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Republish or Update Game???

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by StarShipMan, Sep 11, 2015.

  1. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2014
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    91
    Hi everyone,

    I launched my first game Ninja Ball Dash approximately 8.5 months ago. I got 800+ downloads thus far on Google Play and about 300+ downloads on iOS Appstore. My average rating out of 57 reviews is 4.6.

    I designed the game to be very challenging and as a result the character couldn't jump very high and every crucial jump was suppose to be timed well or else you'll get killed. I do believe the game play is solid as I designed 40 levels with a challenging puzzle to break up all the platforming sections.

    I worked on a huge update the past week and I feel that it greatly improves the controls (the player has more of a floaty control giving players more time to readjust their movement while jumping), I tweaked almost every level again and I fixed issues with GUI scaling and other aspects of the game.

    Which leads to my question, do you guys feel that I should just update my existing game? Try to start afresh by unpublishing the old version (only getting 1-2 downloads daily now with a total of 80 active installs) and upload the new and improved version to try and get more downloads? Last kick of a dying horse....lol
     
  2. goat

    goat

    Joined:
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    I'm going to republish mine with an original UI eventually but what I'm going to do I suggest you do too. And that is update with Unity Analytics so you have an ideal if your game is played at all. I'd say with 80 downloads there is a good chance 10 - 20 play occasionally and you can get some valuable insight with Unity Analytics.
     
    StarShipMan likes this.
  3. Pix10

    Pix10

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2012
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    850
    Depends if you want the small number of people who do actually play your game, dumping on your re-release with caustic reviews (and 4.6 is pretty good going). Putting analytics into an intermediate update is a good idea.

    Bear in mind there can be a lot of love for devs who provide continued support....you don't hear many stories of people cutting the rope and starting again.

    Also 8.5 months isn't very long in terms of mobile shelf life to a user; we still get regular downloads of games released 4 years ago...it's not much, but enough players find our other games from those to justify keeping them alive, if not regularly updated.

    It might make no difference of course, but hey, murphy's law and all that.
     
    theANMATOR2b likes this.
  4. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    Hi Goat, thank you for the reply. I did implement Unity Analytics already and I've refined the gameplay soo much that I almost feel it will be a waste to just update the existing game, as the last week's worth of man hours and sweat was a lot of work, if there's a chance that none will even play it. Im not expecting hundreds of thousands of downloads at least a few thousand would make the 1200 hours development time worth it :(
     
  5. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    Hi Pix10, thank you for the reply. One of the reason I went back to my first game and updated it was due to Unity Analytics becoming so easy to use. At the moment I have no idea whats going on inside my game :( , due to a lack of Analytics. I am contemplating relaunching it as I somehow feel that Ill have an clean slate and usually a new app shows up in the new list on the appstore which coupled with improved gameplay might boost downloads. Greatly appreciate your opinion.
     
  6. goat

    goat

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    I don't understand. You say that you already use Unity Analytics to me but tell StarShipMan you don't.

    Same game - you should update. Or at least keep the old game available for those that have downloaded. However, if pulling the game they have doesn't keep the App Stores from archiving them a copy to re-download, then pull it if you like.
     
  7. Kryger

    Kryger

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    Oct 3, 2012
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    I guess update would be the straightest way to do it. However, I almost never update any games on my phone though, and even if it's sometimes on auto, I hardly ever check them out.
     
  8. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    Hi Kryger, thanks for the reply. Im making a list of all the people who are pro updating and against it. thus far the majority was pro updating the game and not unpublishing it :) Yeah, updating the existing game would be much less work. Totally agree!
     
  9. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    The Unity Analytics im referring to is actually on the updated build of the game im testing currently on my devices. That build is not live on Google Play or Appstore yet.
     
    goat likes this.
  10. NikiSlips

    NikiSlips

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    Sep 6, 2015
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    I'd re-release, but keep the original up as well for those who already have it if possible. The reason I say re-release is because, like Kryger up there, I almost never update games on my phone. Honestly, I don't really know a lot of people who do. Usually they just complain about having a ton of update notifications, but never check them. XD
     
  11. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    Hi NikiSlips, thanks for the reply. I think im going to keep the old version and update it for now and later ill expand the gameplay further and re-release it. I actually stopped and worked on this current update while I was in the middle of working on a follow up game. So I'm eager to get back to the new game again. However for the next few days ill have to manually update my iOS version as well :(
     
  12. elmar1028

    elmar1028

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    Small changes in the game are better tobbe updates than a separate game.
    If you made lots of changes, added new mechanics, levels etc then it's best to be a new game.
     
  13. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    Hey Elmar1028, thanks for the feedback. I made many changes greatly improving gameplay however I did not add new levels or mechanics. Im thinks of just updating is as that is what the general consensus is.
     
  14. elmar1028

    elmar1028

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    Why not add new levels as well?
     
  15. Nubz

    Nubz

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    I would also consider a sequel or w/e you want to call it.
    leave the original like it is or maybe update it and make the second one.
     
  16. JamesLeeNZ

    JamesLeeNZ

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    Android I would update. iOS... not sure tbh. No guarantee creating a new application that is the same game will be allowed, especially if you are planning on using the same name.

    tbh, I would just update both.

    You might get those 300 downloads on iOS again for a new release, but those 300 downloads are actually worth nothing. Seems a common occurrence with iOS is over first week you get between 100-500 downloads, which quickly coasts away to 1-2/day/week, which makes me suspicious about whether its even a human.
     
    theANMATOR2b likes this.
  17. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    I am actually working on a sequel, I just wasn't happy with the way the game played and I always wanted to update it. I just finished submitting the iOS update today :)
     
  18. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    I managed to update iOS in addition to the Android version, It was a headache working with Xcode, as I had to delete all of my certificates and provisions. I submitted the update today. I figured its my first game and its best that I keep the original version and just update it. At least now I have peace of mind knowing I did everything I could to improve the game.
     
  19. StarShipMan

    StarShipMan

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    Hi everyone, thank you for your feedback and thoughts on this thread. I have decide to just update both versions of the game based on the general consensus :D As it is my first game I also realized its better to keep it online for nostalgia sake.

    If you are using an Android device the update is live already, please download it in the link. I would love to know your thoughts.
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.JamaludineDolley.NinjaBallDash&hl=en

    iOs version is pending approval by the all mighty overlords.

    Thanks again!