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I would say my puzzle game ( http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/combination/id300288142?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/combination/id300288142?mt=8 ). It got g

I would say my puzzle game ( http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/combination/id300288142?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/combination/id300288142?mt=8 ). It got good reviews from people who played it, a good review on ArsTechnia ( http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2009/04/minireview-combination-offers-challenging-iphone-puzzles.ars http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2009/04/minireview-comb... ) and was 99 cents. I only sold a couple of hundred, and after months of trying to get more publicity and sales I gave up and made it free.

dev_Gabriel 15y ago
I just downloaded it. It's a "simple" but nice game. I'm playing it right now. Thank you (:
zmj 15y ago
Hey, I bought this after the Ars review. Thank you for your work on it! I got well more than 99 cents of entertainment value out of it. I'm curious: did you make the puzzles by hand or generate them algorithmically?
- CJefferson 15y ago
  Thank you! Algorithmically. The game actually came out of a research project into generating and automatically ranking the difficulty of puzzle games. I have a long term plan to write a new game, with different puzzle games in it, using the same technique. The main slowness is a) Playing around with HTML5 and b) Figuring out how to make money off it (as with a webapp, you can actually lose a lot of money with hosting and servers, instead of the $100/year cap from Apple!)
  - diba 15y ago
    Do you have the results of that research project available somewhere?
    - CJefferson 15y ago
      http://www.it.uu.se/research/group/astra/ModRef10/papers/Christopher%20Jefferson,%20Wendy%20Moncur%20and%20Karen%20E.%20Petrie.%20Combination,%20Automated%20Generation%20of%20Puzzles%20with%20Constraints%20-%20ModRef%202010.pdf http://www.it.uu.se/research/group/astra/ModRef10/papers/Chr... Is a preliminary paper, we have a longer one in the works.
  - dev_Gabriel 15y ago
    Cool. I'll wait for it (:
Step 15y ago
It is a lovely little game. I think the first problem is in your marketing script. You call out negatives (doesn't have plot, soundtrack, etc) right away. I actually was expecting a silent game from this. Instead it does have sound effects, even if minimal. Regardless I don't think drawing attention to the negatives helps you. I also think the hole and wall graphics aren't helping sell it - they don't 'fit' all that well in my opinion. Despite that I do think you prove the point that the previous poster requested. Unfortunately yours is one of many examples of well-done apps that doesn't get traction. Do forgive the critique, I hope it will be helpful to you in going on to make ever more amazing apps. And I'll curtail my suggestions here. :)
- CJefferson 15y ago
  No, they are very welcome. I learnt an awful lot about how to make a very good 'core' game engine, and how important everything else is (in some ways, unfortunately, more important). One day I'll hopefully manage to make a new game, with both parts done well.

dev_Gabriel 15y ago

I just downloaded it. It's a "simple" but nice game. I'm playing it right now. Thank you (:

zmj 15y ago

Hey, I bought this after the Ars review. Thank you for your work on it! I got well more than 99 cents of entertainment value out of it. I'm curious: did you make the puzzles by hand or generate them algorithmically?

CJefferson 15y ago
Thank you! Algorithmically. The game actually came out of a research project into generating and automatically ranking the difficulty of puzzle games. I have a long term plan to write a new game, with different puzzle games in it, using the same technique. The main slowness is a) Playing around with HTML5 and b) Figuring out how to make money off it (as with a webapp, you can actually lose a lot of money with hosting and servers, instead of the $100/year cap from Apple!)
- diba 15y ago
  Do you have the results of that research project available somewhere?
  - CJefferson 15y ago
    http://www.it.uu.se/research/group/astra/ModRef10/papers/Christopher%20Jefferson,%20Wendy%20Moncur%20and%20Karen%20E.%20Petrie.%20Combination,%20Automated%20Generation%20of%20Puzzles%20with%20Constraints%20-%20ModRef%202010.pdf http://www.it.uu.se/research/group/astra/ModRef10/papers/Chr... Is a preliminary paper, we have a longer one in the works.
- dev_Gabriel 15y ago
  Cool. I'll wait for it (:

Step 15y ago

It is a lovely little game. I think the first problem is in your marketing script. You call out negatives (doesn't have plot, soundtrack, etc) right away. I actually was expecting a silent game from this. Instead it does have sound effects, even if minimal. Regardless I don't think drawing attention to the negatives helps you. I also think the hole and wall graphics aren't helping sell it - they don't 'fit' all that well in my opinion. Despite that I do think you prove the point that the previous poster requested. Unfortunately yours is one of many examples of well-done apps that doesn't get traction. Do forgive the critique, I hope it will be helpful to you in going on to make ever more amazing apps. And I'll curtail my suggestions here. :)

CJefferson 15y ago
No, they are very welcome. I learnt an awful lot about how to make a very good 'core' game engine, and how important everything else is (in some ways, unfortunately, more important). One day I'll hopefully manage to make a new game, with both parts done well.