My First Unity3D Game Unleashed! - Impact Jumper!
And it is in 2D! LOL!
Folks, check out my half cooked, too-early-to-release, Unity3D Physics based game - Impact Jumper.
This is my first released game/app made in a tool other than Basic4Android.
 |
| Impact Jumper - and AWESOME 2D Physics Game on Android! |
1 - You have an ARMv7 device
or
2 - You have an ARMv6 device with some VFP (some virtual floating point thingy) feature in it.
This is the limitation of Unity3D games.
Go ahead, download the game, play it, help spread the word about it, and do submit a rating :D
The following will make more sense once you've played the game a little.
In all this though, there is the important stuff... lessons learnt and lessons in learning.
Why did I release it so soon?
Well, I am not too confident this game will be found. What would someone search for that will cause this game to pop up in the search result? Currently searching for "Physics Game" shows this game on page 15!
So I decided that I will release the game out so that I can gauge on how well it is received, and to know how much effort I should spend on it. You'd know me by now, I don't encourage making a game that will take months to make, because there is really no guarantee that you will make it with the game.
This game's further progress will be dependent on how it is received initially.
Monetization Strategy
No notification ads, no icon ads, no sneaky permissions. Straight forward RevMob ad only for now. It will have a banner ad in soon too. And that's it.
I hope it will some day get to a state where it has multiple levels and improved all over (I have a gazzilion list of things to do on this game), that it would be reviewed by some good website and make me millions of dollars!
Fun Factor
I decided to go with the simplest input one can find on the device, a single touch! One touch is all you need to play the game. Your next platform is always visible, so no scrolling over levels is needed.
2D? Why the rats hairy behind 2D?
 |
| 2D is Fun! |
It was a little tough (a.k.a time consuming) doing level 1, as I was learning the tools while developing, and itchy hands kept trying out new stuff and new game prototypes as I went along. Following levels were developed very fast actually.
Creating Anticipation
 |
| Reach the finish line |
In the main menu, I have a mention of desert world coming up. I hope this strategy will get the game not uninstalled as much, which has been rumored to be one of the determining factor for Google Play ranking.
Also, I will be releasing more levels on a weekly basis (maybe even some every few days). Hope this way people will keep the game on their devices a little longer.
No In-App Purchase
Well, Google... what can I say? I am not in one of the privileged countries that Google supports IAP or even sales of the game. I'd love to have the desert levels (and the upcoming theme after that of the ice age, and maybe a Christmas themed level in December) as purchasable. And some heroes (such as a triangle hero, or a more challenging circle hero) as IAP. But, it is not to be I guess.Amazon Sales
Once (or IF) I get the game to a more proper stage, I am planning to releasing it for sale on the Amazon app store. How'd that go? It is too far away yet to say, I'll keep you guys and gals posted.
Played it?
How was it? Hope it is a good enough a start to further develop it.
Cheers!
Congratulations! You finally did it. I tried and I love your game. It's easy to play but not easy to win. How long it took to make this game? Is it hard to learn Unity3D? Oh, you encouraged me to try Unity3D. That's so great!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe idea and game play is really great. This could have thousands of downloads. However, you shouldn't have released it until you had better graphics. The graphics are so important. The most basic example is the background, you could have had nicer background, and the cooler boxes. Beside that, THIS THING IS GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL :)
ReplyDeleteHi susu,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wonderful feedback on the game. :D Really great encouragement to continue development on this game.
As for your questions:
Q: How long it took to make this game?
A: I really don't know. It was a learning process as I went along, and in between I kept getting diverted to try out new stuff, which ends up taking a lot more time. But if I am to re-do this again, I believe I can get this up to current level in about 3 days or less full time.
Q: Is it hard to learn Unity3D?
A: Coming from a developer perspective, it does require a mindset change. The development idea here is different. It is actually EASY to grasp the development flow.
And with the plugins you can get for Unity3D from their asset store, it makes development a whole lot easier.
This game probably only had about 3 lines of code to launch the ad! Seriously! The rest was done via a plugin called Playmaker.
Cheers!
Hi Matt,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback.
Cheers!
Hi Moribito,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback. Very encouraging to hear such feedback from fellow developers :D
I got your points about the graphics. Will get the background and boxes looking better hopefully within this week :D
Again... thanks!
Hi Bill,
ReplyDeleteI'm very curious about Unity3D. I'll try it tomorrow.
About you game, I just found that I can't save my completed level. It took 30 mins to go to level 6 (or 7) but when I play again, the game starts from level 1! Another problem is when the game change from completed level to new level, sometime the screen becomes very dim and device stop responding in 5-10 seconds. Hope you will fix it soon.
