhere. We get a lot of people saying they will review our game if we pay them, but we don’t do those, as to me that is shady business on the reviewers end. The really big ones don’t ask for money, but that is extremely hard to be reviewed by them given the amount of games that come out all of the time.

Getting a feature/review by Touch Arcade (possibly the biggest for mobile games news), would be extremely helpful, then if the editorial staff at Apple notices it more in the public eye, and we get a direct feature from them - that is about the biggest one you can get. Unfortunately, that is usually the path how most Indie companies seem to get noticed. If we were huge like EA, Disney or Zynga, then getting noticed/featured would be a non-issue.

Since you asked, I think the absolute best ways to help us out, or any Indie developer, is to join their social media sites. Specifically, “Liking” our Facebook page and “Sharing” our highlighted posts on your wall or with another, can go a long way. Also, joining our twitter and re-tweeting certain tweets also helps. That is kind of the “guerrilla” form of marketing that would help out.

Also, sharing the Wallpaper that I made can work too. I have seen my friend’s iPads many times and sometimes they have a really cool Wallpaper on their iPad and I ask them where they got it. They usually say it is from a game. In turn, that now makes me aware of that game that I never heard about.

And finally, people who purchase our game, who be kind to rate it, helps greatly. If potential users see that you have a lot of reviews/star rating, especially if they are very good ratings, they will feel more inclined to make that purchase.

Those are the ideas that I have, and unless someones has an awesome connection with the editorial staff at Apple :slight_smile: , that would mean a lot to us if anyone would like to do any of the above. It is greatly appreciated by us, especially getting the word out/visibility which is the hardest to do.

2GMG on Facebook
2GMG on Twitter
Blaster X HD Wallpaper

Let me know if you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer anything that I can.

Thanks,
Rudy


#8

I do have one question for you, how have the sales numbers been? Have you seen any interesting trends? Maybe some spikes after you’ve done a certain action or it was featured on a website?

Obviously, if you don’t want to share numbers (or are contractually blocked) that’s fine. But if you can give a rough idea or at least share your experience/opinion of the results so far, that would be awesome. It’s incredibly difficult to find these kinds of numbers.

edit:

Also, for my project, I’m cooking up a big update for next week. I’m on the last day of my work contract and starting next week I’ll be going full time on my project for at least a couple of months… just laying the ground work / plans for that now.


#9

Getting a feature/review by Touch Arcade (possibly the biggest for mobile games news), would be extremely helpful, then if the editorial staff at Apple notices it more in the public eye, and we get a direct feature from them - that is about the biggest one you can get. Unfortunately, that is usually the path how most Indie companies seem to get noticed. If we were huge like EA, Disney or Zynga, then getting noticed/featured would be a non-issue.

I hate that you have to be EA, Disney or Zynga. Like those dudes ain’t already got money. That sucks. I hate that most sides tend to those things.

So my idea was to help get you noticed through emails to Touch Arcade and any large site like that. I tried that with M Dot’s animation but I don’t tink anyone helped me.

My idea is if 100 random people told you about a game in their own words would it get the attention. If I got 100 random emails from real people talking about a game, movie or something I would probably notice or at least take a look at it.

I wonder as the incubator could we start doing stuff like that? Do press releases for each other to these larger websites. There is power in numbers.

I wish we could start getting those numbers and support from this community. You have my support if you want to do that.

I’m hoping we can compile a list and put our resources together to help each otehr grow.
What do you think?


#10

I’m going to do a proper update next week, but wanted to quickly share what I’ve been up to. I’ve been working hard on a new business identity, website, setting up social media and creating a development schedule to take me from concept art to a functional prototype in a few months. I’ve also gathered a list of blogs and online resources and built a schedule for providing regular updates, answering questions, etc…

The goal of all of this is to start building an audience in preparation for a Kickstarter campaign later this year (most likely October). I think one of the keys to success at such an endeavour is to build your audience early, so that’s what I’m doing!

