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[BratmanDu]

I was slightly curious about the game but I had some doubts and the demo confirmed them.
But even without a demo, I would have read reviews and watch more footage and my conclusion would have been the same.

Miiverse comments put me off Wooden Sen Sei, people saying they were annoyed with it and are only playing on because they already bought it. Miiverse comments also put me off Giana Sisters - mentioned poor framerate.

Maybe this is why Nintendo don't provide a miiverse link from the eshop page?

 

[cacildo]

I dont know, i think the "shovelware eshop" is exactly what nintendo was trying to avoid all this time...

They charge 8$ for a snes game and i always think its too expensive. With those 1$ games up and down, the VC will be even harder to sell

 

[Sify64]

I dont know, i think the "shovelware eshop" is exactly what nintendo was trying to avoid all this time...

They charge 8$ for a snes game and i always think its too expensive. With those 1$ games up and down, the VC will be even harder to sell

I haven't seen any evidence of that yet. VC games are regularly in the top 10 charts, above first party titles and cheaper indie games. You would think that most customers would go for the cheaper, new indie game but it doesn't look like that is happening,

 

[KingSnake]

I dont know, i think the "shovelware eshop" is exactly what nintendo was trying to avoid all this time...

They charge 8$ for a snes game and i always think its too expensive. With those 1$ games up and down, the VC will be even harder to sell

Well, it seems that VC games are way more popular anyhow. Looking at the weekly discussions around them I think Nintendo could safely charge even more than that.

 

[foltzie1]

Well, it seems that VC games are way more popular anyhow. Looking at the weekly discussions around them I think Nintendo could safely charge even more than that.

I think this point is lost, despite all of the general complaints about the Virtual Console, the VC games are almost always on the top of the best seller charts on the systems.

 

[TheMoon]

Why don't bad games like this come out for Steam/PSN/XBLA? I mean sure, those platforms have bad games too, but not like this. Whatever those companies are doing to keep the trash out, Nintendo seriously needs to consider copying them.

XBLA required you to have an established publisher for your game. Their poopy history with self-publishing is well documented. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Sony does concept approvals? And if you're applying for a dev kit, you might just not hear back if what you're submitting is some crap or you have no track record. They love their prestige titles, after all. Not sure about the concept approvals part, someone correct me if that's BS!

You still need a dev kit for web framework I believe

Yes.

 

[cacildo]

I haven't seen any evidence of that yet. VC games are regularly in the top 10 charts, above first party titles and cheaper indie games. You would think that most customers would go for the cheaper, new indie game but it doesn't look like that is happening,

Well, it seems that VC games are way more popular anyhow. Looking at the weekly discussions around them I think Nintendo could safely charge even more than that.

Crap.... never knew they were actually popular, even with those prices. I really wish VC games were cheaper.

But the only ones to chart are the really popular ones like mario and zelda, right? I mean, theres no Mystical Ninja, Pilotwings or Nes Soccer on the Top 10, right? Because some times it really feel like those games sell less than 50 copies....

 

[Chopper]

I think this point is lost, despite all of the general complaints about the Virtual Console, the VC games are almost always on the top of the best seller charts on the systems.

You'd think they'd put more effort into it then.

The Virtual Console is a license to print money, and yet Nintendo fail to capitalize. The fact that we can refer to it as an ongoing "missed opportunity" eight(!) years after it's launch is absolutely insane.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Does anyone know the review embargo date for Bayo 2 ?

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

yeah if Nintendo did a crowdfunding thing for each game, it will show them there is a demand for titles not released and HD remakes, such as Starfox 2. Mother 1 & 3. Disaster, Hotel Dusk 2, Project HAMMER, FZero GX HD.

 

[frankie_baby]

Is the eshop down for anyone else in Europe? Or is it just me

 

[flowsnake]

Is the eshop down for anyone else in Europe? Or is it just me

I just managed to get into it on my 3DS, seems a little slower than usual but other than that it works.

 

[TheMoon]

Does anyone know the review embargo date for Bayo 2 ?

Mid October for web, I think?

 

[Sify64]

Crap.... never knew they were actually popular, even with those prices. I really wish VC games were cheaper.

But the only ones to chart are the really popular ones like mario and zelda, right? I mean, theres no Mystical Ninja, Pilotwings or Nes Soccer on the Top 10, right? Because some times it really feel like those games sell less than 50 copies....

