Among the best things in life is playing printed games in person with family and close friends. When those are not convenient we like iOS Board Games.
News, reviews, previews, and opinions about board gaming on iPhones, iPads, iPods and even Android devices. (iPhone board games, iPad board games, iPod board games, Android board games)
Checking my fishing nets and traps last week, I discovered RoboArena by developer Bravado Waffle Studios. Since I'm a fan of RoboRally, by which BWS claims this game is inspired, I became interested in this born-digital board-game-like app. I got in touch with Stephen from BWS and he provide me with some useful info that I could share about their still-in-development app.
Introduction
Bravado Waffle Studios wrote:
A menacing space station has appeared in orbit above the Earth. On board, an army of evil robots is being assembled to invade the planet. Meanwhile, a lone discarded Robo wakes up with a fresh perspective… saving humanity! Can you help our Hero escape the space station and put an end to the evil robot's nefarious plot? Find out in RoboArena, a new game for the iPhone, iPad, and other devices!
RoboArena is a Top Down Turn Based Casual Strategy Multiplayer Action Game (TDTBCSMAG for short). Inspired by the board game classic Robo Rally, it will be a unique blend of strategy, puzzles, action, and casual fun! You play the part of a small Robo who has woken up in an evil factory designed to create a robot army to take over the world. Your mission is to help the little Robo to escape from this factory and stop the evil plot before it’s too late.
As you play, you must use an increasing arsenal of weapons, armors, and skills to solve puzzles, dodge evil robot drones, and destroy key computers to stop this evil factory. Additionally you will be able to test you skills against advanced AI players as well as humans in Arena mode where players will be hunting each other across random battlefields.
We have developed a unique casual style of game play that will push your planning and strategizing skills to the limit. In single player it turns the game into a puzzle game, but in multiplayer it turns into a game of cloak-and-dagger chess. Players will have to anticipate their opponents moves, lay traps, evade detection, and escape from the other Robos that are hunting them!
Getting the App Released It turns out that BWS is going the KickStarter route to getting the finishing of their app funded and published. App developing, when done right, is not free nor always cheap. BWS needs funds for equipment, polish, and marketing. Though they appear to be very well along, I'm guessing a bit of the old Ninety-Ninety rule is at play here. Y'know the one that says something like:
Some wry programmer once wrote:
"The first 90 percent of the [work] accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent of the [work] accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time."
And Now Some Preview Specifics...
• Multiplayer - Yes, up to 4 players on Game Center, bluetooth, and pass and play. Actually the game will always have six players, but two of those will be AI. It will be asynchronous as well.
• Gameplay - The gameplay mechanic we've devised is very unique in that you pre-program up to 15 moves into your Robo each turn and then set him to preform those actions. This means you have to plan ahead, anticipate obstacles, and think of creative ways to surmount them safely and efficiently. It turns the single player Story Mode into more of a puzzle game that is equal parts challenging (planning ahead) and fun (lots of explosions).
This mechanic also turns the arena and multiplayer games into something akin to a cloak-and-dagger Chess game where you are trying to anticipate your target's moves on the game board, lay traps for them, evade other players who are hunting you, and also move in a way that your target doesn't know you are hunting them.
We've got 15 different weapons and armors that are all unique and offer a ton of strategy and depth in how they can be used. From slime bombs and bubble cannons, to grenades with a blast radius, and flame throwers that shoot through walls. How you decide to spend your money and equip your Robo at the beginning of each match will determine your playing style and strategy.
Cannon: Your default weapon, infinite, weak Slime Bomb: Shoots slime that expands into large area upon impact Saber: Short range beam saber allows you to ram objects Proximity Mine: Explodes when enemy comes in range Missile: Very powerful single shot Laser: Instant fire, travels through all objects except walls Bomb: Bomberman style bomb Bubble Cannon: Slow moving projectile, great for traps and timing switches EMP: Kills all enemy movement within range Multi-Shot: Devestating at close range, spreads out at long range Grenade: Projectile with blast radius Flame Thrower: Powerful short range weapon, able to shoot through walls Nuke: Kaboom!!
The game is going to be easy enough to pick up and play a few games casually, but offer enough depth to it for hardcore players to really learn strategies and adapt individual playing styles.
• AI - Yes, we will have it, and it will be smart enough to make every game a challenge!
• Release date - We are shooting for late Summer/early Fall
• Price - 1.99 (Since its our first game we have to keep the price low to keep our discoverability up, even though I'd prefer pricing it at 4.99 it's just not practical. We'll be running plenty of .99 sales as well.)
Motion Picture Previews! Additionally, Bravado Waffle Studios has a couple of YouTube videos up that introduce and better describe their game.
Introduction teaser trailer:
And a voice-guided walk through:
So there you have it. A new app by some hard working developers who are trying to do things the right way and need a little help to get them there. Looks like a promising app!
