Solstice - a mystery from the makers of Cinders [done!]

[shwippie]

I love the setting. The characters are so likable. I think the art is phenomenal, and the animations are gorgeous. I especially appreciate the animations because they add interest without being distracting...They're quiet and fit the mood.

[trooper6]

Yeah...I finished playing Cinders...well, I have more endings to get...but I loved it...and this game looks even more exciting. I mean main characters who are people of color? Gorgeous artwork? Exciting setting? I love the writers and their politics from Cinders...so...it is a no-brainer!

[TeeGee]

Yani is so beautiful and I like that she works in maintenance) Galen looks too much like a comic actor to be trustworthy.

That's the thing with Galen. He comes from a different culture, where people are more open and playful, so sometimes he comes off as a clown. In reality, he's a professional, and a very good doctor.

I love the setting. The characters are so likable. I think the art is phenomenal, and the animations are gorgeous. I especially appreciate the animations because they add interest without being distracting...They're quiet and fit the mood.

Thanks! We actually improved the animations a lot since the time we published that video. While they are still pretty simple and subtle, I think it gives the game a more cinematic feel.

[dreamingdaze]

This looks amazing. Very professional and high quality. I love the originality and plan on getting this as soon as this comes out. ETA?

[TeeGee]

Pre-orders should be available within the next month or two. The full game should be done later this year or early in the next.

[TeeGee]

Going through old concept arts can result in absolutely priceless finds. Like this early mockup of the case notes screen:



I totally don’t know why we didn’t go with that look .

[TeeGee]

Have you ever seen a visual novel where stuff blows up?



Well, you have now.

[TeeGee]

Sorry for the double post, but I've made a gif from the above explosion and felt really eager to share it :

[TeeGee]

If things go well, in two weeks you'll be able to help Yani with her investigation . We're almost ready to launch pre-orders, along with a special preview build. I hope it'll be worth the wait.

Here's more info.

[Jason]

Games like these feels so Boomzap. I'm not really a fan of this style, but it may be interesting if you'll be the ones working on the story (their stories are all seriously too cheesy and predictable) . It's about time someone here competes against them at BigFishGames

[TeeGee]

Oh, come on . The fact that Solstice features a more realistic and illustrative style doesn't immediately make it a casual hidden object game. And even if visuals share a few similarities, our games are still pretty far away from what you can find on casual portals.

Somehow, I don't see a serious visual novel on murder and personal tragedies appearing in the BigFish top-10. You, like, have to read a lot? And it involves homosexual relationships? And no puzzles? Nah-ah!

[jack_norton]

You, like, have to read a lot? And it involves homosexual relationships? And no puzzles? Nah-ah!

Heh, with those features (in particular the homosex relationship) it will NEVER appear on those casual portals!

[Jason]

The guy I talked to said " Our audience is almost entirely female (75%) between the ages of 30-80. As such, the most popular genres on our site are Hidden Object, Puzzle Adventure, Time Management, Casual Sims, and Match 3. "

"if you work on any projects in the future that you feel would make more sense with our players, please be sure to let me know and we can certainly discuss partnering possibilities."

And in this case, I think your game does not have to be really a puzzle to pass there!
I'm not sure about the homosexual stuff but if it sells hotcakes why would they even decline it? xD
Hope this helps you out!

[TeeGee]

I should probably mention that I worked for a company doing casual games for over 3 years as a project manager and lead designer. We released several titles that were big hits on BigFish Games. My last one - Phantasmat - hanged on the #1 spot for a few weeks. And frankly, all my experience tells me that putting our visual novels there would be a disaster (even though they voiced interest due to our track record).

A few reasons:
- A game on BigFish either lands in the top-10 and sells a ton (north of $100k) or gets buried by new releases almost immediately and earns next to nothing.

- Still, you are forced into charging $6.99 for the game, so you kill your own direct sales in the process.

- Out of these $6.99, the developer gets between 30% and 40% depending on the deal. We would have to sell 10 copies to get the same amount of money that a single sale of Cinders gets us.

- To make a game that has a chance at Collector's Edition release and landing in the top-10, you need a hidden object adventure of exceptional production values. It's really all that sells there. Budget for competitive games in that genre start at $150k.

- You also need to get highest marks in a survey done by BigFish focus testers. Those testers are very conservative. They want more of what they know, just done better. They don't want to read too much or tackle serious issues. They just want to relax on a high quality HOPA that feels familiar to them.

In the end, the question is if your game is a top-10 material. If it's not, you are not only wasting your time, but also butchering your direct sales and diluting your fanbase. VNs are a niche genre. What constitutes good sales numbers for us, wouldn't even be enough to secure a position within the top-50 on BigFish. So there.

Hope it explains it a bit .

[Jason]

I should probably mention that I worked for a company doing casual games for over 3 years as a project manager and lead designer. We released several titles that were big hits on BigFish Games. My last one - Phantasmat - hanged on the #1 spot for a few weeks. And frankly, all my experience tells me that putting our visual novels there would be a disaster (even though they voiced interest due to our track record).

A few reasons:
- A game on BigFish either lands in the top-10 and sells a ton (north of $100k) or gets buried by new releases almost immediately and earns next to nothing.

- Still, you are forced into charging $6.99 for the game, so you kill your own direct sales in the process.

- Out of these $6.99, the developer gets between 30% and 40% depending on the deal. We would have to sell 10 copies to get the same amount of money that a single sale of Cinders gets us.

- To make a game that has a chance at Collector's Edition release and landing in the top-10, you need a hidden object adventure of exceptional production values. It's really all that sells there. Budget for competitive games in that genre start at $150k.

- You also need to get highest marks in a survey done by BigFish focus testers. Those testers are very conservative. They want more of what they know, just done better. They don't want to read too much or tackle serious issues. They just want to relax on a high quality HOPA that feels familiar to them.

In the end, the question is if your game is a top-10 material. If it's not, you are not only wasting your time, but also butchering your direct sales and diluting your fanbase. VNs are a niche genre. What constitutes good sales numbers for us, wouldn't even be enough to secure a position within the top-50 on BigFish. So there.

Hope it explains it a bit .

I see. Damn, I still have a lot to learn. Thanks for the information, I didn't know about the 6.99$... that's gonna suck big time. Regardless of the testers accepting it or not, it's a losing game the moment you submit .