[Blog Post] Porting Gun Frenzy to Windows Phone

[WaveLightGames]

Hi everyone,

My team and I released our first game, Gun Frenzy, to the Windows Store a few days ago and we're working now on porting to Windows Phone. I thought it would be good to post up a developer blog post just to show progress on the port and get feedback from the community.

For those not familiar with Gun Frenzy, it is a top-down action shooter involving two lovely ladies trapped in a demonic prison. Here is a screen shot for you to understand the kind of game it is:



Over the weekend, I did a direct port over to Windows Phone and the results were surprisingly good. I thought that it would be too slow to play and unresponsive but it appears I underestimated the graphical power of my Lumia 920 as it was surprisingly smooth. The game did heat up but not nearly as many games I've played. Still, I'm sure there is room for improvement so I'm going to work on the optimization steps. My dream would be to have it work on a 512Mb device but I suspect that may not be achievable ... but I'll try my best. A 920 or anything newer should be no problem though.

So on the to do list:

1 - Add Touch Screen Controls
2 - Tweak the UI to accommodate touch controls (make sure that UI elements aren't covered up by where the player would typically put his or her fingers)
3 - Mobile optimization (reduce draw calls and further compress textures for you techie types)
4 - Tweak gameplay to make it play nicely on a touch screen. I find touch screens harder to use than a mouse or keyboard so the difficulty of the game should probably be toned down.
5 - Adjust in-game ads to work with Windows Phone ad providers rather than Windows Store .... also switch to interstitial ads rather than in-game ads.
6 - Test, test and more testing....

So to start things off ... a question to the community. I'd like to test out various monetization methods for Gun Frenzy. The Windows Store version is a free download with ad support and a couple of optional in-app purchases. I'm not a fan of "Pay to Win" / Freemium garbage so I'm never going to go that route where players have to buy in-app purchases just to clear a level. However, I'd like to try a paid game with a trial. Would it be okay to have the Windows Phone version of Gun Frenzy be a $1 or $2 game download with a 1-day trial and no in-game ads? I could put the existing in-app purchase items as game unlocks that you get after you complete certain achievements or number of levels or something ... or just leave them as in-app purchases as they really are just nice-to-haves instead of requirements. Ideally, if I do have a in-app purchases in the Windows Phone version, I would want anyone that's purchased them on the Windows Store to not have to pay twice and I believe that's possible. Okay, sorry for the long post ... upcoming posts will be shorter and sweeter.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Hi guys,

Quick update ... I've got the touch controls I worked on over the weekend built to my 920. Here is a very quick video I took this morning:

Apologies for the poor recording .... I was recording with one hand and interacting with the phone with the other. The colours are also completely off on my Lumia because the screen broke a while ago and since then, the colours are inaccurate unless viewed from the right angle. I'll be ordering a new 1520 this month.

However, what I'm hoping to show is that the game runs smoothly and touch screen controls do work well. Animation is smooth without any noticeable hiccups so far. Controls are also smooth and responsive once you get used to it. Though you definitely need both fingers ... I couldn't do much with just one hand.

 

[WaveLightGames]

 

[Mohamed Ashid]

When is it coming to WP????

 

[WaveLightGames]

Thanks for your interest. I expect to have it submitted for certification before the end of the week. Microsoft usually take a couple days to certify so hopefully next week?

 

[Mohamed Ashid]

Thanks for the info,
Paid/free????

 

[WaveLightGames]

Most likely free with ads. In-app purchases that allow for removal of ads and allow for purchase of upgrade options (new guns, clothing ,etc.). That's how the W8 store version currently works and I'm going to try and figure out how to make it a universal app.

 

[Muessig]

This looks really good. I'd like to see it startup a touch quicker, but I can forgive a slower startup for what looks like quite smooth gameplay. Let us know if you need any beta testers :wink:

 

[WaveLightGames]

Cool ... thanks. I would be happy to do that but I'd have to figure out how to distribute the code or app. Does anyone know the best way to do that?

Quick update: I've got the touch controls working the well. I've also re-arranged the GUI to move the lifebar to the top right so the player's thumbs won't cover up the life bar. Also updated the tutorial level to explain how to use the dual-stick touch controls.

 

[WaveLightGames]

By the way, the screen with the company logo can just be clicked through by touching the screen ... I just didn't do it. There is still some loading time ... but it's only 3 seconds on a Lumia 920 so I think it's not too bad.

 

[Mohamed Ashid]

Hey, I wanted to know whether the game would have 512 Mb ram support?

 

[WaveLightGames]

Not sure to be honest. I suspect it won't work on 512 Mb but I won't know for sure until I get a device to test it. I don't actually have one at the moment.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Daily update:

Performance:
I've added an ultra low texture option in the options screen so as to improve chances of working on 512 MB devices. I'm also going to add the option to disable particles like fog / dust / fire so as to hopefully further improve performance on lower-end hardware. Still not sure if it'll be enough but I think that's the most can be done.

Touch Controls:
Added much better looking dual stick controls and a nice roll / reload button on screen. Got rid of the duplicate pause button. Touch controls looking complete!

Gameplay Tweaks:
Made the first 5 levels easier to ease players into the game. I think the learning curve is a bit too high so this help.

Questions to the community (especially to those that have played) ... I have the option of adding the ability to run and shoot at the same time. However, the running animation I have available only works for running forward. It looks odd when the player is running sideways (strafing) or running backwards. Therefore, should I keep it how it is at the moment or should I allow running but live with a funny looking animation? I kind of like having to stop to shoot as it makes it more challenging and a bit like a survival horror movie ... whereas being able to strafe and run / shoot makes it seem less intense in a way. However, I would welcome feedback. I'll post up a link to the Windows Store game for those that haven't played. I would really like some feedback on how I can improve it for Mobile.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Windows Store Link

 

[WaveLightGames]

Also, I'm going to try and further improve performance with a 3rd party tool called Mesh Baker. It should hopefully improve performance significantly.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Quick update, guys .... I've submitted the Windows Phone port to Microsoft for feedback! If all things are good ... it should be in the store soon.

 

[WaveLightGames]

Another update:

- Adjusted difficulty of early levels to more gently ease the player into the game.
- Further optimization for mobile (removed normal maps on most enemies as they cost a lot performance-wise but the graphical benefits aren't noticeable on a small screen)
- Removed unusable graphics settings (HDR, Bloom) from graphics options as these won't work on mobile anyway.
- Added an ultra low res option for textures that will hopefully allow for playability on 512 Mb devices ... but no guarantees.

Working on micro transaction system that will allow for the player to buy consumable power ups in the game to make levels easier. Also have identified a few more bugs and optimization options that I'll implement before submission.

 

[WaveLightGames]

This looks really good. I'd like to see it startup a touch quicker, but I can forgive a slower startup for what looks like quite smooth gameplay. Let us know if you need any beta testers :wink:

Regardind beta testers ... I'm still unclear on how to share the game with them so they can test it. Can this be done before launching the game on the store somehow?

 

[WaveLightGames]

BIG UPDATE - Gun Frenzy was submitted to the Windows Store today!!!! Wish us luck in the certification process .... if all goes well, you'll be able to download and play it soon on your Windows Phone!

 

[dKp1977]

BIG UPDATE - Gun Frenzy was submitted to the Windows Store today!!!! Wish us luck in the certification process .... if all goes well, you'll be able to download and play it soon on your Windows Phone!

Awesome. Thank you very much. That was a quickly done port, I'm impressed.