Creating apps in 2-3 hours

Hi, I am trying to create simple apps using Unity in less then 2- 3 hours. I would be happy if you would have a look at them.

My first App is a black screen for your phone. It's not flashy and is quite basic. Its primary use could be to plays tricks on your friends. Here's the link to it:

Off Screen Phone:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.OffScreen

Colour Randomiser:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.ColourRandomiser

Colour Randomiser:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.ColourRandomiser

Colour picker:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.ColourPicker

Scare Phone:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.ScarePhone

It would be really useful to me if you could give me some feedback positive or negative. I hope to create a simple app every week. If you have any ideas too that would be good too.

Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.

 

Ha ha ha! Ah... it's different.

 

Is the goal to put out any thing you can in 2-3 hours or is the goal to be creative? Attempting to be creative in such a limited dev cycle will not result in much quality or creativity. Why limit your dev cycle so tightly?
Have you heard of 1gam?

There are also those who try to complete 1 game a week, although several have succeeded in this mission, very VERY few of those games were ever considered very appealing.

One benefit of this type of mission is to become very experienced in the initial steps of creating simple mechanics for a game, and also get very comfortable and familiar with FINISHING and shipping. So there are good lessons to learn from this type of development approach, although anything remotely complex (a 3D character with a custom character controller) will require this 3 hour deadline to be extended.

 

Its just coming up with a simple idea that can be achieved and then publishing it on the android store.

I think you can be creative you just need the right idea. it does not necessarily need to be a game.

 

Another week another game just waiting for Google to finish publishing the application I have made this week, which is a Colour Randomiser. Will post the link when Google finish publishing.

Any one got any other simple ideas that can be developed in a short time frame and published. Would be interesting to know your views?

 

Colour Randomiser is up here it is: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.ColourRandomiser

 

How bout 1 randomized colored pixel dances around on screen changing position every 1/10 of a second. The player gets a point if they can click on the pixel before time runs out - and they move onto the next more difficult screen/level. If they fail to tap on the pixel within time limit - game over.

 

My negative feedback is that I think those apps are awful and perfect examples of the crap that people flood the mobile stores with, so - from that point of view - well done

 

@SteveJ. I do think there is a lot of crap on the android store but that's because people rush what they have done and don't break down tasks down. What I am trying to do is create small simple projects, that over time may mean i have the tools to create something bigger in a shorter time, who knows where this will lead

I think by giving your self simple tasks instead of trying to make a game or something that you spend hours on, that to be honest no one is going to look at, because you need a bit of luck, advertising and a lot of time, that a lot of people don't have even if its good is more satisfying then spending weeks on a project.

@theANMATOR2b Your idea is good thanks i will add it to the list.

Any more that people have i will add it to the list so just add them to this forum and i will eventually get to them

 

I haven't added a game for a couple of week so here is my latest. work bank holiday and a crashed computer all stopped me releasing it. This week its a colour picker. just published it on the android store, waiting for it to confirm. link to follow

 

Try putting out something appealing and that will stand out and that will be remembered.
Below is a good example and is 4 months work by a single man.

Thread at : https://forum.unity3d.com/threads/odyssey-train-simulation-technical-demonstration.390332/

@jooconnel You certainly don't need Unity to do what you are doing, do you.

 

I agree with @SteveJ and you are reinforcing his point very well. If people will not look at stuff that takes longer time to create unless you say they need a bit of luck and you instead prefer to work on low quality content that only takes hours to create, why will anyone look at the content you create?

I like the conclusion you draw to simplify development on small tasks, but the logic isn't supportive of that conclusion.

Simply put - there is no reason to release these small, inconsequential builds on any store front - because they aren't fun, don't have any complexity to them, will never EVER get more than 10-50 downloads, and are forgettable within seconds after clicking away.
So why publish to any store and add to the mass of other low quality content on the stores?

 

I've an idea for a great app, I'll share it with you.

You could create an app where there's a defined set of rules. In said app, the environment would provide feedback based on the player input. There would be a winning condition and possibly a losing one. I think that would be a really cool app. I would try that one.

 

Colour picker is here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.ColourPicker

 

@Viz88 that's a great bit of work, but how many people have played it? You could make any thing with any tool. Unity gives you the tools to not only make games but in its current state lots of programs, so why limit it to a just making games.

@AntoineDesbiens i will add it to the list.

