The project is definitely starting to feel like it’s in the finalization phase. All the pieces are in place, I just need to tie up the loose ends in preparation for my deadlines!

Deadlines

The first deadline is this Wednesday October 17th which is the submission deadline for the Independent Game Festival. This is a big deal. The game will be played by various people from the industry and press, and if I get nominated then I’ll get some great exposure and a free pass to the Game Developer’s Conference in March.

The second deadline is October 31st which I’ve set myself as the final release date. Pretty soon I’ll make an official announcement and start some publicity.

So what’s left for the game itself?

Connection Issues Still Abound

The latest playtest exposed some more networking problems so I’ve borrowed an extra iPad to test with. It’s been helping a lot and I’ve fixed a bunch of the issues preventing multiple Spaceteams from playing at once. Getting an isolated game going is usually no problem but I want to make sure it works in environments such as conferences and parties, where larger groups might all try running the game at the same time.

To Apple’s credit, I’ve been running 3-player games where:

• one device has only Bluetooth enabled
• one has only Wifi enabled
• and the third has both

Somehow they can all talk to each other and the game runs fine. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by this.

Final Achievements

After getting some great feedback I’ve started building a list of Achievements that I think will be interesting and challenging. Now I have to hook them up to Game Center and make sure they’re recorded properly. Some examples:

• Pair of Aces: Finish 3 sectors in a row without missing an instruction (2 players)
• Shaken Not Stirred: Complete 5 instructions while shaking

In-App Purchases

I’m also homing in on the final offerings for the Upgrades store, each of which will cost 99 cents. I still have to hook these up officially to the App Store:

• Achievements: the ability to unlock achievements in Game Center
• Ships: a new skin (or pack of skins) for the ship, threat, and control panel
• Outfits: a pack of new outfits/accessories for your (random) Spaceteam crew members

Here’s a sneak preview:

This gives people various ways to donate, and it will be interesting to see which is the most popular option.

I’ve also been spicing up the game in small ways, such as adding the occasional predetermined “mundane” command to the panels. Now, interspersed with the technobabble, you’ll hear things like “Fluff Pillows!”, “Backup Hard Drive!”, or “Entertain Dignitaries!”. It’s a small change, but I love it.