Hello all (probably that 1 person reading this!).
I just submitted my first iPhone/iPod Touch Game! I am very happy with the final result, and have been working on for some time now. It’s been under testing for about a week now, this included me playing again and again, and I also had one of my gamer friends finish the game twice, and had some good feedback from him.
The game is called “Which Way”, there is also a FREE Lite edition Called “Which Way Lite”. The complete version features 24 game levels, where as the Lite edition has 5 selected levels.
So, what’s “Which Way”? The game is a test of a person’s Concentration and speed! The basic idea of the game is for a user to clean the screen of moving blocks. So, once you start the game, a stream of blocks start running across the screen (Different directions and speeds) and you need to make sure you catch each block by pressing on it and swiping it off the screen. Of course each lock has a different requirement when coming to the direction of your swipe. Some blocks need to be moved to the left, some to the right, others left or right, and some shouldn’t be moved at all!
Once a block is moved off the screen, you will either gain points if you correctly moved the block, or miss the points. Only Red blocks cause you to lose points (-20), and these should not be moved off the screen at all. The game has a Gold block which gives you 100 points if you can catch it, this block moves faster than other ones.
The first couple of levels are pretty easy, and let you get the idea of the game, but believe me, once you advance into later levels, you will be challenged!! Each level requires a specific number of points to be collected, if you do so you can advance successfully to the next level, otherwise you will need to give the level another try. Different levels will have different styles of block movements and block streams.
“Which Way” features a very smooth and clean user interface. The main screens you will see in the game are:
Main Menu: This is where you will be presented with the main options for the Game (New Game, Resume Game, High Scores, Instructions, Sound On/Off).
Instructions: Here you will get information on how to play the game and information on the different block types and corresponding points.
High Scores: You will be able to see your latest and highest scores. World Scores will be included in the next version of “Which Way”
Game Screen: This is of course the screen where you will play the game. The screen layout is as follows:
Top Left is the current level score.
Top Right is your total score for all levels up to now.
Top Center shows time remaining for this level, and current level number.
Rest of the screen is where the blocks will appear (See Tips for a secret!).
While playing a particular level, you can SHAKE your iPhone/iPod to pause the game. You will be presented with a pop up selection menu that allows you to resume the game or go back to the Main Menu (This will ignore level progress!).
Once a level is completed, you will be introduced with a Result Screen. This screen shows you the final level score, total score up to now, Information on whether you unlocked the next level or not, and a number of choices for advancing into the game. These choices include:
Restart Level: You can choose to restart the level if not satisfied with your score, or you might need to restart the level if you haven’t collected enough points to unlock the next level.
Next level: This will start the next level, and will save you progress.
Save to Main Menu: This will save your progress and exit to the Main menu.
Cancel to Main Menu: This will ignore current level progress, and exit to Main menu (Only the last level progress is dismissed). This is if you aren’t satisfied with this level, and decide to come back later for giving it another try.
Here’s a first look.
Hopefully Apple will approve, and hope you guys enjoy it! Don’t forget, you can try the Lite version first, and see if you enjoy it.
UPDATE // The app is up on iTunes, you can grab at from HERE, or you can try the free version HERE
TIPS & TRICKS:
1- You don’t have to swipe a block by moving them at a perfectly horizontal angle. You just need to make sure that your swipe is towards a particular direction. In other words, I can swipe a block to the left by making a 45 degree swipe (up or down) towards the left. This makes it easier to catch the moving blocks.
2- The top gray area that has the scores and timer is an active region. This means you can still swipe a block if it is under that gray area. This might help in gaining some extra block points.
3- Try not to press too hard on the screen when swiping. Sometimes I tend to press harder, thinking that will change the effect on swiping a block! It doesn’t really, so just make your swipes light and fast.
NEW TIPS:
4- A block is not activated just by touching it! You need to trigger a swipe to make a block respond to your action.
The Best,
Your iPhone Developer Friend 
Posted in App Store
Tags: apple, appstore, appstore approval, arcade, concentration, developer, game screens, games, iPhone, ipod, levels, menu, programming, progress, shake, speed, tips, tricks, which way, which way lite