Pretty much. The UK eShop Chart looks like this:

Recent Bestsellers

2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
3. The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
7. Super Mario World
9. The Legend of Zelda
10. Super Mario Ball
13. Fire Emblem
14. EarthBound
15. Super Mario Kart
16. Super Mario Bros. 3
18. Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
20. Super Metroid

 

[GameE]

Gaf, how is Pokemon Battle Trozei & Coaster Creator 3D?

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Gaf, how is Pokemon Battle Trozei & Coaster Creator 3D?

Bit of a paradox. I 100% it* (30 hours, could easily be in less...maybe 50% less) and while I don't regret my time it or buying it during the sale (it went on sale a few months ago in Europe) is definitely more of time consuming than a challenging. The difficulty doesn't change a whole lot if you ask me. Some stages are a little tricky though (especially the endless ones, bring a healer you say, when I need to heal they're not around.

While the music is really good you won't hear much of the stage themes as you'll probably make a long chain and so hear the various levels of chaining more. Also many people have described it as a podcast game.

It plays differently the DS game as well (you can swap any piece with any other piece rather than sliding rows and columns). In terms of impressions you do find some people that absolutely hate it. I'd say its biggest fault is not being particularly hard, especially once you've nailed a good strategy.

*-Well I've only got 6 stars on my trainer card out of the possible 7. The 7th one comes from streetpasses.

 

[maxcriden]

Hmm, what would be a better name for the game?

Not to pile on at all since you know I'm a fan of yours, but--this is my #1 concern with the game, too, especially with the alternating capitalization. I think a dramatic title could be fun, like SPACE BASE as suggested above, but with an exclamation point: SPACE BASE! Something catchy. Or DEFEND SPACE! Something just kind of silly and catchy like that would grab my attention.

 

[maxcriden]

5-6 times? Posting in dead threads is boring. I post about other games too, I just haven't had time to play them is all. Still bummed about the limited avatar customization in Pokémon X, not digging the Dark World music in ALBW, stuck on OoT, not liking Layton, leisurely strolling through Bravely Default because I've already pieced together the twist and giving SMT4 a small break. Probably missing a game in there somewhere. I'm not buying another 3DS game for a long long time. Basically until I can get Persona Q for $25.

Which Layton are you playing/not liking? Can you mute the LBW music? Where are you stuck in OoT?

 

[GulAtiCa]

GulAtiCa, let me say this:

I've not played your game, but I've seen a lot of screenshots and to be frank, I have no idea what's happening in any of them--I see a bunch of circles and other simple shapes that don't seem to represent anything in particular, I can't tell what it is that the player is supposed to be doing or how they might do it... I mean, I know it's a tower defense game but I still can't parse what's going on, so I can't even imagine what it looks like to someone who's just stumbled over your game without having read a review or seen any of your posts.

(I can't watch any trailers right now, but the first one I saw on google is almost 4 minutes long, which already sets off a few alarm bells.)

As for the name... maybe "Doodle Defense: ZaciSa's Last Stand" or something? The word "defense" has semiotic value and will immediately communicate a lot of things about the game and how it plays, and the "doodle" part helps to contextualise the visual style as a deliberate aesthetic choice rather than just "programmer art" or whatever (even if that's exactly what it is!). "Doodle" might be a little too whimsical, I just like alliteration.

I'm just spitballing here, so feel free to criticise and/or ignore anything I've said. I enjoy reading your posts about the game and your experiences, so I hope I can help you out a little.

I like "Doodle Defense: ZaciSa's Last Stand" haha. Yeah, name was bad choise for me. choose "ZaciSa", as it sounded "space" to me. But of course now it really doesn't tell anything about the game.

Europe will be easy to do name change, since no ratings and nothing submitted yet. NA might be a little tougher, but prob should be something I need to do.

Not to pile on at all since you know I'm a fan of yours, but--this is my #1 concern with the game, too, especially with the alternating capitalization. I think a dramatic title could be fun, like SPACE BASE as suggested above, but with an exclamation point: SPACE BASE! Something catchy. Or DEFEND SPACE! Something just kind of silly and catchy like that would grab my attention.

I like that name too.

 

[Portalbox]

Well, it seems that VC games are way more popular anyhow. Looking at the weekly discussions around them I think Nintendo could safely charge even more than that.

The eShop sadly has more shovelware content quality content, and considering the Wii U's _real_ demographic, it seems people like us prefer classic VC experiences and a quality eShop game here or there (Shovel Knight, Pushmo World, etc.) while we avoid most indie games.

