Messages

1

Tidalis / Re: Are there plans for a mobile version?

« on: November 09, 2011, 07:16:45 PM »

My pleasure, Mivo.  I figure a lot of misunderstandings get avoided with candor rather than trying to hide things.

It breeds customer loyalty. I think most people don't mind hard or even downright bad news, as long as they feel that they are communicated with in an open, same-level manner, rather than getting fed the "company lines".

You know, Tidalis is the reason why I ended up buying AI War and its three expansions, and I just bought AVWW as well, which is another purchase that without Tidalis may not have happened. For some of those 70,000 Tidalis buyers the situation may be the same, so while it didn't meet the financial expectations, it did help to introduce Arcen Games' titles to a wider audience.

Well, the night is still young, so I think I'll give AVWW a whirl and share my thoughts in the appropriate place. Thanks again for your response, Chris.

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Tidalis / Re: Are there plans for a mobile version?

« on: November 08, 2011, 11:51:22 PM »

Thank you, that was more detail and information than I expected, and I appreciate the candor and the "that's how it is" description of the situation. (You're great.) I still find it hard to accept that Tidalis has been a money drain, as I experience it as such a wonderful game whose potential just doesn't seem to be recognized by a larger portion of the market.

It's probably the negative effect of the first, brief impression making it seem like yet another block-based match-3 title, but that's been chewed on before already. Ironically, on iOS, this would probably be a plus, if, as you pointed out, the controls were done well. (I'm still surprised at how nicely the tablet works for gaming; even genres I didn't expect to have a place at all, like (casual) racing.) I can see why the risk may simply be too high or feel like throwing more money at something without a near-guaranteed return, especially if it's not even fun to work on.

I wish I could think of a way to help and make a port more likely to happen, but this seems to be a "it's what it is" situation, and from the sound of it, you have already explored this in quite a bit of depth.. Hey, I could buy the Valley game, though a 2D sidescroller ...    I'll watch the video.

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Tidalis / Are there plans for a mobile version?

« on: November 08, 2011, 10:44:54 PM »

I haven't been around here for a while, so, "Hi!" -- I'm glad to see Arcen Games are still going strong. (I actually just started, finally, getting deeper into AI Wars.)

But anyway, around May this year I picked up an iPad2, fully expecting it to be one of those spontaneous "want this shiny toy!" purchases I'd regret within a week, or two at the most. Surprisingly, I fell in love with it and it now shares my gaming time pretty equally with the PC.  What it is missing is one of my favourite action puzzle games ever: Tidalis! So, are there plans to port the game to iOS? Or at least Android? Games of this genre seem to be thriving on that platform. I was surprised by the web version, by the way, but that was a great idea!

(I've seen Unity games on iOS, so it may not be too complex to port?)

4

Tidalis / Favourite theme/tune?

« on: September 14, 2010, 01:56:04 PM »

What's your favourite theme/tune?

I like pretty much all of the animated backgrounds and songs, but the one that I use for quick games is almost always "River". I dig that tune, and catch myself humming it after playing!

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Tidalis / Re: First impressions. :)

« on: September 09, 2010, 02:01:44 PM »

I just picked this up through the GamersGate sale (and I activated on Steam :p ).

I didn't know this worked, but just now also successfully registered my GG-bought copy on Steam. I have mixed feelings about Steam, though, and normally just use it when there's no alternative to it (Puzzle Quest 2, Civ5 in a couple weeks). Games start more slowly for me, I have to run the Steam program, and offline mode has not always worked flawlessly. I like the community aspects, the cloud, and the online achievements, though.

6

Tidalis / Re: Tidalis 30% off at GamersGate

« on: September 08, 2010, 12:41:08 PM »

Nice banner!

GamersGate also fixed the "bug" (or maybe it was a missing feature) that prevented the posting of reviews for bundles, so Tidalis now does have at least one review there, too.

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Tidalis / Tidalis 30% off at GamersGate

« on: September 06, 2010, 02:08:06 AM »

Just saw that GamersGate offers Tidalis with a 30% discount (probably throughout the week). Awesome deal for those who don't have it yet or want an additional copy, or gift one.   Link.

