@Zeargo So glad you're enjoying it! @factoryofdreams I really like the HD rumble but I worked on the game so I am maybe a little biased It's mostly just reactive rumble to the things going on in the game, for example there's a soft subtle rumble when you're rolling around on the ground, and a harder vibration when you bounce off something or hit an enemy, etc. It's not gameplay mandatory though, so there's also an option to turn it off if you find it distracting at all. Hope that helps!
@PanurgeJr
I think that's quite an important issue. The mobile market is such that you can spend years of your life making something really high quality and finally release it at £1.99 and people will still say "isn't that way too expensive?"
I do wonder if that's why there's quite a low quality bar for a lot of games I see aimed at the mobile market. The cost of entry to the customer is so low (or even free) that development costs will presumably have to be low too, to minimize risk, otherwise the devs might not be able to make enough money to fund their next game.
The flip side of that is that they can reach a much wider customer base, I suppose!
@Cobalt I'm not 100% sure about the bigger titles like that, but I certainly have some theories on that one too...
Disclaimer: I don't set the prices on any platform! So this is just me and my view on it from working in the industry.
For me (having rigorously playtested each version) the Switch is the "definitive" one, with all the custom and reworked graphics as well as the ability to dock it, use the pro controller, etc. Having said that, if you prefer to play it on your pad computer, I still recommend that! I think it looks lovely on the iPad with retina display. Really vibrant.
I honestly think that Red's Kingdom is worth the asking price on Switch for all the added features.
The issue of pricing is so complex. It can become quite a tricky balancing act, especially with regards to different platforms.
It's unfortunately one of those things about multiplatform development, where due to the nature of the mobile market there's an expectation things have to be super cheap. If we had priced it similarly (~9.99) in the iOS App Store it likely wouldn't sell any units whatsoever (I'd guess that's why the Steam price was higher than the iOS price at launch too. It's currently 9.99 on Steam too.)
I guess I think of it as "a 9.99 game which had to be made cheaper for mobile" rather than "a mobile game which had to be made more expensive for console."
I was one of the small team who worked on this game and we're all huge Nintendo fans who are super excited it's coming to Switch! (the views in this post are just 100% me though, and don't necessarily represent the views of my employer!)
First of all, reading all your lovely (generally positive) comments has made us very happy and encouraged! Thank you all!
To shed some light on the game for those who like to know more about it - it's an open world exploration/adventure/puzzle game where every single room is a movement puzzle, with lots of unique mechanics and various items to discover and play around with. I'm positive you'll really enjoy solving each room, exploring every last nook and cranny, and progressing through the story!
As for the more critical comments, those are really welcome too, as they can be a catalyst for good discussion.
Just to address some of those comments:
@aznable
I know, I know. I do agree the term Metroidvania is overused! It's a pet peeve of mine too. It can be a useful blanket term which brings to mind that specific type of open world exploration where you might use items you find in one place in order to open paths somewhere else, etc. Please don't shave a cat! :')
@Rafke
I'm sorry you felt the game looked quite generic. But you know, that's totally ok! The graphics of a game are always a very subjective thing so I respect your opinion there even if I don't personally agree - I think they look quite nice!
@Cobalt
@PanurgeJr
The "Switch Tax" thing is quite an interesting subject to talk about I think. It's a good conversation to have.
It's really easy for someone to say "this game is more expensive because it's on the Switch! Switch Tax!" but it really isn't that simple.
There are a TON of factors which go into setting the price, it's not just because it's a different market (though that's always worth factoring too):
When we originally made the game we set out to make a console quality title on mobile phones because generally speaking it's a heck of a lot easier for small teams to get their games published on mobile than on console without being backed by a huge publisher (We're super grateful to Rising Star for publishing this btw!)
Additionally during the process of porting a mobile game to Switch, a huge amount of things had to be redone - graphics were remastered or redrawn from scratch, many gameplay elements as well as the entire frontend were reprogrammed, etc.
Doing all of those things costs more money before you even release the game.
After releasing the game, without going into too many specifics, the publisher has to make money from the game, the developer has to make money from the game, and Nintendo have to make money from the game too.
tl;dr console development costs a lot more than mobile development, even when you're doing an enhanced port!
I think Rising Star have set a pretty fair price for this though, especially considering the length of the game (this is the game plus all the extra DLC we released post launch on Steam and iOS. It honestly takes me hours to play through it even though I know all the puzzle solutions already!)
If anyone has any queries about the game or anything, feel free to reply me on this, or on twitter "@rayjt9", and I also run Cobra Mobile's twitter "@cobramobile" for more official business.
Comments 4
Re: Review: Red's Kingdom (Switch eShop)
@Zeargo
So glad you're enjoying it!
