Aerial Antics Experimental Extended Demo
Community Forums/Showcase/Aerial Antics Experimental Extended Demo
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| MAKE SURE TO UNINSTALL ANY PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE DEMO! Fellow Blitzers, I'm experimenting with a new demo for Aerial Antics after reading up some more information on Dexterity. It says you can increase your sales by an order of magnitude by placing your Buy Now button in more places and also by showing off more content that the users will experience (though it doesn't have to be playable). I decided that a really easy demo isn't such a good thing. Marble Blast does very well and I in fact bought it (well my brother did but I would have if he didn't) after I beat the really hard level at the end of the Gold demo. It seems like a very good thing to have some sort of challenge in the game as it makes people spend more time with it. As such I added a pretty difficult level which also looks spectacular. I figure someone may not beat it their first night out, but it might possibly stop the player from wiping it off the hard drive as well. In this new demo I've retained the original 5 levels, added a bonus challenge level and then added a non-playable video level showing off a little more of what you'll get in the whole package on top of adding a Buy Now button which is dispayed in the upper left hand corner during gameplay and can be pressed when the game is paused. Let me know how this demo makes you feel about the game. Does it wow you more? The original demo was pretty tame and in this I decided to show a few of the more exciting moments the game contains. Does the challenge level frustrate you too much? It's pretty deep into the game but with a gamepad and some patience my mother could beat it. I feel the last level in the Marble Blast Gold demo is much more difficult. What do you think? So all the questions in line: Does it wow you? Does the challenge level frustrate you too much? How much time does it take you to go through this demo? Do you want to buy it? If not, what would you like to see that would make you purchase the game? If you just don't like it, what is it that you think you don't like? We're true indie professionals at Leadfoot who are going to stick with our game until it absolutely rules. The Blitz community already rules and we really appreciate and need all your support to help us go the distance. Play the experiment demo here: http://www.leadfootproductions.com/Install-Aerial-Antics-Demo.exe (It's no longer an experiment, I've made it the normal demo to see what it does as far as conversion.) MAKE SURE TO UNINSTALL ANY PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE DEMO! |
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| Does it wow you? Does now. A whole lot more slick and polished than the first demo I tried, especially the controls. Beautiful, it is :) Does the challenge level frustrate you too much? No. How much time does it take you to go through this demo? About ten minutes. Do you want to buy it? I might just do that. The buy-now button all over the place was a bit annoying and cheesy (I always think those things are), but I can imagine it serves it's purpose well. Just don't make it flash up or animate or some other attention-seeking s#$%! |
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| I'll give it a shot when i get home. However never having played the original, i can't really comment on whether its better :) |
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| Something I read on the Dexterity forums was that Mike Boeh of Retro64 found out that the easier you make the demo, the better sales will be. Therefore putting a challenging level in there may not have the desired effect sales-wise. The new level you have put in, is one of the ones I really struggled with in the main game - and I would consider myself an experienced player. I would consider fading the level out once the first ball has been hit, and say to the user 'please buy the full version to play the rest of the level'. Otherwise I can see too many people being frustrated by that level. Also, I found it odd that you show the buy button while you are playing even though you can't select it. |
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| Erik: Great! That's what I was thinking. If you enjoyed it I think purchasing the full version would be good for you! Simon: You can select the buy now button but you must pause the game first. Also, Retro's game is a bit different. I think that our game will be too hard for the casual players anyway, so I might as well target the player who likes a challenge a bit. Ross: I look forward to your feedback! |
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| I played it, the graphics turned funny colours and flashed white, then the menu went black, then when I hit end task a runtime error popped up that said: Is it really that hard? Then I tried playing it again but it just changed the resolution of my desktop and cut it into little peices then scrambled the peices so I couldn't end task. I had to use the restart button. But other then that, it looked good! :) |
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| LOL! Sorry for that, try new drivers especially if you have an ATI card. The very latest drivers from END of December work. Otherwise you may have gotten some corrupted file as I was making changes on the website. Now you can get the game as the normal demo. I decided to go ahead and see what this puppy will do. Experimenting is all part of being an indie. |
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| Ahhhh... I guess I am supposed to update my stuff once and a while. I have never done that once! |
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| all i got was a input not supported error..what ever this means ? |
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| This is much better then the orignal demo, I found the controls much easier this time round. I did find the challenge level too irritating tho, and it put me off buying the game. Nice back drops - I wanted to fly around and explore but it didnt let me:) |
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| Hello, after trying the first demo a little while back I am pleased to say that this ones tons better but I still have a few niggles, see below. >Does it wow you? Graphically yes, sonically so so, gameplay, good fun and keeps you coming back but just a little to frustrating for my taste and thats coming from someone whos beaten FZero GX on master difficulty. >Does the challenge level frustrate you too much? Yes in a word. >How much time does it take you to go through this demo? 10-15mins. Mainly due to the highly frustrating final level. Number 6 I believe. >Do you want to buy it? No, but not because its a bad game. I just believe it to be unfair at the moment. I like my games hard but if completing a level relies to much on luck then I will not buy it. >If not, what would you like to see that would make you purchase the game? See above. Apart from that the game is spot on and I like it a lot. >If you just don't like it, what is it that you think you don't like? Again, see above. If you can sort these tiny niggles out then I think you will make lots more sales. Jason. |
