Thank you so much for caring enough to support! This is something we will discuss with the team (difficulty curve) and address. It could be that the improved controls do make it a bit easier - but your concerns are valid and in the mobile space, more options are required.
Please, as numerous others already said, include easy difficulty with stomping attack to instantly kill enemies and more lives.Never had this much frustration with game difficulty , it is almost unplayable for me , and probably most "casual" players that hop in and out of game in 10 or less minutes.
The difficulty isn't a putoff at all to me. I just need the dpad to be in a fixed position and I'm ready to devour this game. Bad reviews (as far as the AppStore go) will pretty much disappear with the update as the default view is to show only reviews on the current version. Many of the big app websites that matter haven't reviewed the game yet, probably for the same reason that an update is in the pipeline to make the controls more user friendly. So lesson learned the hard way, but people keep coming back to this thread and are interested in the update so consider this pre-launch. Hit the snooze button and start to worry after the update has been out a few days or so and everyone is able to play the game and take the time to write reviews.
I honestly think for platform games especially moveable controls are getting to be the default standard. I hope a year from now when icade is more popular and the apple joystick is out that joystick controls will be standard too in the future. I remember Mikey shorts being kinda of one of the first ones that I remember that did it well with moveable controls and icade support. Happy to note that Mikey shorts and other bros took my advice to go with transparent controls during icade use. Then when I beta tested Wimp, convinced the developer to go with moveable controls. So I really think for any developer nowadays, moveable controls on most games is a must, for people to fully enjoy and respect any game. Especially with the different ways a game is played whether on their iphone, widescreen iphone, ipad retina, ipad mini, ipad 2, hdmi tv, and whether on a stand, tripod, lap, chest, flat, or on a table. Just too many variations on where the controls should be to play it well. So moveable controls and joystick support is where it is at.
I can't believe the pocketgamer review a) did so much damage and b) was so harsh anyway. Every other one I saw praised TOB and critiqued the controls to varying extents without allowing it to become 5/10! As an onlooker of sorts it's hard not to be annoyed by that. Still, update and approaching new content should even the balance some. Also, thanks everyone who bought the soundtrack! I'm working on new material right now.
Not really an onlooker, more like Gandalf with a Guitar doing aural magic and an essential member of the dev team
Just an outside perspective from a fellow indie dev: Look at it positively: your game has been in the top 100 games for a week now, got a New and Noteworthy from Apple (!) and you have lots of players here who love the game. Many devs, including myself, are excited on days when their game hit the top 1000 and distance themselves from single digit daily sales. I also got hit, same as you by some rougher reviews but worked my ass off to fix the bad points about the game, same as you are doing. Players will recognize this and at the end of the day they are who matters. You seem to be passionate dedicated to listen to your players and upgrading your game continually. I did the same thing with mine and it will allow you to keep a level of interest instead of diving down to the nether quickly. It's also very satisfying to get positive feedback from players that way and can maybe snowball into something good for followup titles by building your brand. People will know that when they see Simian Squared it means that you're behind your title and will get alot of value for their purchase. Hope that cheers you up a bit. You got a great start and will just get better once your control update is live.
Proof of this point being that, even after Pocket Gamer's review (which seemed rather disproportionate), the site's readers STILL voted The Other Brothers Game of the Week. Forget the reviews. You've created a gem and I honestly wish more iOS developers were like you guys.
once your control update comes out those negative reviews will turn positive, its a great game you guys did an awesome job on it... no worries you will be back in the green in no time. hurry up apple release the darn update already!
I've gifted this game to a few of my friends, after the update this gem will truly shine! I think you guys did a great job. Can't wait for episode 2!
Thanks for the major support guys, I feel as though we must be doing something right after all! My update sense is tingling! It has to be today, surely?! Don't forget guys, the game is not a cut and dried damsel in distress story. There's a massive twist to the tale and its not that the princess is in another castle. Far from it. I hate spoilers, so I'll have to just leave you hanging until episode 3. Plus the team would probably moan at me for at least two years for letting slip the secret! But fear not, there is a giant twist to it. The clues are in the cutscenes, it's just a matter of trying to figure out what exactly! Our lips are sealed. Episode 2 will reveal more! And we are already 20% done with that at least!
Man what is up with apple? Gemini rue, admittedly an awesome game comes out yesterday and within 12 hours gets updated with a bug fix, but this, TOB their update takes a week of "processing". Bafflingly irritating, in my opinion.
Man. Apple rating has slipped to 3.5, mainly due to terse comments like "terrible controls, waste of money." It got to #17! So unfair that public perception of a few hardcases can do so much damage. Someone also said it was 300mb. Now, I've by now downloaded (only briefly played as I want to spend an evening getting it into bed :]) and it was 50 odd MB... Right? They also said it was just pixelart. Bjorn's approach to pixelart is like Michelangelo's approach to decorating. I think we have other jealous devs trying to derail with 1stars, but I would think that; it's exactly what I would do. I reiterate: update and Ep II (so stoked to be working on a game with episodes, like Star Wars!) will cram the naysayers into a dimension made of used underwear. Still, if you're a naysayer who paid money, you have my respect as well
Eeewwww, so sick of hearing the term "pixel art" to describe what until the advent of textured polygons was simply called "graphics". In other news: where is the update????!!!!
I like it, some people dont like 'pixel art' and want new smooth type graphics. I'm happy to see a difference as i like picking up these more retro looking games. But yeah shame the update is taking so long, come on Apple !!
Pixel art isn't the same thing as general "graphics" though. It is a specific art form and it doesn't just apply to games. Pixel art literally involves drawing on a pixel by pixel basis. Most 2D artwork is not not drawn pixel by pixel, and your textured polygons comment is irrelevant. Eboy is good example of Pixel art.
Woke up this morning to see an update badge on my App Store icon ... only to find that it was for Open Table :/ Is there a difference between bug fix updates and regular updates in terms of how long it takes Apple to process them? Do bug fixes get higher priority than updates? All I know is that my patience is wearing thin. I just want to jump into this game so badly and updated controls would facilitate that. C'mon Apple! Maybe we should print some "Free The Other Brothers Update" t-shirts!