8

Off Topic / Re: Starcraft 2 in 3 parts, good or bad?

« on: August 28, 2010, 07:45:29 AM »

Did they state that the expansions will be sold at the full price, too?

Personally, I think it depends on the content you get, and also whether it's a stand-alone product or requires the previous game(s). I don't think I'm very mainstream in my opinion, but I don't really mind paying the full price for an expansion if the game provides entertainment for dozens or hundreds of hours. Many, many new releases now just give you 10-20 hours of fun (without much replayability) and still cost 30-40 Euro a pop.

Compared to, say, movies or a visit at a restaurant that is still not necessarily a bad deal, but as far as games go I'd really like to play my stuff for a bit longer without running out of content or "things to do". SC2 with its online ladder system and huge community does provide me with that, so I'll most likely get the expansions even if they sell at the full price -- if only to support the company and give them initiative to continue the support.

Blizzard (while I don't necessarily agree with some of the more recent decisions) has always been fairly good with their games. I played Diablo 2 on their online service for years, and only bought the original game and the expansion. (Which led to a WoW subscription that's now been lasting for nearly six years, so good customer care does pay off.) You can still play all their non.subscription games online, even after more than a decade after the purchase. Not many companies offer that. So that's an aspect I consider when deciding whether I buy a game or if the asking price is acceptable.

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Tidalis / Re: First impressions. :)

« on: August 27, 2010, 03:12:16 PM »

Arcen Games' good reputation is well-earned, though. You guys do fantastic community work, AI Wars enjoys the reputation of the best AI (I haven't played it yet, but I saw it mentioned again over at Stardock's Elemental forums, which allowed me to chip in a mention of Tidalis!), and Tidalis is fresh and creative -- so, I think you worked hard for the good reputation that you undoubtedly do have.

I currently work for a smallish company that runs a free-to-play social online game (vanity items for money, much like a glorified graphical chat room), so I can relate to the marketing budget issues. We don't really have one either. On the upside, it means not having to deal with marketing people. Back during the "internet boom" in the second half of the 90s, I worked for a Fujitsu spin-off (WorldsAway) and my three bosses were the marketing ladies. Trying to get their needs and expectations under the same hat as the users' needs and desires wasn't a cakewalk. But yes, having a marketing budget is nice.

It's difficult to actively help with spreading the word, though. I plan on putting up a small review at GamersGate, which I can probably recycle for GameFAQs, but exposure for niche/indie games is extremely low there (people need to know about the game before they'll find it). I can probably get a mention on the web site of the German gaming magazine "PC Games" (used to work for German publishers in the 90s, not anymore though, just some connections here and there left), will have to ask or write it myself.

Hmm, these threads always get chatty.

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Off Topic / Re: Have you been playing SC2?

« on: August 27, 2010, 02:51:36 PM »

I've been playing online for a bit. It's seems to be quite the polished game and I'm having fun with it, but it's very twitchy and requires fast reactions -- which clashes a bit with my preference for turn-based strategy. But I've played enough to find watching replays of professional/top SC2 players exciting, so lately I find myself watching those instead of playing myself. I guess it's like the millions that watch soccrer/baseball/etc. on TV without being able to do these sports themselves (at a decent level).

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Tidalis / Re: First impressions. :)

« on: August 27, 2010, 02:45:37 PM »

Word-of-mouth has worked very well for AI War, and we're hoping it will do so for Tidalis as well.

I'm pretty sure it will. If this had been released on the Nintendo DS, you'd have a huge following already. But I have no doubt that the game will attract more and more players. It's very playable, fun, and actually fresh. It probably suffers a little from the "match 3" stigma and the over-abundance of "match 3" titles. It doesn't even fully fit into that genre, but that's something the word of mouth will definitely help with (and actually, it may even be an advantage)!

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Tidalis / Re: Important Poll: Is version 1.004 working well for you?

« on: August 15, 2010, 12:31:54 PM »

Updated and so far it seems to be working fine.

Hope the birth went well, if it already took place, or will go well, when your son embarks on his journey to the exciting world of video gaming (and everything else, too!).