I’m going to be doing a big push next week with some more fun content updates, but if any of you wouldn’t mind throwing me a Like / Follow / Plus / Blog Comment, it would be much appreciated. Half the challenge is getting that first few to get the ball rolling.

http://www.combomash.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ComboMash
https://plus.google.com/118107115219035225907/
https://twitter.com/ComboMash

And don’t worry, the IP Club will always be my #1 stop! :beer:


#11

[color=#fffffe][color=#ffffff][color=#fffffe][size=2][color=#ff8c00]CONCEPT NAME: Wrath

   [b]STILL IMAGE: (VOLUNTARY)[/b]
   [b]CATEGORY:[/b]
   [size=3][i][b]Comics[/b][/i]
   [i][b][i][b][b][i]Web Comics[/i][/b]
   
    
   [b]PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 

[/b][/b][/i][/b][/i][/size][/size][/color][/color][/color][/color]
Wrath is an ongoing 3-D sculpted survival horror comic book launching in October.[color=#fffffe][color=#ffffff][color=#fffffe][size=2][b][b][b][color=#ff8c00][font=Arial Narrow]
[size=3]
Wrath is created with Zbrush, Blender, Gimp and Photoshop.

Wrath will feature some interactive panels that allow the reader to rotate, pan and zoom.[/font][/b][/b][/b][i][b][i][b][b]

[/b] STATUS NUMBER: 1
[b]TEAM MEMBERS: Me, Shah Muttaqi

[/b] START DATE [b]ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE : Started June 2012, First Issue October 2013

[/b] [b]WIP THREAD: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=43&t=1118009

[/b] WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK: Launched the website and social media sites. Finished a lot of art.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Screwed up an important render.
[b]SHOW AND TELL:

update:

a few more WIP images

[/b] [/b][/i][/b][/i][/size][/size][/color][/color][/color][/color]


#12

Ok guys, I am back in DC.

I am posting a plug in 12 hours fro mthe time of this post.
I will base my plug on what ever content is on THIS thread.

You got 12 hours to post updates if you wish to have a chance to have s project spotlight.
AND ANYONE can post.
Later,

-R


#13

Hi Grant,

Before I get to your questions, I just wanted to let you know that I “Liked” your Facebook page and “Followed” you on Twitter. :slight_smile:

For the numbers: I really didn’t get a chance yet to speak to my friend/business partner what our plan is to go about sharing specific numbers, so I will hold off on that for now - I might do a Postmortem down the road, so I might be able to share it then. However, I can speak about it in general. During our initial launch, we saw a spike since our game was new. After a couple of weeks it dropped to sale numbers that were not that good (low). We did have some bad luck as we launched the day before Angry Birds Friends and Zynga’s Running with friends came out a week later. So, most everyone was playing those two games and media was following those two heavily.

Getting reviews and features didn’t give us any real spike in sales, if anything it kept the sales at a holding level for a little, but nothing too significant. Usually a review by Touch Arcade will give you the boost, which we were unable to do so far. On the bright side, getting reviewed/recommended by Kotaku, Appolicious, TechnologyTell, among others does have weight to it. It helped spread our visibility and most importantly, it allowed us to put “quotes” on our AppStore page.

Blaster X HD

That is a pretty big deal, especially if you get some really good ones from some big players - it definitely helps when someone is deciding to buy your game.

As for review companies that ask for money, we do not do those at all for the reasons that I don’t agree with that type of practice and I feel they most likely will not generate too much exposure.

I attached a link here from a forum where this question came up.
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=34127.0

For more specific numbers of some games and good information in general, I follow the blog of this company - The Game Bakers.
http://thegamebakers.com/money-and-the-app-store-a-few-figures-that-might-help-an-indie-developer.html

I think there is some information in here that may be of interest to you. :slight_smile:

On the flip side, we did have a significant spike in numbers with our new release Blaster X HD 1.1. That can be attributed to a number of things: 1.) New App Icon 2.) Strong(er) Social push 3.) Creating Custom Wallpaper of Blaster X HD to give out free to anyone 4.) Changing categories to Primary - Games (Arcade/Puzzle), Secondary (Entertainment) - “Puzzle” used to be set at “Action” on the initial release 5.) Better timing 6.) Updating the game in general.