@theANMATOR2b have you looked any of the apps? I think they are more tools at moment

 

@jooconnel So your grand idea was to use a 3D commercial game engine that supports DirectX9, DirectX11, DirectX12, Vulkan and tons more and that can export files to any OS or console in a single click and you used such an engine to make a black screen app ?

That's the equivalent of driving a Lamborghini to work at 5 Kmph everyday, you can do that with any car or can you not ?

Try doing it without a game engine and you have my respect and you don't have to post everything you make to the app store, a single screenshot in your website would suffice and when you make a serious app you can post it.

This is precisely why Steam killed greenlight due to junk being posted, if Google app store also follows suit and says okay mate you have to deposit 5000$ per app, that would be the end of indie game/app development and of course Apple and Microsoft would also follow suit, 5000$ is a ton of cash and in some countries is the average yearly income of an individual, so can anyone convince themselves to put their yearly salary at stake even if their game looks brilliant, hell no.

 

@Viz88 Yes i did, but i have added 3 more apps each week each a little more complicated then the last, If you read the previous posts the idea is to build towards something, trying to create a tool that may help someone along the way, i don't see what wrong with that

Why would you want to stop someone using unity in any way they want. I don't care if people use Photoshop to create square when paint will do it. I don't care when people use unity when JavaScript will do. its up to them

Its not too hard to do it without a game engine, but why should i have to, when Unity makes it so easy for you. Its very easy to criticise people, for trying something.

True it would kill the market, if you had to deposit $5000 per app but that's not going to happen because they would lose money and big businesses hate losing money.

Why do apps like mine bother you so much your never going to see them as they will be buried so deep in googles app store.

 

The idea was never to criticize you, it was to inspire you to make something more complex, so wish you luck and continue on whatever path you choose.

 

OK i appreciate that and hopefully in a couple of weeks or months i will have created something that has lot more complexity

 

@Viz88 @theANMATOR2b @SteveJ
This did not take me 2-3 hours but i thought i would just add it so you can see what have done before:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.box1&hl=en

 

I won't comment on quality - cause I think it's obvious, however that is a solid initial design with much more complexity than the other things you've posted above.

I won't ask why you released that since it's kinda given you do not have the same point of view about quality and too much crap saturating the market places, but I wonder - why didn't you consider improving on top of that design, which essentially allows you to meet the objective you what to achieve, which is

Instead of creating small 2-3 hour projects - spend those 2-3 hours improving on that game you created.

Just my opinion - and I know we all have one. But I think you make an interesting point about caring about what other people do regarding crap apps on the market places. So to each is own.

 

@theANMATOR2b
I think the reason that i have not improved upon it is that, know one seemed to care. Every time I would try to get some exposure to it google would remove reviews, if i put it in a forum no one would comment and trolls would just comment something mean cause that's what they do. It just became frustrating that know one would comment. It seemed like the only way to get exposure was to pay google. It also frustrated me that the play store was weighted in such a way that it would not come up in any search.

Although the visuals of the game was not high. Programmatically the techniques used were very complex. It used:
- An AI system for the boxes, that would actively walk around the floor
- An avoidance system that when it encountered you would run from you.
- An unlimited amount of levels.
- A difficulty level that would make the boxes harder and harder the more levels you played.
- Customization of the boxes.
- And many more

I think i get more satisfaction from creating small apps then large apps. that is why I have switched to them. there may be the hope that some one may see your work, however insignificant to others.

Are you a programmer? Have you ever programmed a game?

 

Alas I'm a artist without the ability to code/program, although I've tried several times.
I've worked on several commercially released games as an artist, so I can only relate to the feeling you experienced with your other game from stories others have told.
I feel your pain brother. I'm glad to see you did not give up and are pursuing gaming from a different, more enjoyable perspective.

I'm currently working on my very first - my own personal design. So I'll probably soon be able to relate to your past experience a lot more personally.
You'll see it posted in feedback friday soon.

Continue with your work. Regardless of who/what other people say - if it is your own path that you choose and you are happy with it - even naysayers like I've been on your simple projects - just keep developing, especially if you have passion for it as it seems you do.

 

new game nearly done just adding it to google. this time its Scare Phone. Basically shows a scary image when user clicks the screen. Here's a few pictures of the images used:

 

If you have any scary images send them to me and i will add them to the app. Will send a link, when game is ready

 

here it is: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Company.ScarePhone