Friday, April 25, 2014

Maximus Cerebrum Post Mortem

Nearly two weeks have passed since the release of Maximus Cerebrum... and since I'm bored I thought it would be interesting to write up a summary of my thoughts on how the release went and how the public have reacted to the game.

Warning: If you have not played the game already, I do not recommend reading this post as it may contain spoilers.

I'm going to end on a positive note, so first I will start with a few things I regret about my latest release.
First of all, in Maximus Cerebrum, even though there are some slight branches, the paths to the end are actually rather linear. The game came out this way due to a lack of planning. This is not entirely a bad thing, however, because a lot of players like to have the pathways easy to find so they won't get lost(I'm like this as well). I also wish I had put in a few more robot moving things in the last half part of the game. It is a robot generation facility after all... a couple more robots would have given the game even more depth, I think.
People really seemed to enjoy the tiny little puzzles spread out through the game... it might have been advisable to put in even more, however... and maybe a few that were a bit more difficult.
Additionally, there are some parts of the game where you're just walking, it's a bit boring at times for some players, I'm sure. It's regrettable, but because the game doesn't have any real combat or consistently appearing enemies, I don't see how it could be avoided. There are also a few really minor things I will not even bother mentioning as I'm sure most players won't even find out about them.

In spite of my regrets, I am still quite pleased with Maximus Cerebrum. It was an on-and-off project for over 2 years, and even after a long break where I didn't touch the game for about 6 months I actually managed to pick it up again and completely finish it in just a couple months. The ultimate satisfaction for a game developer is just that, finishing a game.

Maximus Cerebrum has been downloaded nearly 800 times so far. It's Game Jolt page has been viewed over 3500 times. It has been featured on GameJolt as well as indiegames.com, metroidvanias.com and Warp Door. A few let's plays of the game have already started appearing on YouTube.

Maximus Cerebrum was a success.

However, I cannot take complete credit for the game as it is. There are a lot of people who helped me with the game and made various contributions without which the game would not be what it is today.
I don't even know if the game would have ever been completed without the support, feedback and suggestions of my beta testers. ramses12, the game's composer did a fantastic job as well(to say the least), 7 separate tracks for the game, and he revised some of them quite a few times in response to my nit-picks. There are even a few others who helped out and are not even mentioned in the game credits because they chose to be anonymous.
To all of you incredible people, I give my hearty thanks and appreciation!

But there is one other person I must thank.
Thank YOU for playing! After all, what use is a game if no one ever plays it? :D You players make it all worthwhile for us game developers! Thanks a lot!

-orange

2 comments:

  1. I love this game!!! was awesome, i hope this proyect grow :B

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  2. Hey, this was a great game Orange. This was also an interesting read, I can't believe that you had this project going for so long, but I'm all too aware of how that goes. I hope you re-visit the game. Take those regrets and update the game one day! I have my own regrets for a few of my games, and I'll do exactly that. Just becaused you released it, doesn't mean it's over buddy :)

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