Randy & Manilla - Two sibs in a Quantum Travel (Early Access available)

[ofihombre7]

The Alpha version of Randy & Manilla is also available to download in:

itch·io: https://ofihombre.itch.io/randy-manilla

Indiexpo: https://www.indiexpo.net/es/games/randy-manilla

IndieDB (File with Artwork): https://www.indiedb.com/games/randy-mani...ly-artwork

But nevertheless, something made me take a bill after the end of his Kickstarter campaign (I think that is why), apparently the situation of the alpha version (although it has improved in some aspects), it's even worse than in the Pre-Alpha, nobody, almost absolutely nobody has downloaded it for days.
Why does nobody want to try the game and give me their opinion so I can improve it after playing?
Why, when I do things better, are they less interested in seeing me? should be the opposite.
Apart from the fact that there are other titles much more interesting than this, what I dislike most is that there is no one to give me the opportunity to give the necessary support for my project. Not receiving support or downloads for weeks or months in a row could inevitably lead to its cancellation just because the idea of the game itself doesn't work, And this picture of down is what I feel:

[ofihombre7]

The last campaign on Kickstarter, didn't succeed, due to all the problems that involved him, and even made nobody want to download the alpha version. But Randy & Manilla they don't give up easily, this time he returns to another campaign in Indiegogo: https://igg.me/at/randymanilla/x/22731077#/
with a much smaller objective and with the advantage of "flexible goal", it will be able to obtain what is necessary to improve the development of the project despite not reaching his goal.

[ofihombre7]

Not forever, it's obvious that Manilla & Venny are intended to be a reference of Vanellope Von Schweetz as for the designs, but the rest of the characters (Terra-Qubiters, E-Mailer & Randy), if they are more or less my own designs, nor is it that they are the final models, surely some of your designs will be changed in the future.
If you suspect that Randy & Manilla just for having a style similar to Wreck-It Ralph, Disney could accuse me of plagiarism just for that, perfectly also other games like Cuphead could happen the same just to be inspired by one of their IPs.

[iyenal]

Just wanna say that the image is very cute, especially the Hat Kid there Your way to express your feelings through that image you made is very original, and I am feeling the same sadness you're having to not get what you expect.
I don't know what else to say, but really if you like what you do keep up.

[ofihombre7]

Thank you Ivenal, lately you are being a little more understanding with me, and clearly all the bad situations they are having during the development of the game have been my fault , I had high expectations with this game without knowing well the reality that was going to crash after, and now I have to settle for what I can improve in my development methods, and I also had some bad communications when it came to showing the project that I'm doing, at least I haven't gotten into such big excuses (as in some of my previous games, neither much less like Masuda with the controversies he had in Pokémon Sword/Shield), but well, it's never too late to correct yourself.

As a thank you I would ask you to analyze the alpha version of Randy & Manilla from the link that I had already sent to you in Discord, but well, it's not always time to play.

[iyenal]

Thank you iyenal, lately you are being a little more understanding with me, and clearly all the bad situations they are having during the development of the game have been my fault , I had high expectations with this game without knowing well the reality that was going to crash after, and now I have to settle for what I can improve in my development methods, and I also had some bad communications when it came to showing the project that I'm doing, at least I haven't gotten into such big excuses (as in some of my previous games, neither much less like Masuda with the controversies he had in Pokémon Sword/Shield), but well, it's never too late to correct yourself.

As a thank you I would ask you to analyze the alpha version of Randy & Manilla from the link that I had already sent to you in Discord, but well, it's not always time to play.

I would be pleased to test, but yeah unfortunately "Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend" and currently I am going a little bankrupt However I'll always spend my time following your development updates as an encouragement to your work.

[ofihombre7]

During these days I have been finding for someone to try the game in its alpha version, and in the end I got it, a user named Fujinai Channel he kindly made my petition to make a gameplay of the game in which I'm developing:



After watching your gameplay, I realized the main problem when going through the selectable Net-Cubes, and it is the lack of signaling to go towards them, since only for the color and the letters weren't sufficient identity, so I put the next solution:



In this screenshot a series of interconnected routes are shown that indicate the ship where the selectable Net-Cubes of the game are located (since only with the color and the title aren't enough), With this method, players can be guided with greater access to the selectables Net-Cubes, and avoid getting lost or making mistakes when touch with a generic Net-Cube on most occasions. In addition to that the controls of the ship have been polished a bit for the next version.

in addition to other things that I have put to give a little more detail:







With these examples and with so much going from campaign to campaign, it almost made me forget that for simple things I'm perfectly capable, all I need is to have a little imagination, but for complicated parts (music, very complex scripts, cutscenes or 3D characters), I will always need help to develop it.

