I am disappointed

posted in The Code Zone Bargain Basement Blog

Published April 27, 2005

But not in TANSTAAFL. Happy wedding to him.I am disappointed in RealArcade. I finally bit the bullet and submitted Duck Tiles to 'em. When I met with 'em in the GDC, they went on and on about their review process and how good it'd be to at least have my game reviewed by industry bigwigs. They said I'd have nothing to lose, because at worst I'd get some good constructive criticism on my game. So I bit and filled out all of their stuff. Less than 24 hours later, this is what I got. . .

Hello John,

Thank you for uploading Duck Tiles to us for review. Unfortunately, games based heavily on logic do not resonate well with our audience. Games that feature more puzzle-action (Jewel Quest), light action (Charm Tale) and word (WordSlinger) gameplay tend to be more successful in our service. We are declining distribution of the game at this time, but we still encourage you to submit games to us for review.

If you are interested in what is most popular with our audience, please visit our current weekly top ten list via the link below. These are the best examples of the type of gameplay, production quality and overall implementation our audience looks for when downloading and purchasing games.

http://www.realarcade.com/gameguide?src=rahome040804,

Feel free to let me know if you have any comments or questions about our service.

Regards,
Mark

Wow, what a well thought out and robust review there. Somehow I think they promised a bit more than "Not our cup of tea. Sorry!"

Ugh.

Previous Entry VirtualPC = helpful

Next Entry Plans plans plans

0 likes 8 comments

Comments

evolutional

So basically... "Our audience is too stupid to play that game, make it go click-splode"

April 27, 2005 03:38 PM

stormrunner

Perhaps you should ask them what category AirStrike 2: Gulf Thunder fits in. Somehow, I don't think it has many puzzle or word qualities to it; and it seems to involve more than a bit "light action".

April 27, 2005 03:46 PM

TANSTAAFL

Actually...

"*WE* are too stupid to play your game, and thus cannot possibly let our audience play it, as they would probably be better at it than us, and we would be ashamed and have to go and hang ourselves."

April 27, 2005 04:09 PM

noaktree

F@ck that! Duck Tiles RULES!!!! Way better than Dinner Dash and probably half the crap they have up there. Sucks they didn't give some honest feedback. Basically they want you to dumb down the game a bit so it matches their style.

April 27, 2005 04:14 PM

Gaiiden

boooooo Real Arcade

ratings--

Erm... or something...

April 27, 2005 08:34 PM

TANSTAAFL

Reminds me of a Barbie toy that came out a few years ago. Barbie was a teacher, and you could push a button to hear Barbie say "Math is hard!"

The Floozy!

April 28, 2005 08:18 AM

noaktree

Quote: Reminds me of a Barbie toy that came out a few years ago. Barbie was a teacher, and you could push a button to hear Barbie say "Math is hard!"

I remember that. This whole thing does seem to have that feel, but that's where I have a problem. My 10 year old son just got to level 24 on Duck Tiles and he cant stop playing it. Duck Tiles isn't comparable to math or anything seemingly hard. It is a very fun, charming, and addicting game. Also it is well made and runs on nearly any system. Kids love the dancing ducks and the bubble popping sounds!! I think the people who rejected Duck Tiles need to rethink their decision. John's game isn't calculus it's just fun. They're probably not just looking for fun games, rather, I think they're looking for trendy teen gimmicks. I bet if John remade the game with skateboarders and concrete bricks while Blink 182 played in the background they'd get all hard for it. It's not content...It's image.

April 28, 2005 10:13 AM

Ravuya

We have to consider the source.

This is Real saying your game is too hard for them.

These people are the intellectual equivalent of a blender. Unplugged.

Duck Tiles is great.

May 01, 2005 09:34 AM

You must log in to join the conversation.

Don't have a GameDev.net account? Sign up!

johnhattan

Author

🎉 Celebrating 25 Years of GameDev.net! 🎉

I am disappointed

Comments

johnhattan

Latest Entries

Neato transition effect

New Unity3D UI and just general musing.

Made little sense to have a desert planet without sandworms, so I s...

Here's "Desert Planet" populated from the panel I posted earlier. I...

Here's how I define the population of a planet. Each "Proportion" n...

Okay, so here's the Java Mess as I think it currently stands.

This is currently the easiest planet, "Gray Blob Planet", although I might go with "Generic Planet", because that'd...

Finally figured out how you'll finish up a planet.

So Dwarf Planet Pirates has grown in scope.

Seems to still be working.

🎉 Celebrating 25 Years of GameDev.net! 🎉

I am disappointed

Comments

johnhattan

Latest Entries

Neato transition effect

New Unity3D UI and just general musing.

Made little sense to have a desert planet without sandworms, so I s...

Here's "Desert Planet" populated from the panel I posted earlier. I...

Here's how I define the population of a planet. Each "Proportion" n...

Okay, so here's the Java Mess as I think it currently stands.

This is currently the easiest planet, "Gray Blob Planet", although I might go with "Generic Planet", because that'd...

Finally figured out how you'll finish up a planet.

So Dwarf Planet Pirates has grown in scope.

Seems to still be working.

Reticulating splines