Hi susu,
ReplyDeleteIf you wanna make more serious games, I guess you'll need to leave B4A behind. But for apps (non- games) and simple games that dont require much processing power, B4A still rocks :D
And, about the issues you mentioned. I am working out an implementation where the levels get unlocked as your progress, like in angry birds.
And that screen dimming out, that is the RevMob ad trying to fetch some stuff. I find it weird that it happens that way, on my device too. Will work out a fix for that.
Thanks for checking out the game... moved from page 15 to page 10 for search of "physics game"... :D
Hi Bill,
ReplyDeleteI like to create game but I don't have any experience in game development. Could you please share some Unity3D tutorial?
Thank you in advance.
Hi susu,
ReplyDeleteI usually just google specific stuff out. But here are a few places that I've referred for lessons and also ideas on how to proceed:
Unity forum has a Teaching sub-forum:
http://forum.unity3d.com/
This is a new site, but I believe it has much potential (not necessary unity):
http://gamedev.tutsplus.com/
This is for mobile development, not much on unity, but the development process is still the same (used the concept to develop one of my B4A games too):
http://mobile.tutsplus.com/
Also search for "Unity3D" on Youtube. You will get tonnes of tutorial videos and tutorial series to get you going.
The most important one though is to just launch Unity and play and mess about in it. That's the best way to get familiarised with it :D
Good luck... and let me know if you need any specific help, and I will try to help IF I know about it :P
Hi Bill,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your suggestions. I actually installed and played around. I also built Angry Bots example for Android. It's very impressive. I think Unity3D is my next stop :)
Welcome aboard susu! :D Good to have a partner in crime tag along... LOL!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey Bill what eCPM you have with RevMob they claim something like 25 - 50 dollars sure its pure marketing trick but some Android developers claim that they are paid only 6 cents per install! So can you share what you see? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Bojan,
ReplyDeleteThat 25 - 50 is total crap indeed. If it is too good to be true, it really is too good to be true.
My experience with Revmob, it usually yields between $1.xx to $2.xx range eCPM for full screen ads. That is average-ish for an interstitial ad. Nothing spectacular as what they claim to be.
As for that 6 cents per install... I am actually at times getting 2 cents per install. Honestly, for a CPA based FULLSCREEN ad, that is HORRIBLE!
I'd probably write up a post with experience of them here, hope it will get some attention from them, as really a few cents for a full screen CPA based ad sucks BIG time.
Overall, as far as interstitial ads go, they are just the same as the other interstitial ads.
To add to the above... after posting the above, I logged into Revmob to check the performance, and there it was:
ReplyDeleteImpressions: 10
Clicks: 3
Installs: 1
eCPM: $2.00
Revenue: $0.02
The above further highlights why I have always been saying, screw the eCPMs, they are total bullshit.
It really misleads developers, especially those that are starting up. The revenue generated is what matters.
Only 2 cents for install OMG, they are joking right? Its not low it is under any standard. Your game is very neat and it deserves better I am watching what TapJoy will tell about Google policy and probably I will go with them sometimes in future when finish a game.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words for the game. And good luck with TapJoy! :D
ReplyDeleteBill, do you still use appBrain in your apps or you removed them totally? If you removed them why you decide to do that?
ReplyDeleteTnx.
Still using AppBrain for exit ads. No reason to remove them for me :D
ReplyDeleteI do not see them in Impact Jumper so conclusion was that you maybe drop them. What CTR you have with them? So many questions. :)
ReplyDelete:D No worries about the questions.
ReplyDeleteImpact Jumper does not have them in because there is no unity plugin available to use appbrain.. also the reason I am using revmob, as they have the plugin :D
I cant seem to access the details page for appbrain, but check this out, this was discussed back in April (with you... LOL!):
http://www.mobiadage.com/2012/04/appbrain-get-smart-get-rich.html
Hope that helps.
Hoped that they improve that because the only way to be sure about real network value is CTR and eCPM in my opinion of course maybe I am wrong.
ReplyDeleteThank you again you are very patient guy. :)
I'd say there is no right or wrong in this. It is all depending on each person's point of view.
ReplyDeleteLike for me, I don't believe in eCPMs as advertised by the ad networks. But actual eCPMs by developers, now that's a more reliable source for measure.
You can ask more questions.. :D I doubt I'll run out of patience doing stuff that I enjoy :P
Do you count sessions? Under session I mean how many unique game starts you have during one day on that way you can find probably correct or at least close to correct CTR?
ReplyDeleteI agree with about ecpm, ctr, cpa and so on, firm claims are worthless because they always promising some crazy numbers.