[ofihombre7]

Although it doesn't offer new levels, this version It offers varied additions and improvements that give it a bit more in the gaming experience with the next updates:

- A route network has been included around of the selectable Net-Cubes for better signaling.
- The E-Mailer ship controls has been polished.
- Text & particle effects and animations has been included.
- Some characters have had small adjustments (Include the Randy ears & Manilla eyes).
- Racing vehicles have arrived in Wonder Race.
- The levels are accessed by buttons that appear when it step on them.
- The Terra-Qubit & Blacksquare goals are now more understandable.
- Blacksquare Qubit Battle has a better atmosphere.
- The disappearance of the text from pause buttons that occurred in some resolutions has been corrected.

If you are in knowing more about this project, There is a download file of the Special Alpha for Windows on this links:

IndieDB: https://www.indiedb.com/games/randy-mani...mo-artwork
itch.io: https://ofihombre.itch.io/randy-manilla

Also, this game has been nominated in the Top 100 of the Indie of the Year 2019 from IndieDB.



Top 100 link: https://www.indiedb.com/groups/2019-indi...rds/top100

[ofihombre7]

Throughout the development of the Randy & Manilla project, there are parts that I made them just perfectly, and another with a little help from other developers, but when it comes to seeking a more integral help for my project, I didn't realize that there was a website named Fiverr (a place where users can make a living doing what they like best without being under pressure from companies).
For example, I have asked a musician named Icode4you to make me one of the soundtracks for the game, and the result for me has been more than very good apparently (the sountrack is available in his fiverr profile): https://www.fiverr.com/icode4you/write-m...id=1&pos=1

If I have something to spare or I am in serious lack of ideas, I can get someone to make me a good OST, Character & level design, models or script coding by a more economical price. Anyway, I just had to find the right place to get help for my project.

[Simpsons Dumper]

Dude, you didn't know about Fiverr? It has everything, though their fees for both buyers and sellers are higher than they ought to be. You could even get Jesus Christ to make a video promoting the game! Just be careful not to blow the budget as these things get expensive fast.

[ofihombre7]

It's obvious that I didn't know about Fiverr, and if the rates may seem cheap at first, now that I think about it well after what you said, what makes them more expensive are due to the inflation of taxes and the tips. The tax increase and the tip let me know that it is not worth asking for help so many times in a row regardless of how much I have for the project (I could even go wrong choosing the wrong rate).

[ofihombre7]

The Christmas season has been good for Randy & Manilla, the Indiegogo campaign has reached the 3% of its goal (https://igg.me/at/randymanilla/x/22731077#/) & a new patron has given his support in Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/ofihombre). If every day were like this first time since on Kickstarter (or at least in the two sites already mentioned), this game could almost have been a guaranteed success (but thinking about it, there would come a point where having more money doesn't mean better quality).

And here I leave you a teaser cover for the 2020 updates.

[ofihombre7]

In this video that I put, is about an example of what I have been able to invest for the Randy & Manilla project after having obtained the funds from the Indiegogo campaign. It shows that I have put certain changes in the details, textures, dialogs & and even Manilla and E-Mailer can move their heads to see Randy. In addition, for the first time, the Randy's second Power-Up is shown (a giant holographic fists able to break the brick blocks).

*However, despite all these improvements obtained after the campaign, it seems that don't even manage to raise more attention (Or least in YouTube & Twitter), or they don't convince at all (Only time will tell). Money is not magic, but access certain things.

*P.D.: I think what I wrote in this part was just an instinct of my impatience.

[Simpsons Dumper]

You may want to consider buying advertising, such as on social media platforms, though I don't know how you make this effective without a large budget. I've tried advertising with Facebook and Bing before, taking advantage of offers they both had, and didn't see impressive results.

You might have better luck with seeing if you can get away with self-promoting a bit in online communities. Reddit can be helpful to trawl through.

[ofihombre7]

It's also neither convenient to go over and spamming. I also did the same, but it was at a time when the project wasn't prepared enough for the public to admire it. I would think to try again when I get to release a new alpha version of the game that approximates or exceeds what I have shown in the gameplay, but for now I leave it as it is and to see if anyone really cares.