Pudding Monster

OZApps · May 2013

Have you seen the latest release from Zeptolabs (makers of Cut the rope) The reason for this post is not to get them downloads, but on a couple of things for the developers.

1. It is a board game (Does not require physics)
2. It is beautifully animated and alive
3. It takes it's gameplay from other older ideas but has made it a nice set of puzzles

It is the perfect case study for creating an interesting beautiful game with Gideros. I did not have an animator and did not bother (much) with animation but have a look at one of my older releases Retroballs

screenshot:
http://a106.phobos.apple.com/us/r1000/110/Purple/d6/0e/16/mzl.syxbafuw.320x480-75.jpg

and a promo video with the gameplay

to give you an idea. Now when I look at Pudding Monster and Retroballs, if I had a lot more cutesy graphics and animation, it could have been even better, what say?

unlying · May 2013

Pudding monster isn't successful case for Zeptolab. I read about this and you can see it in downloads. Pudding Monster still has 1 000 000-5 000 000 downloads, while Cut the Rope:Time Travel has more than 10 000 000 downloads in Google Play. And Time Travel was realesed much later.
I know that for indie developer 1 000 000 downloads looks much, but they do marketing job to promote this game and they are zeptolab. Every site about apps write preview and review for these games.
Zeptolab are still developers of one game.

OZApps · May 2013

@unlying, the point was not about how successful (commercially) this game has been, it was more so about how simple it is to create a AAA quality product. Irrespective of all the download numbers, would you call the game ugly, would you not play it? I enjoyed the game, I enjoyed the little tutorials that pop up at the start of each level or the popups that tell me that I can try a hint, the little hanging bit that when pulled brings down a menu with their other games. There are so many little things in the game that are easy and it is the graphical polish on top of it all that makes the difference.

I take the case of Dark Horse, another game of mine made in Objective-C (it was the second game I made when I learned Obj-C) The first release looked/seemed like a prototype or an alpha version, but I felt it looked great, then I changed a bit to add a bit more colour, etc. It still lacks the polish, animation but then for a free game that is how much time and effort that I could put towards it.

Another example was EDP Blues, another game, I had made some characters for a comic strip called 'EDP' based on an EDP department more so about the 'how not to' practices. The comic never took off beyond the concept board, but I used the characters for a game, I got a pixel artist Kyle Sun, who was quite good and he created the characters. He was not an animator so not much happened there. I drew the graphics for the I, etc and from my perspective it was a good job. It could have been better.

When I saw Monster pudding, I could see the entire game (like in the matrix) de-constructed into smaller manageable parts. Portions of what I have been talking about in my tutorials on using a board like playing ground. The point that I liked was the absence of physics, I think there is an overuse of physics, even in things where it shouldn’t be.

ar2rsawseen · May 2013

@OZApps I haven't play Pudding monsters and also haven't play retro balls, but from the videos, I' liked your idea better.
I actually did not understand, how to play pudding monsters at all, too many distracting eye candy stuff, too much stuff happening and it makes it all seem too complicated.

unlying · May 2013

To be true. I don't like Pudding Monsters gameplay. It has pretty nice graphics, yes. But gameplay isn't really great for me. I passed about 3 or 4 levels and uninstall it.
I'm a little more hardcore gamer. I don't like all these tutorials and other staff that doesn't allow me to play, but stall on some parts that i'm not care.
I'm not really understand what you mean under "AAA product". Pudding Monsters budget is more than 1 million usd. Sure, it is AAA product.

OZApps · May 2013

@unlying, you are not alone there are a couple of other people I spoke to that were not overtly impressed with the gameplay.

I need to learn to uninstall games that I did not like (the old phone seems to fill up very fast)

I thought that the AAA ranking was about things like quality, etc not budgets, there are multi-million dollar projects that produce duds.

Yes, since I like puzzles, I did not really mind the gameplay and enjoyed the lovely eye candy over it. Yes in a little more detached point of reference, the name and the aim of the game are misleading and the story does not tie things up together very well.

Like most developers since I can write a good game but not create the graphics, this one was like candyland

OZApps · May 2013

@OZApps I haven't play Pudding monsters and also haven't play retro balls, but from the videos, I' liked your idea better.

I can look up some promo codes, if you are interested...

OZApps · May 2013

Update: The graphics for Puddig Monster is not just series of Pngs but Flash Animation, this is the second app that I have come across that uses flash quite brillianty, the other one being Outwitters.

ar2rsawseen · May 2013

@OZApps you mean you already have it published? Sure, promo code would be great

OZApps · May 2013

@ar2rsawseen, Retroballs was made about two years ago.

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