Developing an adventure games for iOS and Android...
 

Hi there.

I'm a software developer and I'm in the early phases of developing a new point and click adventure game for iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android devices.

I've been a fan of the genre for almost 30 years and touch-based phones seem to be the perfect platform for a resurgence of this kind of game.

I would just like to canvas a few opinions, if that's OK.

* Do you play adventure games on iOS or Android?
* If so, which ones have you enjoyed most?
* Would you pay $2.99 for an adventure game on your device's application store?

Mine is a mature, period adventure with a horror theme. It's inspired by the work of a famous horror writer and contains dark imagery, lots of dialogue and many puzzles.

A word on compromises; this is self-funded and aimed directly at mobile devices. I have no idea if it will be successful, break even or make a gigantic loss.

So I've taken a few steps to minimise cost:

* It's first person, not third. I love third-person games, but the cost of the animation would be prohibitive.
* No voice acting, other than on the intro. I tend to disable voice acting in games as I find it grates a little. It's rarely that good.

What you DO get is beautiful painted locations, characters and objects - really top notch work, an epic soundtrack and many, many ambient sound effects. Together with the expansive three act plot and lots of dialogue, I think I've made the right choices.

But I'd love to hear what you think. It's still early days, so you could have an effect on how it all turns out.

All opinions welcome!!

Welcome! To answer your questions:

iOS (iPod Touch)

I've had the most fun with the games specifically developed for iOS (Hector: Badge of Carnage, Scarlett and the Spark of Life, Secret of Grisly Manor, Jim & Frank Mysteries). I also enjoyed LeChuck's Revenge and Puzzle Agent. Many of the other ports I've played, though, I felt were better on PC for various reasons (difficult to control, not really conducive to the hand-held environment, etc.)

The fact that I've enjoyed the games designed for iOS better than most ports is probably because I really don't like "point & click" iOS games that use a cursor, the controls are much too finicky. I'd rather just put my finger down and tap on the hotspot, as opposed to dragging a cursor to the hotspot and then tapping.

Yes, as long as I got at least 2-3 hours of gameplay out of it.

One thing a lot of mobile games fail to do is to use the benefits of touch screen capabilities. Maybe look into utilizing unique gameplay features that avoid traditional controls that replicate mouse based point and click games. For instance, maybe opening a door will require a swipe or to turn a door handle you swipe in a circular motion. To zoom into a specific area or to get a closer look of something use the pinch function.

Just ideas.

BTW, to answer your questions I use both Android and iOS mobile devices.

I don't remember many of the games i've played since most if not all of them tried to replicate pc counterparts instead of making it its own game. Typical point and click, click and hold to bring up options, inventory, etc.

I'd pay 2.99 for a game that actually breaks the mold and utilizes the mobile device to its fullest....not graphically, just gameplay wise.

Monolith and fov,

Thanks. That's very astute replies; personally, I don't care for lengthy FMV sequences or stunning rendered locations. I DO like the aesthetics to be good, but I love good old fashioned paintings. Think Gabriel Knight, back in the day.

Ports of iOS adventures, such as the excellent Broken Sword, have already been successful on other formats at higher price points, so the (enormous) cost of asset production has already been paid for.

On iOS, I've admired "The Secret of Grisly Manor", which is successful, but skewing a little young for me (kudos to the developer, though - it has the kind of interface and polish I want to reach) and 1112 (part 1 and 2), which have the beautiful artwork.

1112 has multitouch puzzles and interaction to, making good use of the device.

I will think about how I can use the inherent capabilities of the accelerometer and touch panel to make the game really sing on such devices.