B'lox! for iDevice now available :)

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Socoder -> Handheld Coding -> B'lox! for iDevice now available :)
Thu, 24 Feb 2011, 13:10
rockford	My puzzle game, B'lox! is now available for iDevices - iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad Previously available for free on the GP2X, Wiz and pc, the game has been completely updated to suit the new devices. For those that have never played it, the game includes - Pick up and play puzzling - choose any puzzle at any time 120 puzzles Fully updated graphics and control over the GP2X and Wiz versions, including a new UI. Records of your least moves for each puzzle Control, visual and audio options Wonderfully boppy music It's an essential game for any iDevice owner and available now for only 59p Get it from HERE
Thu, 24 Feb 2011, 13:19
Jayenkai	Yup, working great, now What happened last time? -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Thu, 24 Feb 2011, 13:27
Stealth	Very cool. I'll download this later and let you know what I think. -=-=- Quit posting and try Google.
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 00:16
rockford	I'm not exactly sure what happened last time, but I changed sound format and removed all media packaging and it's now working. Strange that it all worked properly on my machine though. Oh well, at least it's now sorted
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 01:08
spinal	I like it! It reminds me of a DS homebrew game (gfx/snd styling, not gameplay). Nice job! -=-=- Check out my excellent homepage!
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 07:12
rockford	Cheers @Jay, I never intended (or asked) for you to promote the game in the Newsletter. I genuinely thankyou for doing so, but I wasn't expecting any coverage. I only posted here because you ask each week what we've been upto and I've mentioned working on this.
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 07:58
Jayenkai	Sorry.. I didn't mean it like that. I was actually just jotting down whatever popped into my head as I was writing the newsletter last night. As I got to your game, I did a little "I wonder if I should add Apps to the newsletter" thing, and .. well, you can see the waffle that emerged! I'm still in two minds about that. Is it wrong to only do a few, 'cos then I'm being selective, and playing favourites. Should I include Android/XBox Indie games? 'tis a complex set of thoughts once you start it off. I think it's probably best to just not put any Pay-For's into the newsletter. shrugs I'm waffling again.. Good game -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 10:01
rockford	Thanks. I agree, I think it's best to omit any commercial games from the newsletter. No need to be selective then.
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 12:07
Stealth	This game is very addictive and far more challenging than I thought. It's also very original and I really love it. Theres a few things that make playing it a bit tricky though. One is that the UI isn't sized very well for fingers. It's hard to touch the blocks. The only other problem I had was that the UI isn't extremely responsive (might be related to the first problem). Other than those two issues, this is a great game and I could see it getting popular. Make sure you market it and spread the word. -=-=- Quit posting and try Google.
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 12:26
Jayenkai	Hmm... You had the same complaint when I showed a pic of puzzobomb. Do you have really big fingers, stealth? 'cos those blocks really aren't any smaller than the onscreen keyboard! .. In fact.. (counts) .. Yeah! They're 32x32, exactly the same as the keyboard! -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 12:53
rockford	Cheers Stealth - it's definitely not a run of the mill sliding block puzzle game and does indeed get tricky pretty quickly. Glad you were surprised by it The UI actually accepts upto 40x32 pixels IIRC and is generally very accurate and responsive. The blocks themselves are indeed 32x32, which isn't exactly small. The only way of making the UI larger would be to have it as an option screen, available by clicking on something somewhere. I'm not sure that would go with the flow of the game, and the UI adds a bit to the screen - without it, it would look incredibly plain and empty. I have noticed that if your finger is slightly touching/off the edge of the screen then the iThing touchscreen doesn't work correctly.
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 14:13
Stealth	It's possible I have large fingers. I realize it would be hard to go back and fix it. Apple's human interface guidelines suggest a minimum size of 44x44 pixels for buttons. It was mostly an issue when the blocks were side by side. I'll try it out again later and see if I'm just being too nit-picky. -=-=- Quit posting and try Google.
Fri, 25 Feb 2011, 19:28
rockford	It's good to get feedback - whether positive or negative, as that can help shape future games and updates. As a sole developer and tester it is easy to get too close to your own product and know your own capabilities/strengths and weaknesses - these are not necessarily the same as your target audience. The problem of "large fingers" has never come up before with this game (which is actually over 3 years old now, as I initially developed it for pc in 2007) and adapted and changed it over time for other systems including GP2X and Wiz. The UI and blocks are all larger now (as is the screen) so it does come as a surpise, however it is an interesting point and one I have to consider.
Sat, 26 Feb 2011, 07:29
spinal	I thought I had a bug to report, but it was probably my large/clumsy fingers at fault. A block near the bottom of the screen refused to move down and would move left instead. Again, probably my fingers at fault \|edit\| And still nobody has made a version of 'Sensitive' (c64) for the iStuff -=-=- Check out my excellent homepage!
Sat, 26 Feb 2011, 07:45
Jayenkai	I assumed you'd be doing it!!
Sat, 26 Feb 2011, 08:07
rockford	Spinal, do you know which level you were playing at the time and the rough position of the block in question? BTW I remember Senstive. Good game,but tricky as hell. You've just given me an idea...
Sat, 26 Feb 2011, 08:33
spinal	This one It took me a few tries to get the green to drop down to the bottom line (yes I know there is a better way to do that level). The little down arrow was visible, but then when I lifted my finger it changed to left and that's which way the block went. It happened a couple of levels after that too. Perhaps it was something to do with how close to the screen edge my finger was? Jay - I would, but I have no current method of iCoding. -=-=- Check out my excellent homepage!
Sat, 26 Feb 2011, 08:43
rockford	Cheers Spinal - I suspect that it porbably was a screen-edge issue, but I shall investigate further.
Sat, 26 Feb 2011, 10:27
spinal	BTW I remember Senstive. Good game,but tricky as hell. You've just given me an idea... ...idea to make sensitive?!!??? -=-=- Check out my excellent homepage!
Sat, 26 Feb 2011, 10:31
rockford	Maybe...
Sat, 26 Feb 2011, 10:55
spinal	Just to let you know then, I would be more than happy to beta test for you -=-=- Check out my excellent homepage!
Sun, 27 Feb 2011, 22:11
Stealth	Unfortunately, I have to stand with my original argument that the blocks are too small: -=-=- Quit posting and try Google.
Sun, 27 Feb 2011, 23:43
spinal	hmmmm, every now and then, when a block collides with an other one, the first block will stop (as expected) but the second block will then shoot away in the same direction, this however seems to be totally random and I can't reliably reproduce the effect -=-=- Check out my excellent homepage!
Mon, 28 Feb 2011, 02:01
rockford	hmmmm, every now and then, when a block collides with an other one, the first block will stop (as expected) but the second block will then shoot away in the same direction, this however seems to be totally random and I can't reliably reproduce the effect I have tested this game constantly for months and never seen this. I've been through every single level multiple times. BTW I just use the tip of my finger to play (just under the nail), not the whole ball of the finger - maybe this explains the differences and the problems that others have?
Mon, 28 Feb 2011, 03:16
Jayenkai	Indeed... Just.. WOW!!! No wonder everything's so small,Stealth!! Curve your finger, use the tip! -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''