That Brewery Game - Game News

That Brewery Game - Game News "Brew beer... Drink beer... Play!"

March, 31 2013

Mobile version update & other news

Happy Easter! I thought I would take a moment and bring you all up to date on where we are going with TBG next. I just got back last night from San Francisco where I spent the last 7 days attending the 2013 Game Developers Conference (GDC). This is an annual event where 20-30 thousand game designers, artists, and programmers gather to share ideas and generally keep track of where things are going in this very competitive industry. The conference has done its job and I am more focused and ready to take this game to even higher levels

First let me share with you a few objectives that I will be acting on soon. I want to make the game interface less confusing for new players, so expect changes to the menu system soon. Also the six packs have been great but I want to increase beer sales even more so expect your beers to be available for sale to non-registered players soon (on a limited basis). I want to reduce the time you have to wait with nothing to do so expect changes to the equipment cleaning algorithms. I want the kit to be more meaningful so expect the ability to sell kit beers soon (on a limited basis). I want farming to be less, well, painful on the fingers... so expect some relief from the click fest that you have come to associate with the game. All of these relatively new improvements will be integrated with the list of improvements that I have been working on already... so in short expect more great things from TBG!

Before I move on to the next topic which is hugely important, the mobile version, let me just say that when I say to expect these things 'soon' that I don't want to raise your expectations too high. I am still essentially a one man developer, and all of these changes take time... rest assured that they will be coming your way but be generous with me on my definition of 'soon,' thanks!

I have promised a mobile friendly version of TBG and the conference has given me hope that I can get this daunting task done sooner than I originally expected. I am going to use an approach that seems to have worked for other games that started as web based applications and moved over to mobile. The mobile version of TBG will be developed in both a piecemeal and iterative approach. Piecemeal in that I will roll out parts of the site to mobile one or two at a time, so the entire game will not be playable on mobile immediately but you will be able to do things like edit labels, check stats, etc. until eventually I get all of the pieces ported over to the mobile platform. The process will be iterative in that things like brewing, farming, and the pub will first come to the mobile platform exactly as they look on the main site now only without the clutter of the rest of the site around them. And then later I will make specific changes to these parts of the game to make them more mobile friendly in themselves. All of this work will be somewhat trial and error and I hope you will help me along to make the mobile version easy to use and as much fun as the desktop version of the game.

Lastly, I want to take advantage of TBG players and incorporate your knowledge into the game itself. Since it has been a few years since I worked at a micro brewery I confess that my own experience as a brewer is deteriorating (while my experience as a game maker is increasing). The players on the other hand are making great craft beer every day. I will form a "Brewer Advisor Panel" of players who will meet periodically in the pub to discuss the game's handling of the various beer styles and how brewing of individual styles can be improved. Panel members will be selected based on dedication to the game and brewing experience with at least some slots made available to players who are learning how to brew to help keep it all within the grasp of novices and experts alike. I am currently planning for panel members to serve from 6 months to a year and I will reward active members with free label credits at the end of their term. Let me know if you are interesed in participating.

Thanks for playing and always remember to Brew Beer! Drink Beer! ...and Play!

-Robc

4 comments found.

1) gbeam on March, 31 2013 7:12 PM

thanks for constantly making this game better, love all the new ideas keep up the great work

Greg

2) riverbottom on April, 2 2013 3:49 PM

i gotta say im happy to see mobile applications but im wary of the decreased farming and cleaning times. i like the level of difficulty and advancement as compared to other online games where you "level up" too easily and take the skill and dedication out of it. but i trust robc. havent been let down yet. keep on improving!
(insert subliminal message here) *drink carp!

3) Robc on April, 2 2013 4:21 PM

Thanks G! ...and thanks River for your vote of confidence. And let me say that you are right to worry about those things as they would dumb down the game too much and that would be bad.

I will share with you the ideas we are trying to implement on each with the caveat that they might change dramatically or not be implemented at all if they don't survive play testing.

For farming, the existing farming system will remain in place and even get harder. The fields are going to reset themselves when they get full from now on. This change may not be to everyone's liking but I consider it mandatory for reasons I must keep to myself.

In addition to the existing farm fields players will have access to two new fields (which I haven't figured out a good name for yet). The size of the fields will get bigger at each brewery level and you can use label credits to make them bigger still. Each plot in these new fields will yield more than 1 barley/hop (5/10/20 not sure the number) and will take a long time to grow (1/5/10 minutes not sure the number). These fields will reset less frequently than the standard fields. The idea is to decrease the amount of clicking necessary without decreasing the time substantially. Players who invest real money in their farm will however find that the multiple plots will decrease their harvesting time.

As for cleaning times... the plan is to allow brewing again before the equipment is clean but at a major and I mean major and substantial quality hit. This will give brand new players who just completed their first batch the opportunity to brew again without waiting an hour. I lose more first time players in the 25th hour after they register than at any other time... I have to plug this hole. Veterans who care a lot about quality and don't have inventory problems are very unlikely to brew early and take the quality hit.

I also plan to make the kit more meaningful which will give new players something else productive to do after their first batch goes into cold storage. This improvement is available to middle level and veteran players to collect a little for their kit beers although it will probably not be worth the time at the higher levels, unless you are bored.

4) BrewerBC on April, 5 2013 4:08 PM

I like the sounds of the new ideas Robc. I had the same concerns as Riverbottom at first, but after hearing your explanation I think both will work just fine. I wold like to volunteer to help in any way I can. Thanks for the great game.

4 comments found.