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Post by Blyka on Jul 1, 2013 19:00:42 GMT -5
Hey all! Throughout my years of game development I've had a number of people express an interest in seeing what original games I could create beyond fan games. If you happen to share that interest, read on. fAB and I have mentioned a few times through TLT that our lack of time for progress is often due to trying to get a company off the ground. Dahku Creations is that company, the primary focus of which is currently creating games for the iOS market. This officially makes us "professional" indie game developers, so... yay? Perhaps it might inspire a bit more confidence in TLT at the very least. So far we've released two games, with more in the works. Here's the trailer for our latest title: Not sure how many MMLSers care for (or can even afford) iOS devices (we wouldn't have them ourselves if we weren't developing for them), but we thought some of you may find it interesting nonetheless. And of course, we'd appreciate any support so if you want to help us out you can spread the word to anyone you know who may be interested and if you try our stuff, be sure to leave us some feedback!
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Post by Dashe on Jul 1, 2013 21:35:57 GMT -5
My phone's too stupid for that, but I'll signal boost the crap out of it all the same! Good going!
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Post by Chiz on Jul 2, 2013 0:44:02 GMT -5
Well...I think the games may be a tad too simple, but that is the general direction of the Apple iPx and Android markets, so you should do rather well. $2 seems about right for a game like Chubbins, but I'd discount it slightly ($1.50?) if/when it's ported to Android, as apparently Android users are less likely to buy things than iPx users are.
Congratulations nonetheless for actually releasing something for sale. Despite any reservations I have about the simplicity of the games, you two have made it farther than any of us have in completing and releasing game projects.
From what I've seen, what's hot right now are those simulation/tycoon/management games; you know, "spreadsheets with graphics" type games. If you guys were to produce one of those, you'd have a greater audience and more profits. I know I have a weakness for the types of games where you play as a manager or franchisee, and have to manage a store's stocks and how the floor space is arranged for maximum product visibility, customer flow, etc; the so-called tycoon games where you play as an actual cashier or line-worker are pretty awful, though.
Still, an overly broad user base might pose problems. Case in point, I don't know where the hell you guys are going with those heart educational tools. It seems so non-sequitur after seeing the Chubbins trailer and your retooling of that old Clowns game.
One last thing; the name, 'Dahku'. My first impression was that it had a Japanese origin. I'm not at all versed in it, but I plugged it into Google Translate (Everyone with familiarity with Japanese reading this post: 'Oh here we go...') and a few things came up; 'Hug/Embrace', and 'Harbour/Entertain'. From the grouping, it really seems to imply 'Entertain' as 'Entertaining an idea' or 'Entertaining a guest', not 'Entertaining an audience'; 'Daku' may very well be an English loanword, from 'Dock', hence 'Harbour'...
So...what is the story behind the name?
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Post by Blyka on Jul 2, 2013 20:38:58 GMT -5
@ DasheThanks! @ ChizThanks for the congratulations, and we appreciate the feedback! On the simplistic nature of our games, naturally we have many more ambitious goals, but with finances the way they are we're currently focused on getting a product line built up with titles that can be developed in a reasonably short amount of time while having the kind of casual appeal that seems prevalent on the App Store (yet still trying to keep within the range of games we enjoy making). Despite that you might be surprised how long even the most simplistic games can take to finish, especially when having to contend with iPod/iPhone performance issues. Also, not sure what you mean by "retooling of that old Clowns game"; Starlight Blast is actually a considerably enhanced and polished take off of my Fireworks fan game (for which I wasn't aware if the same mechanics had been done elsewhere or not).There's a long story behind the educational heart apps, but they're a completely separate issue from our game development. No need to concern yourself with them. Concerning the name "Dahku", you're correct in that it has a Japanese origin, though in the realm of our personal vocabulary it's evolved over many years to the point that the origin is basically irrelevant. It more or less works for us as a form of "awesome". We wanted something unique and of personal significance, and after carefully considering and throwing out a few dozen name ideas we finally settled on it.
