Crystal Towers 2 - Post-release

[davidn]

Since I released my rather overly plump digital bird from the nest it had occupied for the last four years, and watched its best attempts to fly into the distance, it's taken over exactly the same amount of my life as before. The difference this time is that I'm just watching it instead of actively doing anything to it, but the Internet makes it very easy to get addicted.

The climate in which I released it is very different from the one that I released the original Crystal Towers into. At that point, just six years ago in 2005, independent games didn't have anywhere near the presence that they have today, and it really was a novelty to be part of the active Click community and to share games with it. If games were really remarkable, they would get the occasional mention on sites like Home of the Underdogs, or a coverdisk position on the German magazine Bravo Screenfun.

Now, the environment is much larger, and independent development has sort of split off into two leagues of its own, with solo projects propagating around various journals on the Internet and miniature development teams releasing to Steam and XBox Live. I was lucky to be able to release into the smaller environment and get some recognition for the original game (because taking it on its own merits these days, it's a bit rubbish), but these days, the release of the sequel didn't really cause a stir at my old home.

However, I'm delighted that it's been picked up and mentioned on Indiegames and Rock Paper Shotgun - the latter review perhaps being slightly more patronizing than I would have ideally liked by calling it "endearing" and "eager to please" while bending down to ruffle its hair, but they've both definitely been making pageviews pour in, and I've reached a new peak of sales today. It seems that people are actually buying it more quickly than I had expected, not waiting until they run up against the barrier of "Buy this now!" slideshows but instead deciding within the first few levels that they're going to upgrade to the full version.

Even though it hasn't let go of my life, it's nice to feel some reward for the whole thing at last - something I also received from everyone's encouragement. Out in the wilds of the Internet it's been drawing comparisons to Sonic, Mario, Metroid, Castlevania, and - a bit of a surprise - Zool. People have been saying that they want to see it on Steam, so I might re-apply for that if the game gets a decent online following.

Maybe I'll manage to talk about something else soon.

Comments

[dr-dos.livejournal.com]

I still don't know how to describe it.

It's like Jazz Jackrabbit meets Mario 64 meets Super Metroid meets a Genesis

[xaq.livejournal.com]

I can definitely believe it being that much of a time/thought-consumer for you. I've recently started getting reacquainted with the joys and headaches of making a game myself, in my case a TCG.

You may think it's easier to do that than program a game...trust me, it's no cakewalk. Hammering out the rules over and over again each time you get a new idea for making the game more strategic and entertaining just to make sure you aren't contradicting yourself anywhere alone is a bit of a wall-banger.

Having to redo all my card templates to make them properly sized for current TCG card sleeves isn't helping any either. XP

[davidn]

I haven't really played any of those in my life (and had to look up what the term stood for) but I imagine that that rule-balancing is exactly what takes the time for a game no matter what the medium is! In my own case, I was being driven to insanity the week before I released the game, because I'd meant to go through 100% of it without changing anything - but if I had done that, I'd never have released it, because I was still making little adjustments all the way through as I encountered them. Just one change can have huge effects to the rest of the game...

[davidn]

Jazz Jackrabbit is another comparison that I haven't heard before, but it does make sense - in the PC-trying-to-be-a-console way of it :)

[dr-dos.livejournal.com]

If a game has a Sonic style spring and it's not on a console it's a Jazz Jackrabbit spring.

[tamakun.livejournal.com]

Zool? Now there's a game I haven't heard for awhile. And yes, I know what game that is, I'm not thinking of the building in Ghostbusters. I'm trying to figure out how -- oh man, apparently I'm not thinking of the same game, I was thinking of Zoop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mM4hqNdl6Y).

By the way, I noticed that you managed to slip "Kyriaki" into the namelist. ;) This must've been the same namelist where the post about "The ___ of Mayonnaise" came from.

My own post about the game has been delayed, but I should set this right and give you some more exposure as well. :)

[davidn]

Zool was an odd game... quite obviously a mascot platformer in the mould of other console mascot platformers, but with its home on the Amiga instead. The PC version tried to be far too fast for its own good, but I can't speak for the original version...

There are a heap of references in that name list (Aletheia's there as well!) - originally they were a collection of vaguely mystical names but I then ended up piling in everything I could think of as it came to mind. I used the same naming technique for the end-of-level treasures in Treasure Tower, and I think the original list was based on the one for that game (it's honestly difficult to remember, it's been a few years since I wrote that part of the game).

And I would certainly love to hear your thoughts :) Thanks again for buying it!

[xaq.livejournal.com]

I think it's safe to say your game has hit the next plateau of greatness: Apparently folks have devised ways to cheat at it!

(Not sure how else to explain this particular player (http://www.clickteam.info/davidn/ct2/viewaccount.php?id=817) getting everything in the game short of a single boss in the same instant they started their file. o_O)



On a more positive note: The Launch spell = Superuberfuntimes, and the Flying Fortress music has surpassed Magma Caverns as my favorite. :]

[davidn]

It's possible to hold off on actually uploading anything or creating an online account until later in the game, which I think it what happened there - the account was only created once he'd nearly finished! However, I have seen a 200-gem save in the free version... you could either do that by finding a way to edit your save, altering the value in memory while the game's running, or in between the game and the post to the site, so I'd be interested to know which route was taken. (I put defences in against the first and last of them.)

I'm glad to hear the newer musics are staying in contention with the old :) My favourite is the very last piece of music I did for the game - the second boss theme, which I posted a while ago but that you might not have heard in-game yet. I still can't stop listening to it :)