Woohoo! Thanks for the coverage Gabe, and I for one am looking forward to releasing it! The funding specifically is going towards improving the quality and look-and-feel of the game. We need better game art, a more polished UI, and we've got some 10 beautifully painted cutscenes we want to order from our artist, and all that costs $$$!! Also equipment for testing and marketing is going to be pricey too.
If we don't reach our funding, we're still releasing it of course, it just won't be as visually amazing as we want it to be, and it may not make as big of an impact on the audience as we hope.
BTW, I've reached out to the game designer of Robo Rally (the legendary Richard Garfield http://boardgamegeek.com/user/Phelddagrif ) for his thoughts and maybe even his blessing. If anybody knows him, pass the word along please!
Yes, the app will be universal and have native iPad support for sure! We're not a fan of having two different versions on the app store and forcing people to buy both.
Oh wow! I honestly never heard of Robosport! It looks amazing! And it was for Mac too... how did I miss out on this?? Apparently I accidentally stole their idea and updated it to the 21st century!
I'd pledge money on Kickstarter, but only if what I got was a code to download the game once complete... I'm more interested in the game itself than any of the other things you're offering. I don't know if it's possible to add a supporter level?
I have the manual for this sitting on my desk right now. I found the game in a box in my basement just today. I haven't seen this in years. Funny how these things come up around the same time.
Now I just need to figure out how to play it again.
I'd pledge money on Kickstarter, but only if what I got was a code to download the game once complete... I'm more interested in the game itself than any of the other things you're offering. I don't know if it's possible to add a supporter level?
You bet! All our supporters at any level are going to be getting the game for free once we release it! I didn't add it into the tiers because it's too late to change that, but I did make it a bold update first thing on our campaign page.
I'd pledge money on Kickstarter, but only if what I got was a code to download the game once complete... I'm more interested in the game itself than any of the other things you're offering. I don't know if it's possible to add a supporter level?
You bet! All our supporters at any level are going to be getting the game for free once we release it! I didn't add it into the tiers because it's too late to change that, but I did make it a bold update first thing on our campaign page.
That's funny; having read about the game here, I only looked at the supporter levels on Kickstarter!
Do you really mean "all supporters," though? Because it's possible to donate $1, and that's less than how much you intend to sell the game for once it's released. I just pledged $4 and selected no reward, so I hope that will work.
Do you really mean "all supporters," though? Because it's possible to donate $1, and that's less than how much you intend to sell the game for once it's released. I just pledged $4 and selected no reward, so I hope that will work.
You know, we would rather loose money and make a supporter extra happy than the other way around. Our supporters are our biggest and most important fans, so if I could give them every gift for free I would!
Everybody who supports is gonna get a free copy, even if it's just for $1.
Great games are made that way because of happy fans and a happy community, I want to do everything I can to make our fans happy so that RoboArena can be made great!!
Hey guys, I uploaded a wallpaper for you all if you want to show solidarity! Just a sample of what the artist will be able to do if we are funded!
You guys need to bring the artist into your team and give him/her some equity rather than a flat fee. That's how most creative types are suckered into giving up their talents for cheap.
Haha, I'll pass this along to him. I agree with you 100%, as an artist myself it's no fun working for a flat fee, although it can be safer than putting hundreds of hours of art work into a game that might not make it.
We are planning on bringing him into the fold for our future projects if he so desires.
Do you really mean "all supporters," though? Because it's possible to donate $1, and that's less than how much you intend to sell the game for once it's released. I just pledged $4 and selected no reward, so I hope that will work.
You know, we would rather loose money and make a supporter extra happy than the other way around. Our supporters are our biggest and most important fans, so if I could give them every gift for free I would!
Everybody who supports is gonna get a free copy, even if it's just for $1.
Great games are made that way because of happy fans and a happy community, I want to do everything I can to make our fans happy so that RoboArena can be made great!!
How do you provide links to a "free download" for an itunes app?
I'm sure it's possible, but the question came up to me last sunday.
I'm also a ios developer (in the making anyhow) and I'm using livecode.
How do you provide links to a "free download" for an itunes app?
Well you get 50 promo codes you can share, however you usually use those for reviewers. We are probably just going to gift the app to our supporters and take the price hit ourselves. Unless I can figure a better way of doing it.
How do you provide links to a "free download" for an itunes app?
Well you get 50 promo codes you can share, however you usually use those for reviewers. We are probably just going to gift the app to our supporters and take the price hit ourselves. Unless I can figure a better way of doing it.
Ah, right, you can always "gift buy" from one itunes account to another.
How do you provide links to a "free download" for an itunes app?
Well you get 50 promo codes you can share, however you usually use those for reviewers. We are probably just going to gift the app to our supporters and take the price hit ourselves. Unless I can figure a better way of doing it.
That's exceedingly generous of you! I sincerely hope this project is funded. I shared it on facebook, but I doubt I have many friends as interested in it as I am...
Also, next week, I'm going to have to work on making a new trailer video that somehow shows off the cool RoboArena (and RoboSport apparently) inspired game mechanics better!
edit: by next week I mean today apparently! check out the new and improved trailer:
Glad to see some more in-depth games coming to the iPhone.