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Post by Chiz on Jul 2, 2013 23:04:24 GMT -5
On the simplistic nature of our games, naturally we have many more ambitious goals, but with finances the way they are we're currently focused on getting a product line built up with titles that can be developed in a reasonably short amount of time while having the kind of casual appeal that seems prevalent on the App Store (yet still trying to keep within the range of games we enjoy making). Despite that you might be surprised how long even the most simplistic games can take to finish, especially when having to contend with iPod/iPhone performance issues. Oh, I'm well aware that even simple projects have a habit of dragging on far longer than any of us want them to. But it seems like you've got things underway. I can't imagine you're getting the sort of income that lets you "quit your day job" as it were, but if you keep going, that may happen eventually. The real money's in merchandising anyway, not the media itself. Also, not sure what you mean by "retooling of that old Clowns game"; Starlight Blast is actually a considerably enhanced and polished take off of my Fireworks fan game (for which I wasn't aware if the same mechanics had been done elsewhere or not) Circus is an old - really old, 1977 old - game from the Arcades by a company called Exidy that featured a pair of circus performers bouncing off a paddle-controlled see-saw to break 3 scrolling rows of balloons overhead. The game was cloned as Clowns a year later, and was ported to a variety of home consoles and computers over the subsequent decade. Growing up, my friend had a cartridge copy of the Commodore 64 port of Clowns (see video). It's not exactly the same, but there's the same general premise of a pair of characters collaborating to destroy rows of scrolling items above. There's a long story behind the educational heart apps, but they're a completely separate issue from our game development. No need to concern yourself with them. I'd be concerned if there wasn't a long story. That sort of wild tangent doesn't happen without a long story. Concerning the name "Dahku", you're correct in that it has a Japanese origin, though in the realm of our personal vocabulary it's evolved over many years to the point that the origin is basically irrelevant. It more or less works for us as a form of "awesome". We wanted something unique and of personal significance, and after carefully considering and throwing out a few dozen name ideas we finally settled on it. Fair enough. At least it wasn't the horribly cheesy thing I imagined when you two announced you were going to start a company: A pair of doctors in white coats with their arms folded, wearing sunglasses, and smirking, with "THE BURNS UNIT" written underneath alight.
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Post by fAB on Dec 8, 2013 11:21:02 GMT -5
Hey people! We didn't get much of a reception here (not that we expected to), but since the thread exists I figured we might as well keep it current for what it's worth.
So this is Soon Shine, our latest title for iPhone and iPad. The entire iOS community thought Chubbins was way too hard, so we thought really hard about the market and came up with a game we felt was just right for it. So far it's failed to gain much notice though, so if you know any iOS gamers, please do spread the word!
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Post by Dashe on Dec 8, 2013 12:53:56 GMT -5
...There's an iOS community out there?
Man, now I've seen everything! Good luck with this one!
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Post by Rockman Striker on Dec 8, 2013 14:15:02 GMT -5
If I were not familiar with English I would think that your game is about procreation XP
Now seriously, it seems original and entertaining, unfortunately I'm an Android fan, mostly because it has the possibility of doing almost whatever you want with it, and I can't afford an iphone.
If you two happen to jump to Android I'll be happy to test whatever you upload, if it's less than $5 or free.
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Post by fAB on Jun 5, 2014 10:39:51 GMT -5
Never did make the jump to Android, but we're trying our luck on Wii U!
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Post by Chiz on Jun 5, 2014 14:29:39 GMT -5
...well. A phone app was one thing - no small feat, but few impediments in the way - but to be published on an established console has to be laud-worthy. I know you've probably sold a billion NDAs for revealing earnings and throughput, but can you guys give us a generalized state of affairs with actual market reception and how realistic it is that this would become your exclusive full-time job?
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Post by Dashe on Jun 5, 2014 17:29:59 GMT -5
I've been reading the reviews as you've been tweeting 'em. Nice going!
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Post by fAB on Jun 5, 2014 23:20:12 GMT -5
Indeed, it's definitely a lot easier to get an app game on the market than to take it to a console, so thanks Chiz! NDAs are definitely a part of it, but if this becomes an exclusive full-time job, surely we'll say so! As for market reception, the stigma of porting an iOS has hurt, but I'd say we're getting as much good response as bad so far. Just came out today, so here's hoping sales will be good.
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