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Tidalis / First impressions. :)

« on: August 14, 2010, 02:27:36 PM »

I've always had a soft spot for puzzle games, and the first one I remember playing was some kind of underwater puzzle/arcade game on an Amstrad CPC back in the first half of the eighties. I've gone through a Columns addiction on the Atari ST, the inevitable worshipping of Tetris on a Gameboy (even though I so loved the Atari Lynx!), and all sorts of creative and not so original puzzlers on different platforms. The latest being various games on the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP, namely Planet Puzzle League and Lumines.

Anyway, on the PC I play mostly RPGs and strategy games these days, plus Go, the Asian board game. Puzzling on the PC has taken a backseat. Or rather, had. A few days ago I browsed the catalog at GamersGate and spotted Tidalis. I had never heard of it and may have skipped to the next game had the description not included a snippet of the game's Eight of Eight review. I've come to value his reviews because they're always to the point and I find myself often agreeing with his gaming preferences, at least for the games that I have played. It had a small price tag, so I went straight ahead and bought the game.

After a couple days with it now I have to say I'm deeply in love with Tidalis! The charming art style, the happy music, the friendly story, and above all the intriguing gameplay, they all make for an amazingly good experience. It's a bit like Tetris, but not really, and a little like Planet Puzzle League and other Panel de Pon variants, but not really, and a tad like those Match-3 games, but not really! It's Tidalis, and it's new! It feels fresh and innovative, it tickles the mind, and the best of it is the huge number of different modes that allow you to customize Tidalis to play exactly the game you want to play and that you're in the mood for. There's so much flexibility that it feels like ten titles combined in one game!

It's also addictive. I sometimes wonder if I've become jaded, seen too many games, played too much, one of those "when I was young, games were just better" guys. A video-gaming version of Statler and Waldorf. But Tidalis showed me pretty quickly that it's just a matter of finding the right game and the fire, the "just a few more minutes" drive, jump out of the bushes and grab me. Not that I really have time for an addiction, but darn it, it's nice to wake up or come home and think, "Woo! There's this awesome game waiting for me!" (which, when the sun comes up, turns into a, "Grr, why did I have to buy this!" ).

In short, Tidalis has taken me in a storm and I'm having a blast with this puzzler. I'm pretty sure I'm going to play this for quite some time, and I almost hope it doesn't work on my netbook so that I don't end up playing it in the bathroom! (It probably does work, though my netbook has a peculiar resolution of 1024x578).

Thanks for the game! I'm not done with the story mode or the puzzles, and I haven't even tried out all the modes (so far I just enjoy the normal mode + speed-up, which is probably terribly traditional!), so there is a lot to discover and do still. And I saw there are custom puzzles, an online mode and user-made blocks! For just ten dollars, this was a real steal. You guys need to advertise Tidalis more.

Thanks for the game.

14

Tidalis / Re: Option to turn off music when in background.

« on: August 13, 2010, 11:40:46 AM »

She's really loved the imp in the bubble in the campaign when she first encountered him. Being an artist herself, she seems to quite have a liking for the art style of the backgrounds.

You know, what's "worse" than having discovered Tidalis (I was browsing the puzzle section over at GamersGate) is that as a side effect I also learned of AI Wars! It sounds fantastic and if I could squeeze it into my pile of current games, I'd probably already have snatched up a copy. But I'm trying to first finish the two King's Bounty titles, Elven Legacy and Starcraft before picking up another strategy game (I will also ignore Stardock's Elemental, yes, I will ... really! ... for now.) But yes, very intrigued. Surprised it had stayed under my games' radar.

Thanks for making good games!

15

Tidalis / Re: Option to turn off music when in background.

« on: August 13, 2010, 11:22:17 AM »

Thanks for the welcome, the lightning fast response, and the "workaround". I hadn't noticed before that pausing the game and then focusing another window will have exactly the effect I had in mind. This definitely works!

The game's quite awesome, though it's yet another distraction from playing and "studying" Go, not to mention work, and Starcraft 2, sleep, and my spouse. (She actually downloaded the demo on her computer just earlier today -- she's less of an impulsive buyer than me, but I predict she'll open her purse after the weekend!). But I should probably post that in the "praise" thread.