@factoryofdreams
I really like the HD rumble but I worked on the game so I am maybe a little biased
It's mostly just reactive rumble to the things going on in the game, for example there's a soft subtle rumble when you're rolling around on the ground, and a harder vibration when you bounce off something or hit an enemy, etc.
It's not gameplay mandatory though, so there's also an option to turn it off if you find it distracting at all.
Hope that helps!
Re: Charming Single-Player Puzzle Game Red's Kingdom Hits Switch This Month
@PanurgeJr
I think that's quite an important issue. The mobile market is such that you can spend years of your life making something really high quality and finally release it at £1.99 and people will still say "isn't that way too expensive?"
I do wonder if that's why there's quite a low quality bar for a lot of games I see aimed at the mobile market. The cost of entry to the customer is so low (or even free) that development costs will presumably have to be low too, to minimize risk, otherwise the devs might not be able to make enough money to fund their next game.
The flip side of that is that they can reach a much wider customer base, I suppose!
Re: Charming Single-Player Puzzle Game Red's Kingdom Hits Switch This Month
@Cobalt I'm not 100% sure about the bigger titles like that, but I certainly have some theories on that one too...
Disclaimer: I don't set the prices on any platform! So this is just me and my view on it from working in the industry.
For me (having rigorously playtested each version) the Switch is the "definitive" one, with all the custom and reworked graphics as well as the ability to dock it, use the pro controller, etc. Having said that, if you prefer to play it on your pad computer, I still recommend that! I think it looks lovely on the iPad with retina display. Really vibrant.
I honestly think that Red's Kingdom is worth the asking price on Switch for all the added features.
The issue of pricing is so complex. It can become quite a tricky balancing act, especially with regards to different platforms.
It's unfortunately one of those things about multiplatform development, where due to the nature of the mobile market there's an expectation things have to be super cheap. If we had priced it similarly (~9.99) in the iOS App Store it likely wouldn't sell any units whatsoever (I'd guess that's why the Steam price was higher than the iOS price at launch too. It's currently 9.99 on Steam too.)
I guess I think of it as "a 9.99 game which had to be made cheaper for mobile" rather than "a mobile game which had to be made more expensive for console."
Re: Charming Single-Player Puzzle Game Red's Kingdom Hits Switch This Month
Hi, hope everyone is well and having a great day!
Hope I'm allowed to reply here..!
I was one of the small team who worked on this game and we're all huge Nintendo fans who are super excited it's coming to Switch! (the views in this post are just 100% me though, and don't necessarily represent the views of my employer!)
First of all, reading all your lovely (generally positive) comments has made us very happy and encouraged! Thank you all!
To shed some light on the game for those who like to know more about it - it's an open world exploration/adventure/puzzle game where every single room is a movement puzzle, with lots of unique mechanics and various items to discover and play around with. I'm positive you'll really enjoy solving each room, exploring every last nook and cranny, and progressing through the story!
As for the more critical comments, those are really welcome too, as they can be a catalyst for good discussion.
Just to address some of those comments:
@aznable
I know, I know. I do agree the term Metroidvania is overused! It's a pet peeve of mine too. It can be a useful blanket term which brings to mind that specific type of open world exploration where you might use items you find in one place in order to open paths somewhere else, etc. Please don't shave a cat! :')
@Rafke
I'm sorry you felt the game looked quite generic. But you know, that's totally ok! The graphics of a game are always a very subjective thing so I respect your opinion there even if I don't personally agree - I think they look quite nice!
@Cobalt
@PanurgeJr
The "Switch Tax" thing is quite an interesting subject to talk about I think. It's a good conversation to have.
It's really easy for someone to say "this game is more expensive because it's on the Switch! Switch Tax!" but it really isn't that simple.
There are a TON of factors which go into setting the price, it's not just because it's a different market (though that's always worth factoring too):
When we originally made the game we set out to make a console quality title on mobile phones because generally speaking it's a heck of a lot easier for small teams to get their games published on mobile than on console without being backed by a huge publisher (We're super grateful to Rising Star for publishing this btw!)
Additionally during the process of porting a mobile game to Switch, a huge amount of things had to be redone - graphics were remastered or redrawn from scratch, many gameplay elements as well as the entire frontend were reprogrammed, etc.
Doing all of those things costs more money before you even release the game.
After releasing the game, without going into too many specifics, the publisher has to make money from the game, the developer has to make money from the game, and Nintendo have to make money from the game too.
tl;dr console development costs a lot more than mobile development, even when you're doing an enhanced port!
I think Rising Star have set a pretty fair price for this though, especially considering the length of the game (this is the game plus all the extra DLC we released post launch on Steam and iOS. It honestly takes me hours to play through it even though I know all the puzzle solutions already!)
If anyone has any queries about the game or anything, feel free to reply me on this, or on twitter "@rayjt9", and I also run Cobra Mobile's twitter "@cobramobile" for more official business.