Read the forums, you'll have a much better understanding of how the categories currently work. Also please spare us your proclamations of the impending apocalypse.
Read the forums, you'll have a much better understanding of how the categories currently work. Also please spare us your proclamations of the impending apocalypse.
He has every right to be worried about not getting exposure. As it is now some games are NOT listed, you have to actually search around to find it. And if its not listed, people won't even know that it's there.
Where did I say he didn't have the right to worry? There is a difference between researching, learning and asking questions in a constructive manner; compared to OHMAHGAWD THE SKY IS FALLING, WITCHES WITCHES...BURN THEM!
i just wondering how did Sega bypass the Sandbox? and go straight to New Releases. Fair enough its a new release on OUYA but dont all games start in sandbox first?
OHMAHGAWD THE SKY IS FALLING, WITCHES WITCHES...BURN THEM! :p
Okay, moving along...
Presumably, all new games (unless released by Sega of America, heh) go in to the sandbox section? Is that correct? Then there is some mechanism for games to get out of the sandbox (noticed there is an escape from the sandbox section). Once out of the sandbox, they will be allocated to a category?
Will see. It does seem a little messy to be honest; some games are way over exposed, while some are practically invisible.
Yeah, as it is now, all games (except certain high profile ones) start in the Sandbox, which is not organized by genre. As games in the Sandbox get played a lot and thumbs-upped, they work their way towards the beginning of the sandbox, to the left. Once they surpass the very first spot in the sandbox, they move into the main genres list, which shifts everything in the sandbox left one slot.
Note that you still have to market your game, the way for it to earn its way out of the sandbox is to be played a lot by people, and thumbs-upped by them. So you have to push your game so people know to look for or recognize it.
Actually, the sandbox system you have now, doesn't seem unreasonable.
It would be good to have had some idea of how your system works, before my game was on the store. Would have alleviated some stress on my part.
I'd also suggest, having some way you can refresh the various featured sections, on a regular basis. Some other app stores do this, and it keeps things fresh and alive for the customer, and gives more developers a chance at getting exposure.
Read the forums, you'll have a much better understanding of how the categories currently work. Also please spare us your proclamations of the impending apocalypse.
He has every right to be worried about not getting exposure. As it is now some games are NOT listed, you have to actually search around to find it. And if its not listed, people won't even know that it's there.
Seriously?
Are some games not even in the store...? Wow.
All games should be in the store IMO, the bad games should only be hidden deeper into it. :P
I made the OUYA exclusive games Cube and Creature and Hellworm! evgiz.net
Read the forums, you'll have a much better understanding of how the categories currently work. Also please spare us your proclamations of the impending apocalypse.
He has every right to be worried about not getting exposure. As it is now some games are NOT listed, you have to actually search around to find it. And if its not listed, people won't even know that it's there.
Seriously?
Are some games not even in the store...? Wow.
All games should be in the store IMO, the bad games should only be hidden deeper into it. :P
Read the forums, you'll have a much better understanding of how the categories currently work. Also please spare us your proclamations of the impending apocalypse.
He has every right to be worried about not getting exposure. As it is now some games are NOT listed, you have to actually search around to find it. And if its not listed, people won't even know that it's there.
Seriously?
Are some games not even in the store...? Wow.
All games should be in the store IMO, the bad games should only be hidden deeper into it. :P
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All games are in the store, its just not all of them are listed in view, you have to either search by name or look up by genre to find them.
I do believe the genre category needs to be on the top instead of at the bottom.
Its getting better, you still have to dig just to find imech online though.
Also, nothing against the developer, and it's a great game; but some games (the 4 player archery platform game) are way over represented, it's like the first game on 4 or so rows!
How does escape from sandbox work? Do games get a limited amount of time in there or something?
If I was OUYA, I'd definitely build in some kind of charts system, where games that sell well, get more exposure. Also, I'd have a new section (but would not call it sandbox, that just confuses people) and featured games section (that would be refreshed every week). I'd drop the game-industry-personality-recommends-these-games malarky (esp. as they all recommended the same game, and it appears first on all their lists). Yeah, I'd definitely have a big re-think about the store front.
Hope there is some useful feedback on this thread for the OUYA guys. It's not all bad, but there is room for improvement! :)
Also, nothing against the developer, and it's a great game; but some games (the 4 player archery platform game) are way over represented, it's like the first game on 4 or so rows!
How does escape from sandbox work? Do games get a limited amount of time in there or something?
If I was OUYA, I'd definitely build in some kind of charts system, where games that sell well, get more exposure. Also, I'd have a new section (but would not call it sandbox, that just confuses people) and featured games section (that would be refreshed every week). I'd drop the game-industry-personality-recommends-these-games malarky (esp. as they all recommended the same game, and it appears first on all their lists). Yeah, I'd definitely have a big re-think about the store front.
