Game released… anyone? Anyone at all?
And then Springball was ready and it turned out to be a petty fun and enjoyable game, that is what the players are saying at least, and I’m very willing to believe them.
After all those long hours of coding, testing, designing, observing and listening to feedback it would be so great if I could just sit back, enjoy the nice weather and watch sales spring into existence. Getting Springball finished was hard work you know, don’t I deserve a bit of down time?
It turns out a big fat NO is the answer to that question. The work that still has to be done turns out to be even harder than getting the game ready.
Things to do after game is finished:
- Get the word out, let people know Springball is available
- Convince people investing a bit of money and time in Springball is good for them
It seems the best way to get the word out is to get your game mentioned on the websites. But with the whole world screaming for that same bit of attention, troubles already start at step 1: the websites are flooded with review requests. Lately there are a lot of high profile games entering the iPhone arena, the chances of getting noticed are getting smaller and smaller by the week for a small developer. I’m not saying that it is impossible, but the odds are getting slimmer.
A polite email with a short introduction, some game information, promo codes, links to screenshots and a gameplay movie was sent to a number of websites just after the release of Springball. So far I’ve only received one reply, a very nice email from Pocket Gamer telling me they just don’t have the time to take a look at Springball. Disappointing? Yes, very much so, but it was nice of them to let me know. I’ve heard nothing from the other websites, but I think the outcome is pretty much the same: too many requests, no time for you.
Although the initial batch of emails didn’t have any tangible results yet, there are two positive Springball reviews, no negative ones yet.
- One is from iPhoneclub a Dutch site I contacted a couple of days after the release. They were very kind and responsive, I think being a Dutch developer helped in this case.
- The second review is on iphonetech78’s blog who contacted me on the TouchArcade forum during a Springball promo code giveaway (which I would do entirely different now, after what I’ve learned from it).
So, am I stuck at step 1 already? I don’t think so, there still is so much more there can be done and I will keep you updated with what’s happening.
If you have any comments, tips or suggestion, feel free to add them. I’m very interested in you opinions.
gr.jakko