WordLord - Now Available!

Project WordLord

WordLord: Guess the Word - Become a Lord!

WordLord is a party word-guessing game for 4+ players.

Download the free demo here:

Download the full version here:

Download from Amazon Appstore here.

Smartphone Development - Week 12 - Project WordLord

My plan for the future:

• The game's initial reception did not go as expected. There has been under 10 downloads of the demo version and just 1 download of the paid version. My goal was to make back the Google Play store publisher fee of $25. Hopefully, the application will help me to achieve this goal in the long run.
• I would like to implement different game modes and include additional features.
• I would like to create a website for WordLord where users can share custom word lists. The word lists can be upvoted or downvoted, with the most popular lists displayed first. The website would allow users of the full version of WordLord to easily find word lists to expand the game with.
• I would like to collect more feedback from the user base. Perhaps this would explain why the game's launch was not as successful as anticipated.
• I would like to advertise the application on more websites and perhaps on campus of my university.
• Should the paid version fail, I will release an ad-supported version.

I have made a new video to showcase WordLord. It is shorter than the old one. The video is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMPFWh5VJ_E

WordLord is now available on the Amazon Appstore: http://www.amazon.com/Borys-Boyko-WordLord/dp/B008QTR0IW

Smartphone Development - Week 11 - Project WordLord

This week, I have published WordLord to the Google Play Store.

Free Demo:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.cmu.sv.bboyko.wordlord_demo

Full Version ($1.99):

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.cmu.sv.bboyko.wordlord

I have also made a couple of posts on Reddit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/xgpwd/finally_released_my_first_android_application_a/

http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/rdfdn/megapost_of_all_apps_created_by_randroid/c5m9jir

I have modified the user interface to scale for any screen resolution. This way, the game can be played on all types of Android devices that support landscape mode.

Screenshot of WordLord on a 10.1" tablet running Android Honeycomb 3.2.1:

Screenshot of WordLord on a 4.3" phone running Android Gingerbread 2.3.3:

Supporting various devices increases the market for the application.

Smartphone Development - Week 10 - Project WordLord

This week, I continued styling the application. The new options screen can be seen below:

Smartphone Development - Week 9 - Project WordLord

This week, I have created an icon for my application:

I have also created a new user interface:

I will now discuss several items:

1. Motivation behind the name
1. Not taken
2. Rolls off the tongue
3. Fewer than 10 characters in length
4. States that the game is about words
5. Sets up the theme for the game
6. Domain name available
2. Righteous feature set
1. Simple and attractive user interface
2. Automatic scoring
3. Plenty of options
1. Round timer
2. Score limit
3. Skip counter
4. Sound and vibration
5. Shake gesture recognition
3. Ways to get to market
1. Release on Google Play Store and Amazon Appstore
1. Advertise on www.reddit.com
2. Advertise by word of mouth
3. Create a website
4. Add support for tablets
5. Free ad-supported version
2. Sell rights to a game/toy manufacturer
1. Manufacturer handles advertising
4. Market analysis
1. Over 200 million Android devices are active
2. Amazon Appstore users more likely to pay for apps
1. Influence by Kindle Fire users
3. Games dominate top-purchased lists
4. Over 5,000 purchases of similar apps at $1.99 and over
1. True numbers are not publically available
5. Over 100,000 downloads of similar apps
5. Value of market testing
1. Tested within my own demographic
2. Could be beneficial to test within other demographics
3. Would like to learn which word categories are most desired
6. What I need to know
1. How to style PreferenceActivity
2. How to style AlertDialog
3. How to release on Google Play Store
4. How to release on Amazon Appstore
5. How to go about contacting game manufacturers to see whether they would like to purchase the rights to the application

Smartphone Development - Week 8 - Project WordLord

I have added the ability to play with custom word lists within WordLord. Users can simply deposit lists of words to the <external storage>/WordLord/ directory on their Android device and play with any words or phrases that they would like. The desired word lists can be selected when a game is started:

I have also added the ability for the developer (me) to easily add additional word lists to the game's .APK file. These word lists can be released in future updates of the game.

Next, I have done some some research on user interfaces of games similar to Hasbro Inc.'s Electronic Catch Phrase ™. Below are some screenshots:

The original game

PhoneFraze (11,000 - 55,000 downloads, including 1,000 - 5,000 paid downloads at $3.99)

Phrase Party! (51,000 - 105,000 downloads, including 1,000 - 5,000 paid downloads at $1.99)

Buzzword Frenzy (unknown amount of downloads)

Out of all the games, the latter (Buzzword Frenzy) seems to have the best user interface. However, Buzzword Frenzy is an iPhone game. I would like to mimic its sleekness in my application, perhaps in a simpler way. I believe that I can use 9-patch PNG images in order to create the sleek interface that elegantly frames its elements. Thus, I will have to perform some research in this area. I also enjoyed the game's website, http://www.buzzwordfrenzy.com. Should I make a website for WordLord, I can refer to Buzzword Frenzy's page for inspiration.

Sources for UI images:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dev.games.ipartylite&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=theandroidworks.apps.PhoneFrazeLite&hl=en

http://www.buzzwordfrenzy.com/

http://www.gamenightapproved.com/game.aspx?gameid=6

Below are some notes I took regarding the UI topic for WordLord:

• What is an appropriate frame for UI?
• Metal, wood, desk-like?
• Frills?
• Simple?
• Should the game have a shadow?
• Paper that's tearing?
• Font choice for current word - is there anything better?
• Timer - put in frame?
• Application name - how to make it cool looking?
• Celebrate the current word

I have set a goal that I would like to achieve by the end of the Smartphone Development II class - place WordLord on the Google Play store. I plan to charge $1.99 for the full version of the game. I may create a demo with a word list of around 900 words. I believe that WordLord has a nice set of features and options that differentiates it from the currently available Catch-Phrase-like games. For example, no game uses the device's sensors to accept the shake gesture and no game keeps score automatically.

I should not run into any copyright-related problems. According to FL-108, "copyright does not protect the idea for a game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game."

Research - not much of it exists on the topic of word guessing games. I do not believe that research of papers dealing with word guessing games will affect the outcome of my project. It would be more useful for me to have groups of people try each of the Catch-Phrase-like applications, including WordLord, and tell me what they like or dislike about them. This sort of feedback can help me differentiate my application in a positive manner and create a successful game that many want to play.

Smartphone Development - Week 7 - Project WordLord

This week I have implemented the full options list for the application. All of the options are now fully functional. I have asked seven of my friends to play-test the application. They have found a few issues. One issue is that the user interface is not as nice as it could be for a game of this caliber. Another is that the timer is sometimes buggy when the application is paused.

After fixing the bugs, I will implement custom word lists. Once this is complete, I will be able to finish the application by reworking the user interface.