Oh to live in the world of immediate rewards! Stats and reviews of the game are making their appearances in various places, answering my most pressing questions:
#1 - Is anyone playing it?
FB and Twitter are great for this, of course, but only for those within a few Kevin Bacons of myself. Topappcharts.com offers app rankings for the iphone/ipad versions:
#35 in Role Playing Games (iPhone) on Jun 20, 2010
#2 in Role Playing Games (iPad) on Jun 21, 2010
#53 in Adventure Games (iPhone) on Jun 20, 2010
#7 in Adventure Games (iPad) on Jun 21, 2010
#70 in Top Games (iPad) on Jun 19, 2010
These rankings are based on number of downloads, so it looks like it's getting some play at least.
#2 - What do people think?
The reviews on the itunes site vary broadly. A lot of folks really dig it, and a lot really hate it. For a piece like this, that comes as no surprise.
Neither of these sources give any insight into the non-stevejobsian universe, but can perhaps be viewed as a general indicator of the response at large.
Interactive fiction is an odd beast. It can make for a very moving connection between the reader and a work (I'm looking at you, Photopia) or can also be used simply for the gaming enjoyment of puzzle-solving, and sometimes both. Building The Nightmare Maze as part of a larger series of creative content allowed me some flexibility when it comes to story-telling. I wanted to make the game an episode in the events of the larger world, keeping with the themes and general timbre of the Waking Cassandra series, as opposed to a strictly stand-alone object.
The game is a departure from the sort of pieces Choice of Games has released before -- if you haven't played them, do yourself a favor and do so forthwith -- in that the player has a specific goal in mind: to solve the mystery of the nightmares. One of the beta-testers said the game was like a recurring dream, that you had to get through it several times trying different actions to figure it out. I found this comment quite rewarding, as that was one of my goals.
#1 - Is anyone playing it?
FB and Twitter are great for this, of course, but only for those within a few Kevin Bacons of myself. Topappcharts.com offers app rankings for the iphone/ipad versions:
#35 in Role Playing Games (iPhone) on Jun 20, 2010
#2 in Role Playing Games (iPad) on Jun 21, 2010
#53 in Adventure Games (iPhone) on Jun 20, 2010
#7 in Adventure Games (iPad) on Jun 21, 2010
#70 in Top Games (iPad) on Jun 19, 2010
These rankings are based on number of downloads, so it looks like it's getting some play at least.
#2 - What do people think?
The reviews on the itunes site vary broadly. A lot of folks really dig it, and a lot really hate it. For a piece like this, that comes as no surprise.
Neither of these sources give any insight into the non-stevejobsian universe, but can perhaps be viewed as a general indicator of the response at large.
Interactive fiction is an odd beast. It can make for a very moving connection between the reader and a work (I'm looking at you, Photopia) or can also be used simply for the gaming enjoyment of puzzle-solving, and sometimes both. Building The Nightmare Maze as part of a larger series of creative content allowed me some flexibility when it comes to story-telling. I wanted to make the game an episode in the events of the larger world, keeping with the themes and general timbre of the Waking Cassandra series, as opposed to a strictly stand-alone object.
The game is a departure from the sort of pieces Choice of Games has released before -- if you haven't played them, do yourself a favor and do so forthwith -- in that the player has a specific goal in mind: to solve the mystery of the nightmares. One of the beta-testers said the game was like a recurring dream, that you had to get through it several times trying different actions to figure it out. I found this comment quite rewarding, as that was one of my goals.
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