Mini Shogi
by Chris Jorgensen · in Torque Game Builder · 11/10/2008 (1:23 pm) · 8 replies
Perhaps this isn't the most exciting thing to show off, but it's a good lesson in iteration. I've just released Mini Shogi, which is built from an improved Mini Chess code base. I'm pretty pleased with it. Runs a bit more stable than chess, has a better interface, etc.... all subtle improvements.
During this week (11/10), it'll have a price match with Mini Chess's Game du Jour price at $3.50.
In the future, I'll probably bundle it with chess. Website is here.
During this week (11/10), it'll have a price match with Mini Chess's Game du Jour price at $3.50.
In the future, I'll probably bundle it with chess. Website is here.
About the author
Owner of Cascadia Games LLC
#2
"Harry Balls" gave it 2 out of 5. They struggled with the Japanese characters and would have liked either a western theme or an interface that would have helped them see what their opponent could do better.
Bytten gave it a 59%. They liked the graphics and the sound, but felt the AI was too simple in some modes.
I think the reviews were both great feedback. In a way, I addressed the flaws of Mini Chess while keeping some of its strengths, but in doing so I went more niche at a cost. The shogi newbie got lost and the shogi veteran found it too easy. As is often the case, the reviewers cite a lack of polish in my games. It's good feedback that's not easy to address. While I'm definitely starting to figure out which voices in my head to listen to while developing, I still don't have access to a lot of pre-release testing. I'm a trial by fire sort of developer right now. :)
UPDATE: Looks like 6 more reviews have rolled in. The scores were (out of 5) 2, 2, 3.5, 1, 1, 3 for an average of just over 2. It sounds like the game is having trouble on Vista machines. I guess I know what I need for Christmas. ;)
One gripe people had was that they couldn't roll over the opponent pieces to see their moves. I ended up patching it to do that. Hopefully that will help out the casual players in the future.
12/05/2008 (10:09 am)
A couple of reviews have popped up this week. The verdict isn't hot but the feedback was fabulous."Harry Balls" gave it 2 out of 5. They struggled with the Japanese characters and would have liked either a western theme or an interface that would have helped them see what their opponent could do better.
Bytten gave it a 59%. They liked the graphics and the sound, but felt the AI was too simple in some modes.
I think the reviews were both great feedback. In a way, I addressed the flaws of Mini Chess while keeping some of its strengths, but in doing so I went more niche at a cost. The shogi newbie got lost and the shogi veteran found it too easy. As is often the case, the reviewers cite a lack of polish in my games. It's good feedback that's not easy to address. While I'm definitely starting to figure out which voices in my head to listen to while developing, I still don't have access to a lot of pre-release testing. I'm a trial by fire sort of developer right now. :)
UPDATE: Looks like 6 more reviews have rolled in. The scores were (out of 5) 2, 2, 3.5, 1, 1, 3 for an average of just over 2. It sounds like the game is having trouble on Vista machines. I guess I know what I need for Christmas. ;)
One gripe people had was that they couldn't roll over the opponent pieces to see their moves. I ended up patching it to do that. Hopefully that will help out the casual players in the future.
#3
This game is on on Game du Jour for $3.50 today. XP only.
I also ported and upgraded the game for the iPhone as well. $1.99 in that case. :)
UPDATE: Now for iPhone and $0.99. :)
05/04/2009 (8:42 am)
Zombie thread back from the dead!This game is on on Game du Jour for $3.50 today. XP only.
I also ported and upgraded the game for the iPhone as well. $1.99 in that case. :)
UPDATE: Now for iPhone and $0.99. :)
#4
This is great information. It's great to see you take your feedback seriously, and using it to improve your game!
I can't help but laugh at the comment made by "Harry Balls." Not because the comment was funny, just his name.
Can you offer any insight to someone looking to get their game published on the iPhone?
05/04/2009 (11:29 am)
Hi Chris!This is great information. It's great to see you take your feedback seriously, and using it to improve your game!
I can't help but laugh at the comment made by "Harry Balls." Not because the comment was funny, just his name.
Can you offer any insight to someone looking to get their game published on the iPhone?
#5
"Harry" is actually a great site to submit games to. The reviewers at Helium seem to pickup on it. So you end up getting quite a bit of feedback.
As far as insight into iPhone dev.... I'd say just keep your scope small. There's enough challenge getting a simple game to work well on the iPhone. If you've already got a game in place, I think porting is fairly easy. There are a few hiccups, like the Apple certification and getting Xcode running right. But overall if your game is small, it should port over super well. :)
05/04/2009 (1:00 pm)
Thanks."Harry" is actually a great site to submit games to. The reviewers at Helium seem to pickup on it. So you end up getting quite a bit of feedback.
As far as insight into iPhone dev.... I'd say just keep your scope small. There's enough challenge getting a simple game to work well on the iPhone. If you've already got a game in place, I think porting is fairly easy. There are a few hiccups, like the Apple certification and getting Xcode running right. But overall if your game is small, it should port over super well. :)
#6
But this thread raised a technical question for me... Sound like the game doesn't run on Vista. Do all TGB games have trouble on Vista?
05/04/2009 (2:39 pm)
Mini Shogi looks cool! Hope it sells well on PC and iPhone.But this thread raised a technical question for me... Sound like the game doesn't run on Vista. Do all TGB games have trouble on Vista?
#7
05/04/2009 (4:01 pm)
The game runs on Vista. The issue is my lousy activation code doesn't work on Vista. So you end up reactivating your game over and over. Is something I need to fix and has nothing to do with TGB.
#8
05/04/2009 (7:03 pm)
Ah, thanks for clearing that up! 
Torque 3D Owner Gavin Beard
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