 

[sakipon]

Not to pile on at all since you know I'm a fan of yours, but--this is my #1 concern with the game, too, especially with the alternating capitalization. I think a dramatic title could be fun, like SPACE BASE as suggested above, but with an exclamation point: SPACE BASE! Something catchy. Or DEFEND SPACE! Something just kind of silly and catchy like that would grab my attention.

I guess a subtitle would be the best since personally I find Space Base, Defend Space and similar names too generic. Kind of like if Halo was called Space Shooter etc. Just my opinion though, maybe descriptive names work in the indie market.

 

[GulAtiCa]

I guess a subtitle would be the best since personally I find Space Base, Defend Space and similar names too generic. Kind of like if Halo was called Space Shooter etc. Just my opinion though, maybe descriptive names work in the indie market.

Maybe something combined, like "Space Defense: Zacisa's Last Stand" or "Zacisa's Last Stand: Space Defense"

 

[jholmes]

I like "Doodle Defense: ZaciSa's Last Stand" haha.

I like Doodle Defense a lot. My only request, no ALL CAPS. The eShop ALL CAPS Cold War needs to stop. Capital letters won't sell your game, good gameplay will.

 

[frankie_baby]

I like "Doodle Defense: ZaciSa's Last Stand" haha. Yeah, name was bad choise for me. choose "ZaciSa", as it sounded "space" to me. But of course now it really doesn't tell anything about the game.

Europe will be easy to do name change, since no ratings and nothing submitted yet. NA might be a little tougher, but prob should be something I need to do.



I like that name too.

I actually like your current name for it, sounds exotic and futuristic, however I say that as a fellow gaffer who obviously knows all about your game and want to buy it, but yeah I agree that to the wider public it's probably a terrible name

 

[sntstbn]

this quality control meme (pun intended) is bullshit to me.
for years I've heard critics about too harsh policies from Nintendo, and I agree. If ONE thing was managed in the right way about the Wii U is the new open approach to other developers, that started too late, and only towards indie developers, but that's THE right thing they did. Putting censorship on developers would simply be a wrong thing to do, imho. Will some bad game sell? Yes. Will some good game not sell? Yes. That happens, in the competitive market. It's marketing, you know. It's part of the commercial process. If someone is able to find the "right" tool to attract people, even fooling them about the quality of their product, it's not Nintendo fault. If someone will be burnt, will not trust the developer anymore. Faking that's Nintendo fault is bullshit. Those interested in quality games have the "tools" and "skills" to recognize them, imho, without the censoring seal of quality. A game is crap? Say it: on Miiverse, voting with stars, on forums. A game is great? SAY IT. On Miiverse, on forums, voting on the eshop.

I agree with this. I would only prefer it if Nintendo didn't promote the worse offenders in its PR, eShop announcements or Miiverse.

 

[frankie_baby]

I agree with this. I would only prefer it if Nintendo didn't promote the worse offenders in its PR, eShop announcements or Miiverse.

They don't

 

[sntstbn]

They don't

Of course they do. Spikey Walls was in their latest eShop announcement, at least for North America. The Letter showed up in the Wara Wara plaza for a while.

 

[frankie_baby]

Of course they do. Spikey Walls was in their latest eShop announcement, at least for North America. The Letter showed up in the Wara Wara plaza for a while.

Wara wara plaza is automated, it just goes off what people are talking about on miiverse

 

[GulAtiCa]

Of course they do. Spikey Walls was in their latest eShop announcement, at least for North America. The Letter showed up in the Wara Wara plaza for a while.

Wara wara happens cause people talk to much about the game, Nintendo is promoting it at all. If people would actually ignore game, which is impossible for a lot, it wouldn't sell as much

 

[Oddduck]

I agree with this. I would only prefer it if Nintendo didn't promote the worse offenders in its PR, eShop announcements or Miiverse.

I don't think it would be a good idea to start punishing developers for releasing bad games.

With that said, Nintendo doesn't promote horrible indie games on the front page of the eShop. I've never seen games like Percy's Predicament on the front page of the eShop.

 

[megabytecr]

Crap.... never knew they were actually popular, even with those prices. I really wish VC games were cheaper.

But the only ones to chart are the really popular ones like mario and zelda, right? I mean, theres no Mystical Ninja, Pilotwings or Nes Soccer on the Top 10, right? Because some times it really feel like those games sell less than 50 copies....