We have another small update coming out very shortly just to fix the AppStore Icon to get rid of the Auto-Gloss that it puts on. We can then see if releasing on a certain day for an update makes a big difference or not.

Here is some added information for you, and everyone too, for dimensions for your Social Media sites. (notice the adjustment in size for Google+ at the top of the page)

http://marketingeasy.net/social-media-sizes-and-dimensions-cheat-sheet-2013-edition/2013-01-25/
http://marketingeasy.net/social-media-sizes-and-dimensions-cheat-sheet-2013-edition/2013-01-25/

Please let me know if you have any more questions as I will be more than happy to answer the best that I can.

Thanks,
Rudy


#14

Hi Banman7

Thanks for the continued support and ideas that you have - it doesn’t go unnoticed. :slight_smile:

You do have another good idea in your above statement - their is definitely strength in numbers and it would be cool if something like this could work out. I think it might be difficult to accomplish with backing from a “company” level so-to-speak, but it is a really good idea. I think going the “underground” method, via sharing Facebook pPsts, re-tweeting Tweets kind of works along those lines and does help greatly. Getting a company to back someone is very difficult, because it is a business decision which they most likely have to weigh the benefits first - it would be nice if Ballistic Media would make an appearance again for this Club, but I haven’t seen them in a while. Roberto, has gone above and beyond with his support for this community/IP Club and that also does not go unnoticed either.

On a side note, that idea you came up with a while back about Apple having a category for “Classics” such as Angry Birds, I did mention it to Apple via their Developer Forums and they responded that they will keep it in mind for future updates. I don’t know how much they will do, but Apple has made changes based on User feedback - thanks again for that idea!

Thank You,
Rudy


#15

Awesome link, I was just getting a bit frustrated with those things the other day. Will definitely be saving that and making some templates to save me some time in the future. Thanks for the discussion, definitely interesting that the media coverage didn’t quite give a boost in sales like I was expecting.


#16

Damn good info! Thanks


#17

My ITunes is acting crazy on my Windows machine. Is their video of the game/graphics?


#18

Hi Guys,

I am glad you like the links. Actually, my bad on double posting the same one for Social Site Info. Here are the two again that I meant to post, so they are in the same area.

http://marketingeasy.net/social-media-sizes-and-dimensions-cheat-sheet-2013-edition/2013-01-25/
http://profilerehab.com/twitter-help/background_dimensions

The second one is mainly for the Twitter background. If you make one for this size (2500x1600) you are pretty much good-to-go for other sites too. (i.e. Google+ uses a very similar dimension)

(***Note: 27inch native screen resolution sits at about 2560x1440 for most. That gives a 60 pixel difference for Twitter, if you fade your image to black (#000000) and set the main Twitter background color to black as well, you should be fine)

You can see what I did to our Twitter background page here:
2GMG on Twitter

I kind of used EA’s as a reference:
EA on Twitter

  • no matter what though, your Company name/logo will most likely be partially hidden. I tried to make ours so the 2GMG (2 Guys Making Games) slipped right under Twitter’s left box tab.

***Quick Tip: I have found that saving your artwork as .PNGs and using that format instead of .JPEGs provides a better quality for Social Sites. Some sites really compress JPegs a lot. JPEGs are a “lossy” format when compressed, where .PNGs are a “lossless” format when compressed. PNGs will have a larger file size, but I think it is worth that sacrifice for the quality difference.

@dolemite07
Here are our sites that have images/video:

2GMG on Facebook
2GMG on Twitter
2GMG on Google+
2GMG on YouTube

There is also a thread on TouchArcade where someone posted some footage - I just want to remind you though, that the video footage is of Blaster X HD 1.0. Version 1.1 has a lot of added updates. :slight_smile:

2GMG thread on TouchArcade (one of them)

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,
Rudy


#19

beautiful work

any plans for Android? cause im not a Mac person lol


#20

Sorry for the delay on the plug.

I had to spend the night in the ER and that prevented me from posting the plug.
(I am ok)
You got a couple of hours to update before the plug.

-R