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| I think the controls work well, BUT they are a bit tricky. I think he gather momentum too quickly or something, but i really respect the effort that has gone in. Top jop. I think your gonna find it very very difficult to make the controls much better, because of the type of game it is. I think strafing would be cool tho, and might help a bit more. I hope i answered some of your questions. Control is the only fault i can see in it :) Good work! |
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| I used the stablise button which mad controling things alot easier. Still a bit tough, but better :D I think it's a pretty cool cool and i congratulate you. i would take my hat off, but i don't own one ;) |
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| Tiler: If you have some non-supported USB device it could be interfering. A steering wheel or joystick something like that can be used to control the interface and could be messing things up. Rigz and Quicksilva: Did you erase the game from you hard drive or do you feel the need to go back for more later? I think you'll find it rewarding to beat that level and it will make you want to purchase the game but I might be wrong. Anyway, I'm going to try this for the second half of February on our website only and see how the numbers compare to the first half. Should be interesting. |
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| I did beat that level just on general principal, but didn't feel any gratification from doing it, I think because I felt I didnt have any control over the ball and just seemed to fluke it in the end. I thought to myself, if the rest of the games like that then I can't be bothered. The demo you see at the end of the game is good tho. You should add a record feature for us lot so u can see what noobies do when they play (struggle) it :) |
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| BAN, Great graphics! (I thought so when you showed the pics as a WIP). I just played the experimental demo, used the keyboard controls and they worked smoothly. Though I haven't seen the full version, I thought that jumping/flying through targets (tests) might get a bit repetitive. Perhaps promoting your flyer through the course of the game so that the flyer becomes part of a team of flyers (networked version) that go around to rescue cats from trees, babies in burning buildings, de-activating run-away nuclear reactors in military satellites. In other words mission based levels. This would also allow you to add expansion packs (levels/missions/graphics/costumes/settings), maybe a capture the flag level. Another option/upgrade would be to allow player to select from different characters (including female flyers), and ability to change suit colors, so that player can customize flyer to suit his/her tastes. Don't get me wrong I think the game is fine as it is, but believe that mission based flying and flyer graphic options would be a more immersive game environment, hopefully leading to more sales. Any way I think it looks and plays terrific, best of luck! Andy |
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| As Simon said that is one of the hardest levels, well depending on who you are (I don't find it particularly hard especially compared to the last level in the Marble Blast Gold demo). There are some other good challenges in the game of course. Some similar and some not. But if you can beat that it really isn't a fluke and you'll do fine with the rest of the game. Simply be gentle and tap the ball of each ledge (use right angles for that level) and you're there. Hmmm... but if you don't have the gratification of conquering a challenge then my point was missed and I'll probably take that out and simply have the recording playback with the old 5 levels. So then Rigz you would be more likely to buy the game based on the first 5 levels? Or would you just not buy the game no matter what? |
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| Andy, yes well we would like to do a sequel but this game is this game. You've got to walk before you can run! It doesn't get repetitive because the levels stay diverse due to the various terrains and we add many new gameplay elements, some of the scenarios will surprise you! Did you beat the whole demo as it shows off a few more gameplay elements. You don't just land and fly through rings! We wouldn't be published if all we had was 50 levels of that ;) |
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| I liked the demo alot. It's alot better than the last one. I would definitely buy this if I was into this kind of games. It did wow me, and I found the controls good. It's just that people are too lazy nowadays to learn any controls... they get frustrated too quickly ... but I think this game is all about controls. And the demo was not too difficult... and this is coming from a guy who doesn't really play any games (just makes 'em) :). And the bonus demo was really great... I think it's important that the player sees a little different location in the end... because the canyons are graphically more impressive than the first 5 levels. I think this leaves you wanting more.... All in all a great game. |
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| Yeh, I'd more likely buy the game after the first 5 levels and watching that demo that shows it off. Btw I like the detail in the backdrops, like the airstrip and the big doors in the ground that open up every now and then :) |
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| OK, Thanks Rigz! If my experiment fails to prove a better sales tool my next step will be to only include the preview for players this way they see more game, but don't get frustrated by a late level which they've not had time to work up to. Next up after that will be a redone interface. If you really slick up an interface it almost makes you want the game before you play it! Some games however I think rely on that polish too much. We've been told to look at Zuma at Pop Cap. Now I personally was wowed by the polish but after a few rounds I was bored of the gameplay which doesn't change and isn't as addicting as Tetris. However, it's getting rave reviews and it cost more money... |
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| mm. It looks better - but I get quite a few bugs. 1.When I change res to anything but 800x600, the mouse always moves to the left or always moves to the right? 2.Sometimes when I'm thrusting, the flame sprites go smaller and then larger. this probably is because of a negative scaling. 3.Maybe not a bug, but when I don't thrust, and move the mouse forward/back the thrusters don't rotate? 4.I get a MAV when it tries to load the challenge. this might be only one time, as I only tried once. |