They are old but extremely well made games, most hold up pretty well to this day (better than some games releasing now), specially SNES and GBA games.

The ones I do think are overpriced are NES, I would buy more to build a collection if they were cheaper.

 

[sntstbn]

Wara wara plaza is automated, it just goes off what people are talking about on miiverse

I know it is. It is still promotion, and it could be curated if they wished to do it.

 

[maxcriden]

I like "Doodle Defense: ZaciSa's Last Stand" haha. Yeah, name was bad choise for me. choose "ZaciSa", as it sounded "space" to me. But of course now it really doesn't tell anything about the game.

Europe will be easy to do name change, since no ratings and nothing submitted yet. NA might be a little tougher, but prob should be something I need to do.

I like that name too.

Always great to see a developer so receptive to feedback, not that I'm surprised since you're a reasonable guy. I do like the idea above of keeping the original title as a subtitle, as well!

 

[maxcriden]

I like Doodle Defense a lot. My only request, no ALL CAPS. The eShop ALL CAPS Cold War needs to stop. Capital letters won't sell your game, good gameplay will.

This is a good point, too. I forgot ALL CAPS is in the midst of a silent battle among indie devs and gamers. I like the exclamation point, though. It's very

 

[GRW810]

GulAtiCa, I've been wondering whether to say everything about this, but now there's an ongoing conversation here's my thoughts. I don't like the name. I don't think game titles have to be simple or generic, but they should be eye-catching and perhaps informative. Your game's name doesn't draw any connotations to entice people AND it is arguably difficult to read and understand.

Being an indie your game needs to sell you, because you have no history or reputation yet. Also, word of mouth is quite possibly an indie's best friend. Therefore, a confusing title is a huge drawback.

I'm looking forward to checking it out when it comes to UK so I can support you and your career, and hopefully have a positive gaming experience too. Just being honest about the subject at hand.

 

[SkeptiMism]

As for Wooden Sensey, I thought it always looked terrible on Steam and seeing people hyped about it here made me feel sad for the terrible state of the Wii U. (I don't think it was even mentioned in the steam thread)

Nah I've seen it mentioned in some Steam threads and some have even praised. No need to feel sad for the state of Wii U because of that. It's quite natural that if a demo comes people try it and talk about it.

 

[GulAtiCa]

How about SPACE DEFENSE: BUY THIS NOW BIATCH.

But seriously, thank you for all your thoughts. Of course, this is assuming I can even change the name. I reached out to Nintendo to see if I can even do so. Might not be possible. New Europe name might be more feasible I bet though.

 

[bluepolicebox]

I finished up Tappingo 2 today (LTTP due to an out of commission 3DS) and am as pleased with the sequel as I was with the original. The objective of Tappingo puzzles is to slide numbered boxes along the screen to complete an image (a more basic, Pushmoish experience). The developer incorporated feedback from the first game as promised: completed puzzles are labelled, zooming, improved background color, better grid, and button controls added alongside the original stylus controls. (I prefer stylus to buttons.) Basic quibbles include a couple of typos and some wonky text spacing. The gameplay is solid but it could benefit from more features and polish.

I heard you like Dual Screen Consoles so Tappingo 2 put a Dual Screen Console...

The most common complaint about the first game was that it was too easy in the beginning. The gradual difficulty increase is great for accessibility so rather than changing the puzzles, I would suggest adding new modes to approach them. Solve the puzzle normally or add an extra challenge:
— Make the timer punishing: 3 seconds to slide a box or random boxes will unslide. Given the domino effect that unsliding can cause, the entire puzzle could be a mess if the player doesn't move quickly.
— Randomly obscure sections of the puzzle so the player has only what they can see or remember to work with.
— Once a box has been slid, remove the number even if it’s unslid. This encourages the player to rely on strategy and memory rather than trial and error.
— Remove some of the numbers completely: half of the puzzle in normal, numbered boxes and the other half blank.
— Bigger puzzles. The most complex puzzles at the end of the game still fit in the touch screen. How about giant puzzles that require the player to zoom and pan to solve?

I really like Tappingo despite its simplicity and believe the games have a solid base of logic, strategy, and problem solving but some tweaking to the approach could add a lot. It's a great lunch break, TV time distraction. If you liked the first, this is an enjoyable sequel. If you've yet to try one, the improvements in this iteration make it a good place to start. This nice, little puzzle game needs a bit more love around here

 

[Zonic]

I could've sworn the original Tappingo allowed for D-pad input during puzzles. Using the circle pad feels awkward & it's kind of a pain that the stylus doesn't always do what I wanted it to do.