Actually, I don't really keep track of that. Unless when things go bad suddenly. Only then do I look back at the data to figure out what's really going on.
ReplyDeleteHi bill just found your blog.
ReplyDeleteI released my new app about 5 days ago and implemented revmob, guess what? I am getting $0.02 per install. I emailed them about this issue but for what i read now this seems to be normal.
Crap... do which network is best for interstitial ad´s?
Thanks
Steve
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteI released an update for my game yesterday, and removed revmob. Sucks big time at $0.02 for fullscreen CPA ads. I'd rather not put an ad in my game at all.
AppLovin's full screen ads did perform quite well, maybe you'd like to check them out?
Greystripe used to be great too, but have also dropped in performance since some time ago.
Haven't used any others, maybe you could have a look at millennial media if they have it.
Good luck!
Hi bill this is what they replied to me:
ReplyDelete"We’re currently seeing much better eCPMs for iOS than for Android and this can be mainly attributed to a lack of high-paying campaigns for Android. We're working really hard to bring new campaigns in the short term in order to bring Android eCPMs to higher levels again. Please, let me know if you have more questions."
Seriously? I guess that will take quite some time until then be happy with $0.02 installs lol
I remember you mentioning that app brain app wall performed very good for an interstitial? Or is that some kind of different ad?
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteAs you'd thought, AppBrain is indeed a different ad type. Might not be suitable as interstitial ad, but you could give it a try. It might just work :D
And LOL at "be happy with $0.02 installs". I think RevMob don't have enough advertisers, and I am guessing they promote their own games when there is no ad available. Thus we use our ad space for them to get a high download of their own games at $0.02 profit to us.
Oh boy...
Hi Bill
ReplyDeleteI am kinda confused what´s the difference between interstitial and wall? :\
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteInterstitial is like a fullscreen banner ad. It shows one ad in the whole screen.
An App Wall or Offer Wall shows multiple smaller banners in usually a webview.
Imagine a newspaper. You see some full page ads, those are interstitials. Classifieds section is more like tha app wall.
Hope that is clear. Let me know if you need further details on it :)
Cheers!
Hi Bill,
ReplyDeleteWhat is your opinion about video ads, I never seen them in any game that I download but read that some games use it (on iPhone, do not have one so can not check). Do you have some experience or knowledge about this topic?
Hi Bojan,
ReplyDeleteI have no actual app released with video ads yet, although I've tried implementing and seeing test ads with inMobi.
The problems with video ads are:
1 - too little inventory
I am guessing only the US will be able to see any video ads as of now. The ads are expensive for the advertisers, and the ROI out of the US is not much, thus targetting is usually done in the US for this.
Also due to the expensiveness of these ad units, you have very low fill rates for them.
2 - heavy usage for user's broadband
I've read some ad network mentioning that the video ads are actually highly optimised, and that the sizes are small. But still they take up internet bandwidth. Will be tough for users with limited monthly allocation.
3 - user's hate it
I think Angry Birds at one time had video ads, and I saw reviews of people complaining that the video ads were very annoying. I guess it is annoying, probably lesser than notification and icon ads, but more annoying than interstitial ads.
Users dont like it, they probably got too shocked when they finish a game level, and suddenly a video ad blasts on their device.
Overall though, from a developer's perspective, I think this is a great monetisation prospect, but still at a very immature stage as of now.
Hi bill
ReplyDeleteJust implemented app brain interstitial ad (app wall) on my app and released it last wednesday now here is the shocking news, i getting a lot of clicks from revmob and admob, but almost none from app brain! i just tested my app again and the it shows always the app brain ad when you exit the options, and i just checked the new version is present in 70% of the active installations how weird!!!
Actually i had more clicks (30) on thrusday when i had 90 new installations then i had yesterday. Yesterday i had about 149 new installations and only 10 clicks? :O
Also the stats from app downlaods are different from google play (149 yesterday) and 69 (yesterday) from app brain but the app brain number is from people who downloaded the app with app brain app right?
ReplyDeleteHi Steve,
ReplyDeleteYes, downloads in appbrain's console should be only from apps which have the sdk implemented.
How much revenue are the clicks in revmob earning you? These days mine are all 2cents per installation... crap!
AppBrain is also a CPA type ad, the users will need to install an app before they allocate the revenue. Maybe once you get a higher number of users / views the revenues will look a little better. This is the same for all cpa based ads.
For an app that has low download numbers, a cpc type ad is more recommended.
Cheers!
Why dont u use Tapjoy, it gives amazing results and has Unity plugin.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill,
ReplyDeleteApplovin have plugin for Unity too. I just update their new SDK and the performance is very good. I hope you have great success with your cool games :D
Hi Bill
ReplyDeleteRight now revmob is giving me a mix some times it pays $0.11 some other times $0.03.
