Groundskeeper2 is finally nearing that final stretch! Originally planned for a release in February/March, it slipped back a bit to end of March, and it probably will actually release in the first half of April! But… it’s done!
Right now my work is just porting the original Android base version to the various platforms. The first port I completed is the Chrome(OS) version, this runs in HTML5 so could also be used for a host of other platforms in the future like FirefoxOS, or possibly Wii-U .. who knows !
There are still some bugs to iron out of the ChromeOS port, but it honestly plays awesome on a Chromebook with a controller attached. Obviously since it just requires Chrome to run, you can also install this version on Windows, Mac, Linux, etc and it will be available from the Chrome webstore.
Next port is the iOS version which is a bit more work and also requires the approval process of Apple (which will at least take 6-7 days). This is also the main reason that the game won’t see a release in March cause even IF it get’s approved the first time it would be around March 31st and I also want/need some time to prepare marketing and possibly handing out promocodes to members of the press.
While the iOS version is submitted I’ll quickly get the game up and running on Ouya and Gamestick and test on some hardware like the NVidia Shield, etc.
And finally I’ll probably go for another desktop release running in Java like I did with Heroes of Loot. So that will require a day or so porting the Android(Java) version over to Desktop Java.
So still some weeks of work left, but the base game is done! Now the actual exciting things start, marketing remains a nerve-wrecking part of my job. Partly because it means I will have to show my latest creation to the public, and partly because if I fail on marketing this game it means I probably have a hard time earning back the money I used while working on the game 4-5 months. I’ll keep saying it: creativity creates great games, but marketing makes you money.
Luckily I’m personally really loving this game, it might not be for everyone, but I think this game’s core is the most perfectly balanced gameplay-core I’ve created so far. And I will take a lot of the stuff I learned creating this to the next game (right now top of my list is a Gunslugs2, but that might change any day)
So stay tuned, the game is done, it’s coming, but my business-cap says that I need to get my porting and marketing ready before I release it ;)