 

[GRW810]

I absolutely loved Tappingo. Can't wait for the follow-up to come to the UK.

 

[foltzie1]

You'd think they'd put more effort into it then.

The Virtual Console is a license to print money, and yet Nintendo fail to capitalize. The fact that we can refer to it as an ongoing "missed opportunity" eight(!) years after it's launch is absolutely insane.

I would point out that VC games are the top of the sales charts, so maybe they are capitalizing.

I'm not saying I agree (at this point I want Nintendo to buy M2), but I dont know how well the games that dont make the charts sell.

 

[bluepolicebox]

I could've sworn the original Tappingo allowed for D-pad input during puzzles. Using the circle pad feels awkward & it's kind of a pain that the stylus doesn't always do what I wanted it to do.

You're right. The original did allow for circle pad/button controls. Not sure why I thought that was new but I fixed my error. Thanks.

My main issue with using the circle pad and A button is that it's much slower moving around the board. I could see how it would help if players are experiencing fatigue in the hand holding the 3DS though.

 

[Zonic]

The circle pad is slower because it's more for moving in 8 directions or so, not 4, so it kind of feels awkward since I'd sometimes end up in the square above, below, or next to where I want to be.. For some reason, they removed the d-pad support in the sequel, which I don't get why they did.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

I know it is. It is still promotion, and it could be curated if they wished to do it.

That's a terrible idea.

Let the community curate.

 

[sntstbn]

To clarify my point about the Wara Wara Plaza, what I wouldn't want is for games to gain a space there by getting people to talk about how bad they are.

One way to do it would be to promote the communities that have the most activity + have more good ratings than bad ones.

That's a terrible idea.

It does seems like it. So I will leave the topic alone.

 

[livelongdienever]

A little off topic. But does anybody have a Game and Wario download code they'd be interested in selling?

 

[jholmes]

How about SPACE DEFENSE: BUY THIS NOW BIATCH.

That sort of vulgar language has no place on the eShop.

How about SPACE DEFENSE: BUY THIS NOW BASTARDS

 

[coolasj19]

Which Layton are you playing/not liking? Can you mute the LBW music? Where are you stuck in OoT?

Professor Layton and the Magic Mirror. The cutscene to puzzle ratio is absolutely grave. I know there's those hundreds of Daily Puzzles to download but the cutscenes were such a turnoff I haven't gone back to it.

http://youtu.be/NO4F5ZuzM1o?list=PLz5gUls4mkX8Z_HPYY9xFHth0f-7qIrWn
The ALBW Kakariko Village is one of the most perfect BGM songs of all time. Bold but understated. Musically complex but instrumentally simple. Varied but familiar. It's perfect. Now I'm in the second half of the game and I can't listen to it whenever I want within 5 seconds of the urge and that utterly kills it for me. I'll get back to it, eventually. It's not that I hate the Dark World music it's just that it's nowhere near as good as the OG World.

I'm stuck in Zora's Domain in OoT. I'd ask for help but I'm on a very strict "No tips or walkthroughs or hints allowed" challenge for the first 3-D Zelda game I intend to fully complete (and perhaps every Zelda after it when they decide to finally port Majora's Mask to 3DS). So I will continue to pop it in every couple of weeks, wander around for >1 hour, then retreat when I find nothing.

 

[zroid]

Virion no

 

[Mpl90]

Yeah, Wara Wara plaza isn't Nintendo promoting shit. They barely promote those games on eShop's main games: usually, you see main retail releases, main digital releases, main deals. The Letter, IQ Test et similia aren't there. Wara Wara Plaza is the result of people talking about those games even because they suck hard, not because Nintendo promoted them.

You know, seeing the latest Steam update, which introduced the "Curators" concept (i.e. people / groups of people you can follow and that list their favourite games), I think it would be good to see this concept integrated into the Wara Wara Plaza. You should just select between "worldwide trends" (i.e. what you see each time you turn on your Wii U) and "curators' trends", and then select one of the "curators" you follow and of which you'd like to see the most talked / favourite games, and then you'd see the games based on that curator's list.

Still, it would need first to implement the "curator" concept into Miiverse...maybe by letting each user list their favourite games on the system on their profile, and when they're on your friend list, you can select them as optional trends on the Wara Wara plaza.