Today i got a new install with appbrain and got me more $0.11 which is nice how much is AppLovin paying per install??
They are sending me mails to implement their ad´s lol
I am interested too about AppLovin you attach some time ago a screenshot where eCPM was around a dollar. Any changes in eCPM from then? I would be nice if you attach new screenshot with fresh results. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Steve,
ReplyDeleteApplovin is banner ad network so you get money when user clicks its banners.
Hi Bojan,
Applovin's eCPM was $0.61 yesterday and today is $0.66. This is very high eCPM. And the fill rate is always over 99%.
Ps: I'm a friend of Bill, not a staff of Applovin :)
Hi Moribito and susu,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, will surely check them out for Unity ads.
Hi Steve,
I am not sure about AppLovin's per install rate. Though as far as banner and fullscreen ads go, they been performing pretty good so far.
I have removed them for time being though as I was not comfortable with some of their ads in light with the new google play's policy. They have fixed it, but I will give it some time before i re-update my apps with them.
Hi Bojan,
Susu's reply should be more or less what it is at now. Interstitials are giving a whole lot more, probably the best performing interstitial ads so far for me.
And yes, susu is a friend of mine... lol.. i can guarantee he does not work for AppLovin!
Cheers!
Oh, one more thing. I will like to correct susu. AppLovin is a CPA ad network. You get money on installation of an ad, not from clicks alone.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill,
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Applovin is CPC ad network, at least for my country. I said that because Applovin only show 1-2 banner of the same product (NQ Antivirus). I think my users don't download NQ then remove then download again and again. And the more clicks I get, the more money I earn. Maybe Applovin specialized their ads for my country? :D
Hi susu,
ReplyDeleteMaybe they did customise for you. i just checked mine, there is 121 clicks n 0 revenue and ecpm for today's date...
Thank you, you are both right about them. Read their FAQ and they serve both ad types CPC and CPA but they prefer CPA.
ReplyDeleteI guess that 0.66 ecpm is for banner ads? Can you share region where you have most users because 0.66 is very high ecpm if we are talking about banners?
Bill can you share some numbers for full page ads with them? :)
Hi Bojan,
ReplyDeleteYes, I used their banner ad. My apps are for Asian users (mostly). It's crazy when eCPM up to $0.80 yesterday.
Hi Bojan,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply.
I just checked my total's from May and June, and the ecpm for fullscreen ads is $3.85.
They do have awesome banner and fullscreen ads performance.
Cheers!
Oh, and for the same period, banner ads gave ecpm of $1.43....
ReplyDeleteLike susu said, crazy! The good crazy type of course :)
Hi Bill and Susu too,
ReplyDeleteHow you receive money that you earn with different ad providers? PayPal or some other service.
Tnx.
I get most of my earnings via paypal, except for Leadbolt which is wire transferred if it exceeds $500.
ReplyDeleteHey guys. I have some real estate available in some of my apps, so I was thinking of implementing a banner ad. What ad networks have some good performers in your opinions?
ReplyDeleteI'm currently using LeadBolt and AirPush for notifications and AppBrain's app wall (thanks for that suggestion, Bill!).
I added Leadbolt App Wall to one of my apps, it says "pending approval" for wall ad. Also in web view it says "This content is not avaliable for viewing at this time".
ReplyDeleteHow lond does it take to get approval ?
Hi Vas,
ReplyDeleteAd networks for banner you'll really need to try one or another to see what works best.
Admob is easy with great fill rates. But revenue sucks. Millennial Media has had pretty good performance for me previously.
In my opinion, though, AppLovin still rocks crazy as far as in-app ad networks go. Give them a try. But do make sure you understand that they are a mix of CPA and CPC type ads. So not all clicks generate revenues.
Hi Moribito,
ReplyDeleteIt takes them usually less than a day. But during the weekends, it can take a long while.
There been times I added an ad over the weekend, and the approval was only done on the Monday when they came into office.
You might wanna hold off on releasing that update for now.
Cool! I signed up for AppLovin. Still waiting for them to approve my registration.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill!
Good Luck Vas!
ReplyDeleteHope it works out great for you :)
did u use rage tools?
ReplyDeleteNo ragetools... just rage spline... bought the tools set a little after the game was out.
DeleteWhat is your opinion about video ads, I never seen them in any game that I download but read that some games use it apps games development thanks for sharing..
ReplyDeleteHi, the game was remover from Google Play, do you know why?
ReplyDeleteHi, I unpublished it myself for some reasons. Wasn't getting much downloads anyway....
Delete