Zombie Unapocalypse [RPG/Simulation Android Game] [LAUNCHED]

I spent way too long on this...

I'm happy to say that my first solo project is finally done. Zombie Unapocalypse is an RPG/Management Simulation game for Android that features a lone warrior battling through city after city, slaying an incredible number of zombies, all while getting continuously stronger. I'm not going to lie, the game is heavy on grinding, though it's not very taxing on the player since there are plenty of ways to automate and facilitate that process, the main one being that your character automatically walks forward and attacks zombies on his own. The appeal of the game (I hope) is in the progression; You start off weak, dealing low damage and slaying a low number of zombies, and eventually become a one-man wrecking crew as you learn and abuse the game systems to speed up your zombie slaying.

Game is currently live on the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.RyanLopez.ZombieUnapocalypse

The trailer and screenshots will likely give you a better idea of the gameplay:

All of the programming, game design, UI design, and music were done by myself (excluding the many helpful assets I bought from the Asset Store). The character art, weapon art, and background art were done by a friend of mine. Fonts, most icons, and some clip art were acquired elsewhere. It's all listed in the in-game credits should you be interested. I call it a solo project, since the vast majority of the work was done by me, but I'm super grateful for all the help I got with game assets, and also for the Unity community. I didn't ask too many questions myself, but typically whatever I was having trouble with was answered already, so thank you to all you helpful people out there.

This started out as a small project that felt like more of a hobby on the side, but then I just started putting more and more hours into it. I'm not super into the mobile games market, having only played a few myself, so I'm not too sure how a game like this will fare with that audience, but... it's addicting by nature if you enjoy leveling up, so here's hoping I guess. It has plenty of typical mobile game features such as In-App purchases, rewarded video ads, social sharing (well, just Twitter), achievements, and leaderboards. I considered making the project smaller in scale and not putting in a lot of these kinds of features, but I sort of just wanted the practice with them so they would be easier to implement in future projects.

Also, no iOS release as of yet. I want to see how it fares on Google Play first (and possibly iron out more bugs that hopefully don't exist), and I still need an Apple Dev license and an iOS device to test on as well.


Assuming I still have your attention, I do have some questions for the ever helpful Unity community.

One, is there any reason I wouldn't want to release my game in other countries (as in, all of the ones Google Play allows)? I live in the U.S. and that's my primary target audience, not to mention the game has a lot of English text explaining core game systems, but I don't see why I should care if someone outside of the U.S. played it. There are IAP for real cash and two of them are random in nature. You can purchase premium currency with real cash and can also find it in game (from watching rewarded video ads and daily bonuses). You can then use that currency to buy weapons, but the weapon type is randomized. I think there's some countries that may see that as a form of gambling or something, but I'm really not clear on that kind of stuff so any info would be appreciated. Also, I use Ad Colony and Unity Ads. I filtered out anything religious, political, gambling-related, and sexually explicit from the Ad Colony ads. Not sure how to do that with Unity Ads (or if it's even necessary).

Two, what are some other simple and free ways I can get the word out about my game? As I touched on before, I'm really not well-versed with the mobile market and definitely not with any type of advertising, so again any help would be appreciated. I'm not too hung up on trying to build massive hype for my game, but I feel I should apply some effort in letting people know it exists.

Thank you for reading/viewing this post. Double thank you if have any helpful answers for my questions. Super-duper triple thank you if you play my game once it's released!

EDIT: Forgot to add some other relevant links if anyone should care...

WEBSITE: http://www.ryanlopezgames.com
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ryanlopezgames
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Ryan-Lopez-Games-725571100913902/

 

Looks good, after watching the video, I immediately checked the google app store to download it but didn't see it XD

 

Usually deciding to deploy to additional countries - requires the game to be localized for the specific country. Especially when the country has a different language - and especially when the country has a different monetary system.
A simple example - How is a person in Mexico going to make an informed decision about an in app purchase when the rate listed in the game is in US dollars, or if they are not able to read English?

There is a TON of information about marketing/advertising as indie. Google will lead you to a bunch of helpful information.

 

Yeah, not until this Saturday. Thanks for checking it out and happy to see you're interested!

That's a fair point as I did say that my game was heavy on text explaining its systems. It was my understanding that the Google Play Store converts prices into whatever local currency the user would be using, but you're right that many users wouldn't even know exactly what they were buying. I was certainly more concerned with legal issues but you do bring up a good point.

I've read several other posts on these forums where people recommend releasing in most if not all countries because there's no reason to limit your audience because you assume those from other countries wouldn't be able to play your game. Speaking from personal experience from actually using apps that were not translated to English, I've certainly never felt that it was the developer's responsibility to translate the app simply because I was being allowed to use it without being able to understand it. I do want everyone who plays it to enjoy it, but I can't really definitively say that people who live in generally non-English speaking countries would not be able to enjoy it. I'll look into it some more and try to get more opinions on it. In the meantime though, I was still slightly concerned with any legal issues considering my game is (comically) gory and features a sort of gambling-type mechanic with being able to spend premium currency for a random weapon. When I did the self-rated ESRB survey for my game, it ended up with a Mature rating (I guess because the zombies are human-like), if that matters at all.

All right, I'll look again. I likely just searched for the wrong thing since I seemed to just find a bunch of articles on inexpensive hype campaigns spanning the length of your project and tips on how to manage a Twitter/Facebook page for your game. I was more wondering if there were certain types of websites or individuals I should be focusing on. Another user here mentioned YouTube channels that showcase new mobile games (which none of the websites I went to mentioned at all), so that could be good to look into.

 

Yes I have read the same although I believe they were specifically talking about setting up the game in advance/development and design to where the game can be universally understood - something like an infinite runner with images to represent upgrades and such, color red is universally bad, color green/yellow is universally good. OR setting up the game to be easily localized to the regions you wish to deploy to. From reading about this (no hands on experience) all text/number values should be stored in easy accessible files (xml?) so they can be accessed by either a localization team, or by a translator.

This may be true when the data is accessible via xml file or other such data structure. I don't think the google play store could convert a price that is represented by an image with the price listed on it.

From all the research I've performed on this topic - most (95%) of developers have said localize for the regions you want to deploy in - if you want to have any chance at success in those regions. The other tip I remember regarding localization is nearly all developers suggest not to attempt translating yourself unless you are bilingual.

I can't give advice on this other than to say - Australia and Germany are pretty strict when it comes to over the top violence and/or sexuality. To get the best advice legally - your best bet is someone familiar with law and overseas digital products.

 

Thanks for the detailed response. I really didn't expect my game to be all that successful in non-English speaking countries since it is so text heavy, nor did I really plan to localize it unless by some miracle it becomes incredibly successful. I'll likely limit the countries I release to, especially since that will more or less assuage my legal concerns as well. Thank you again theANMATOR2b for your input!

 

Just a quick little update. Game is now live on the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.RyanLopez.ZombieUnapocalypse

I updated the original post as well. Any feedback is welcome. I know it's not perfect and I know it likely appeals mostly to a certain audience or type of gamer, but any and all feedback is fine. I can take it.

 

I expected a 3d third person or top down rts style game but I enjoyed it well despite the expectations. I like the game mechanics and seeing your character become more powerful is my favorite in any similar game. The game is well made

 

Thank you for your feedback; it's very appreciated.