The Path to Become Agile: Part V

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/superbitadventure

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sbitadventure

Sign up for Beta: http://eepurl.com/bHRQH9

The Path to Become Agile: Part IV: http://gamasutra.com/blogs/SamyDib/20151201/260573/The_Path_to_Become_Agile_Part_IV.php

Down the Stretch

            This was probably one of the most successful sprints we’ve had so far since we began implementing the agile methodology. There weren’t any distractions or unforeseen occurrences to hinder our development. This week we focused on refining the dark and building up the ice levels. Since we ensured that the scope of features was realistically obtainable, we didn’t run into problems making sure we were able to finish it. Axosoft has been a great program to keep track of what we are working on and almost feels like it doubles up to police our concentration.

            The software is easy to use and allows for the team to freely edit their workloads much as it would in a AAA development studio. I would like to keep using this software long after this project is done but we’ll see how it goes. There’s only a few weeks left in this semester and we plan on having Super Bit Adventure released within the month. A Christmas release would be ideal but it’ll take some serious concentration to get it done.

Artwork and Abilities

            We have finished up new artwork for the game and continue to build more prior to release. The range of monsters has been diversified and you can see some of the ice creatures below. They will come with their own special abilities that will hopefully make combat fun and interesting. The player’s abilities have also begun to be programmed even though they weren’t scheduled until next week’s sprint. We are just trying to get a head start so that we can be sure to release when we would like.       

SlideDB

            As we know marketing is very important for indie studios, we have taken the consideration for SlideDB’s app of the year very seriously. We would love to win this award and have been seeking all the votes we can possibly receive. Right now are the preliminary votes that will determine the top 50 games by December 10^th. At that point, the top 50 will go into another voting session for a few weeks to determine which game will become the app of the year. So if you are interested in Super Bit Adventure, please head over to SlideDB and vote for us.

Social Media

            We have continued forward with trying to market our game through social media as much as we can. It’s a tough job but vital to any indie’s successful run. I find that the most engaging platform right now is Twitter. Facebook hasn’t been receiving many hits at all, even when I post or run an ad. Twitter on the other hand has a huge indie dev community that all love to share what they are working on. This has allowed me to share our work as well and engage with these developers.

            It may not seem like much to someone with thousands of followers, but within weeks we have gained over 100 followers who are thoroughly interested in the same things we are. It’s been a great experience and through many tests, we have seen the greatest return come through Twitter. Using hashtags, retweeting, and replying to others has served as a great way to build up a following and network with likeminded people.

References

Keith, C. (2010). Agile game development with Scrum. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-

Wesley.