Agreed that it seems pretty unhelpful to have Towerfall listed 5 times or whatever at the top of the store page. I understand that each row is a category and each is sorted by Likes. So it makes sense why Towerfall is there so many times, but it is kinda lame too.
Also, I don't mind the dev playlists, but they do seem a little redundant since many devs picked the same games. They're also maybe a little too prominent. Having to scroll almost to the bottom of the page to get to genres seems bad.
Also, nothing against the developer, and it's a great game; but some games (the 4 player archery platform game) are way over represented, it's like the first game on 4 or so rows!
How does escape from sandbox work? Do games get a limited amount of time in there or something?
If I was OUYA, I'd definitely build in some kind of charts system, where games that sell well, get more exposure. Also, I'd have a new section (but would not call it sandbox, that just confuses people) and featured games section (that would be refreshed every week). I'd drop the game-industry-personality-recommends-these-games malarky (esp. as they all recommended the same game, and it appears first on all their lists). Yeah, I'd definitely have a big re-think about the store front.
Agreed that it seems pretty unhelpful to have Towerfall listed 5 times or whatever at the top of the store page. I understand that each row is a category and each is sorted by Likes. So it makes sense why Towerfall is there so many times, but it is kinda lame too.
Also, I don't mind the dev playlists, but they do seem a little redundant since many devs picked the same games. They're also maybe a little too prominent. Having to scroll almost to the bottom of the page to get to genres seems bad.
Would be nice if updated games were also visible somewhere (in new section or sth like that). I plan a huge update for my game but I think many people won't notice it. But I understand it might be hard to decide for the algorithm which update is worth showing (so developers won't update every day just to be on the list).
Would be nice if updated games were also visible somewhere (in new section or sth like that). I plan a huge update for my game but I think many people won't notice it. But I understand it might be hard to decide for the algorithm which update is worth showing (so developers won't update every day just to be on the list).
It tells you the date on the games page when it was last updated, and if you have it already is shows a thumbnail with (update) on it in the play area when a update is available for it.
They should do what google play does, they have a description of the game, as well as a description of what was updated (a change log of sorts).
Honestly, it's already getting extremely difficult to release a new title if you don't have the marketing power. The store is dominated by a dozen (or less?) games. I was only able to find my own game because I read somewhere that new games get thrown in the "sandbox" section.
For a platform that adds "we aim to be the most developer friendly platform" to every email you receive, it's quite unfriendly towards anyone who isn't already an established developer.
Public relations/Business side of Alpha404(web) and SassyBot Studio(game).
There should be a "seen this one, show me more" button to cycle games players have browsed but aren't interested in, and games which you've already downloaded should be moved off the front page and to the back of the line.
Better yet, each gamer should be able to create a basic interest profile ("I like: platformers, racing games. I don't like: fighting games, puzzle games") which would filter the items featured in the store (outside of the curated sections, of course). This way, games can get directly to the players who are most likely to enjoy them.
There could also be a specialized category for each player called "Great Games Outside Your Wheelhouse" where all the highest-ranked titles from genres the player isn't interested in are bundled, so they can still discover a breakout hit, or when they're specifically looking for something different than what they're used to playing.
I get, and share, the frustration, but in the end we just have to be patient and let the OUYA team figure it out. It will take time, but we can be certain that they are listening.
I think the dev playlist is a pretty neat idea, but I think it could be done a little differently. When you're browsing the store, it can be confusing to new users who don't know who the developers are so you just have rows and rows of lists that all look pretty similar for no apparent reason. Perhaps you could have a link in the game description page that displays the public profile for the developer and have the playlist there. This would reduce clutter and redundancy in the Discover section as well as provide a central place to view stats on your favorite developer, view other games by them, see their reputation, etc.
Also, I would like to see options for sorting games, like alphabetically or by download count. There could be options for hiding duplicates, or for hiding games you already have.
My overall request is just for more sectioning of the store as it seems that everything is just kind of thrown into the same area right now. There must be a different section entirely for things like apps and other non-game utilities, and possibly another section for games that are in beta or otherwise not ready to be released yet. Prototype games could even be moved to the "Make" section, so users know that what they're playing is still a work-in-progress and won't be put off because it's not up to their standards yet. The benefit to this is that most people who would be in the Make section are developers themselves, who would get the most out of playing and giving feedback to other developers. I know that this is what the Sandbox section is trying to do, but more effort could be made to convey to the user exactly what this section is supposed to be for (ostensibly for generating interest in games in order to get them into the "main" store).
