Kingdom of Kuru Meets iOS
When Kym and I originally created the Kingdom of Kuru it was specifically made for the web. We figured the web would be the most easily accessible platform available. However, we were surprised to learn after launch that this was not the most desirable way our target audience wanted to play games. Every time we showcased our game, the first question a player would ask was “Is this an app?”. After hearing this question many times, we realized an iOS would be the best platform to host the next version of our game.
From the very beginning, we agreed we ultimately wanted the Kingdom of Kuru to be a multiplayer racing game. Some of our best childhood memories revolve around playing multiplayer games with our family or friends. After building the initial web version, we planned for this functionality to be our focus. Over the past year, our primary mission has been to deliver this game on iOS and as a multiplayer game. Now, finally, on Jan 21, there will be a link to download the Kingdom of Kuru placed on the website, made available through the test flight app.What have we been doing?
Over the past year, we’ve rebuilt our game from scratch, as we switched from our previous game engine, Construct, to a new game engine, Unity. Construct was a great platform to get started on. We had quick success with very simple gameplay, however as we began to tackle multiplayer, we soon realized the simple platform was not the best way to develop a game with the type of complexity we envisioned. For that reason, we made the switch to Unity. Unity is known for being the industry standard for creating great games, it allows for more control when coding, intuitive tools for working with teams, built-in analytics, and also multi-platform support.
Unity was not an easy tool to learn. For months, we struggled to relearn functions and features that we previously had set up in Construct. I also started using a software called Spriter and began to rework animations to be smoother and easier to modify. We had to recreate every level and based on previous feedback we modified parts that have proven to be super challenging.
As we realized how much work we were in for we hired help. We were able to gain help with an additional developer, artist, and animator. Even with a team of five, we still had our work cut out for us. We still struggled to reach our deadline and we still had to keep scope small as possible to make sure we delivered.
The upcoming BETA app version has the following:
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2 player racing
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Shield, fireball and Speed, no more fruit
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Available as an iOS app, rather than of web
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Extra level for multiplayer
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Map design changed
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Animations are smoother
Future features:
To remain agile, we will take an iterative approach and release new features each quarter. Some of the changes we are most excited about are:
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matching players to specific opponents
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developing better abilities and new attire options
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developing our single-player story mode and features