We knew back in March, when KAMI RETRO got released on IPhone, our job was far from over. We wanted to bring updates to KAMI RETRO, both in terms of new content that we had designed, but also addressing any issues/feature requests raised by the user. For the IPhone build, we now have our forth update in submission. Since the initial release version, we have added a number of different playable characters, twelve new bonus levels, an easter egg hunt and a bunch of user requested features/fixes. Some of the user requests include being able to play the game in both landscape device orientations, or being able to play with four different characters instead of just saving the same guy four times per level. For IPad we have added new levels, and again listened to user feedback which prompted us to reduce the memory the game uses in the front end.
The Android version of
KAMI RETRO was released a few weeks ago, and since the Android Market Place feature went live we have had large numbers of downloads, which has once again prompted us to keep a watchful eye on user feedback both on the Market Place and for what has been sent directly to us via email/Twitter/Facebook. The first main piece of feedback we received was that the advert banner got in the way of the PLAY button on the start screen for devices with low resolution displays. So update 1.01 was released that stops these banners obscuring the PLAY button. Unfortunately a number of users had already downloaded and tried the game by then, but hopefully they'll grab the update to avoid this initial hurdle.
Our next main piece of feedback has been regarding the in game downloader. In general, there has been quite a bit of confusion as to what this downloader is, and why it is needed. At the time of release we didn't think too much about the downloader, we used the Google provided downloader, and integrated it into KAMI RETRO. In terms of functionality it did what it said on the label, but it didn't do a good job of explaining to the user what was actually going on.
So, first of all, why do we have a downloader at all? Well, we have spent a lot of time to ensure KAMI RETRO looks visually sharp on all devices. To do this, we have authored assets in many different resolutions, from high resolution assets for Motorola Xoom (running at 1280x720) down to entry level mobile phone devices (running at 320x240). The lowest resolution assets weigh in at around 16 MB, but the largest resolution assets are more like 70 MB. If we had attempted to just add every single asset pack into the game you would end up with a download size of over 500MB - which is no good for the user at all! So the in game downloader will work out what the best assets are for the current device, and then downloads them from our web server. This means you will only get the assets you actually require, and you can be assured once downloaded you will have assets that look good for your device. Next, to get this information over to the end user, we have improved the download page from simply starting the download and saying 'Downloading…' to having page that explains the game has been downloaded and installed successfully, but further device specific assets are required. It recommends using Wi-Fi for the download and explains the download can be resumed if interrupted. The page has a KAMI graphic on it to show it is part of the game, and allows the user to start the download if/when they want, instead of starting automatically. A photo of the updated downloader in action can be seen below:
A lot of the lessons we have been learning from the feedback on KAMI RETRO we will be able to take forwards on future titles we release. We want to thank all our users that have been playing KAMI RETRO and then feeding back to us one way or another. We always take constructive criticism positively and we get a real buzz when we see a critical review on the Market Place with a low star rating, which later turns into a positive review with a five star rating based on us addressing the issue they encountered. Another thing we have found exciting is seeing the game running on various devices; we obviously can not afford to buy every single Android device on the market, so it is nice to see a review/picture of the game running on a device we do not own. Below is a picture of the game running on Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play - the game plays nicely on there, using our touch based gesture system for the control mechanism. A couple of users have enquired whether we may support the DPAD/stick controls the Xperia play provides - it is something we are thinking about for future titles, but for the time being we aren't too sure how this would work for KAMI RETRO. If you have any great ideas please let us know!
Until the next update, that's all from us…!