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| You need to uninstall the old demo! That's the MAV I have it posted twice above and also on my site in red. The mouse will move if you have a secondary input device connected such as a joystick which is not calibrated correctly because it can be used to control the menus. You cannot move the thrusters on the ground because you need to be flying ;) Yes the flame sprites do that on slower machines. Easy fix for that though. |
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| BAN300, >Rigz and Quicksilva: >Did you erase the game from you hard drive or do you feel >the need to go back for more later? I think you'll find >it rewarding to beat that level and it will make you want >to purchase the game but I might be wrong. I did complete that level in my first sitting as it wasn`t actually the difficulty that annoyed me just the fact that it felt a little random. I think that you would do better to drop just that one level and still show the video at the end which was very nice. By the time the players reach that level in the real game I`m sure that they will be fully able to control the player to a high degree, unlike people who have just started to play the demo for a quick ten minute go. Apart from that though I really admire you for your effort in completing this game. Its something that most of us will never do so a big well done! Every thing else is spot on but if I was making this game I would add a choice of different characters, it needn`t be many, that offered a choice of different play styles. The original PilotWings even did this. That way you could have characters that are very sensitive to player input and others that respond slower. This would keep everyone happy and also add an element of stratigy to each level. Or maybe if you want to stick with the one character you could add an adjustment bar before each level like in FZero that would allow you to choose between speed or accuracy. >Bouncer >It did wow me, and I found the controls good. It's just >that people are too lazy nowadays to learn any >controls... they get frustrated too quickly ... I can assure you this was not the case. Go away and complete FZeroGX on master difficulty and then tell me that I get frustrated to easily :) Haha... but seriously I always give games a fair play and do agree with what you have said. Peoples attention spans have shortened lately so you need to hook them from the start :) Jason. |
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| Thanks everyone! I think I will actually be removing the difficult level as there are a few actual game levels which really help work players up to that one with the ball. I just happen to really like playing with that level and I thought it had a nice view so perhaps it might have the same effect on players and make them pull out the plastic ;) There's been also a lot of advice that says it should be time limited. Since the demo is so short I am now toying with a 10 mintues (of actual playtime, not in the program time) limit. It shouldn't stop anyone from completing the demo or even exploring a little for a few rounds (as in Alien Shooter) but it has adds a little more pressure as you feel that you might want to check it out again in the future but it'll be inaccessible for people. I don't want to annoy people with it just coax them to buy it if they enjoy it that's all. We'll be testing that out to see if it annoys or not lol. |
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| 10 minutes probably isn't enough, though... |
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| Hmmm... 5 levels and none even require 30 seconds of actual playtime unless you want to just fly around. You could play through the demo 2X easily with some leisure time to just soar. If that's not enough then I would think they'd want the full version. Within 10 minutes they should know if they like it and want to play more. However, we're still testing it and I haven't decided on a final time yet. 15 minutes is a possability also. |
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| If you can play through all the content in 10 minutes then you could perhaps considering increasing the amount of content in the demo, ten minutes isn't enough to get someone hooked. |
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| I upped it to 15 minutes. New players I've seen need this much time typically to play it a few times. I can beat the whole thing in about 5 minutes which would let me show it to someone else, for example if I was a kid and wanted to show it to parents. However, I'm like the master at the game so others won't be so quick. I'm also thinking about the hook, but mainly I'm trying to say here's the gameplay, here's a beautiful preview of some more of it, also there's more in the game that you don't see but you get the idea. If you like it then buy it quick. The idea is to get a quick sale. The challenge demo I made broke that law. A quick sale is the best sale. Too many people would have a hard time and maybe keep it on their drive till they beat it but the quick sale is gone. I want these things to convert ASAP. The amount of content one needs to add into a demo is very subjective. If you don't add enough you possibly don't hook the player. If you add too much you possibly give them all they need. I've played way too many demos that give me too much content/time and I get bored with it to soon. I never registered my shareware copy of Doom! The shareware itself contained hours of gameplay, it was a whole game in itself. Sure the concept blew me away at the time but after the 8 levels in the game I was spent on the concept. It would be cool to go back and see if the game would have done just as good or better on 1-3 levels. Well, it's a bad argument anyway cause that was the best selling shareware ever ... doh! But would it do as good in today's flooded shareware market, I think not ... Yeah! I'm just experimenting. Every game is different in how it will best sell. I'm simply going to take baby steps with this one until I find the best approach. For now I'm going to give the new demo some time and see how much better it converts, surely it can't do worse since I improved upon every rule of the shareware demo handbook aka Dexterity lol. I might possibly do a more addict players to the gameplay demo with like half the levels and a 30 minute time limit or something. It all depends. I'd like to hit a 3 - 5% conversion rate. With tweaking it's possible to up your conversion rate quite a bit. You just have to figure out the correct light to show your title in. First impressions are important. In fact I think our next change will not likely be demo content but will be the GUI. |
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