All of this is for the purpose of allowing you to section off the main store for the true cream of the crop games, the ones that have the most polish.
"All of this is for the purpose of allowing you to section off the main store for the true cream of the crop games, the ones that have the most polish."
Nope, that is not what the main store is for. The store should showcase more than just the top games. It should allow players to access the full diversity of games, and display proudly the indie spirit of the developer base. Curating for "polish" is a dangerous proposition. Let the "likes" of players determine visibility and ranking, as it is now, and make it easy for players dig to discover the "unpolished" gems, rather than send them to another part of the interface, or imply that the Sandbox is only for developer peer review.
I guess I should take a step back and define what I mean by "polished". By polish, I mean that the game is in a completed or near-completed state (ie post-beta). Lumping all of the games, both finished and unfinished, in the same categories does nothing but frustrate users who thought they were getting a full game or leave them indifferent to games that are not ready for prime-time, never to return again. Inclusion into the main store would have nothing to do with the quality of the game per se, but rather whether the community thinks your game is good enough to be a complete experience. A good example for the PC would be Dwarf Fortress. It is still in development, yet many people still consider it a complete experience.
make it easy for players dig to discover the "unpolished" gems, ...
But you see, therein lies the problem. By dumping all of the games, both finished and unfinished, into a single location, the Sandbox (and indeed the store itself) risks becoming cluttered with beta builds. It's already pretty bad as it is with less that 300 games, think of how poorly this will scale when there's thousands and thousands of beta builds and not that many actual "finished" games. Sorting by name, or by category, would be a nightmare.
The idea that the main store should be a showcase for all kinds of games, both finished and unfinished, is a noble one, but in practice, I feel that ultimately it would be the users that would suffer. I would bet that non-developers could care less about in-development games and only want to see finished or near-finished works. Also, the suggestion to move the Sandbox to the Make section was just a suggestion, they could find a way to do this that would work, like having an additional option on the main menu that says something like "Preview" or something that would entice users to play your prototype but also to help them understand that what they are getting is not the final experience. Perhaps there could even be a reward or review system based on playing and rating games that are still in development; a sort of 'meta-game' that rewards users for trying and giving feedback on in-development games. In the end though, it's all about the users, not the developers, seeing as that's where the majority of the transactions will be coming from (as they say, you want to put your best foot forward).
mrqwak
Posts: 22Member
Comments
I made the OUYA exclusive games Cube and Creature and Hellworm!
evgiz.net
Sure I just over dramatised...see why?
Games go to the sand box first.
You are also aware that you can scroll sideways, right?
https://www.udemy.com/nocode2dgames/
I made the OUYA exclusive games Cube and Creature and Hellworm!
evgiz.net
Order games by
Games by likes
Games by date
Games by suckieness
Games by terribleness
https://www.udemy.com/nocode2dgames/
I made the OUYA exclusive games Cube and Creature and Hellworm!
evgiz.net
I guess that's to counteract the loss in visibility games had when before they would shift from sandbox into the genre categories.
Take some time and learn Designer-Friendly Programming 101.
https://www.udemy.com/nocode2dgames/
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All games are in the store, its just not all of them are listed in view, you have to either search by name or look up by genre to find them.
I do believe the genre category needs to be on the top instead of at the bottom.
Its getting better, you still have to dig just to find imech online though.
Also, I don't mind the dev playlists, but they do seem a little redundant since many devs picked the same games. They're also maybe a little too prominent. Having to scroll almost to the bottom of the page to get to genres seems bad.
Take some time and learn Designer-Friendly Programming 101.
Instead there should be a page for each.
https://www.udemy.com/nocode2dgames/
They should do what google play does, they have a description of the game, as well as a description of what was updated (a change log of sorts).
Better yet, each gamer should be able to create a basic interest profile ("I like: platformers, racing games. I don't like: fighting games, puzzle games") which would filter the items featured in the store (outside of the curated sections, of course). This way, games can get directly to the players who are most likely to enjoy them.
There could also be a specialized category for each player called "Great Games Outside Your Wheelhouse" where all the highest-ranked titles from genres the player isn't interested in are bundled, so they can still discover a breakout hit, or when they're specifically looking for something different than what they're used to playing.
I get, and share, the frustration, but in the end we just have to be patient and let the OUYA team figure it out. It will take time, but we can be certain that they are listening.
Nope, that is not what the main store is for. The store should showcase more than just the top games. It should allow players to access the full diversity of games, and display proudly the indie spirit of the developer base. Curating for "polish" is a dangerous proposition. Let the "likes" of players determine visibility and ranking, as it is now, and make it easy for players dig to discover the "unpolished" gems, rather than send them to another part of the interface, or imply that the Sandbox is only for developer peer review.