Goatup 2?

[Baggypants]

Not many people on the pure leaderboard.

[PaulEMoz]

I'm having a problem with Game Center... not just for this game, it won't actually launch at all. Not sure what I can do about that, but I suspect it's kept me off the leaderboard altogether.

[Sledge]

Loving this! I have noticed, though, that from time to time either the direction controls or jumping controls will stop responding for a bit. I'm specifically not getting confused about needing an object in tow to double-jump -- for example I just died on Devout Fish Craze because my poor little goat stopped moving in the underwater tunnel This is with the regular touch controls, iPad Mini, latest version of iOS (which I just upgraded solely to see if it fixed this problem, which it hasn't, but it did fix the problem of the app becoming totally unresponsive when you switch out and back in again... had to kill it with the iOS task manager previously).

[Markie]

Quick nudge ... the llamasoft.co.uk website should be updated for this release!

[axel000]

God I'm slow as f&&k at times. It finally clicked for me why Vindy was called Vindy after all these years, playing Goat Up 2.

[dog_cow]

I am currently undecided. This is the first Llamasoft game I havent purchased at launch. My concern being the price, yes its almost nothing in real terms, its just that I dont tend to play games on the IPad for that long.

Yes its less than the price of a pint of beer, its just steep compared to all the other games vying for my attention. It could be argued the app store race to the bottom has jaded me and that I am now expecting everything to be at a price level where the developers have to sell thousands to make any living at all.

I just think its past a point where its just impulse and that overall it may actually bring in less than just selling more copies at a lower point.

All being said I will probably buy it to support Mr Minter, I may not like everything he has ever written but he can produce some wonderful games and so should be kept in the game to potentially delight me with some future game.

I realise I am going to draw criticism for this post and I am in noway suggesting the time involved in writing the app doesnt deserve payment, just that the current price will limit casual purchases.

I understand the comment about weighing up the price if you don't play games on your iPad for long. But I'm a bit puzzled as to the direction of the rest of your post. You've shown you have a clear understanding of how low prices on the App Store are less than ideal with there being a "race to the bottom" and all that. And you mention you know that software developers need to make a living. So how can you also be speaking like someone who's not empathetic?

My take is that not only is the price of Goat Up 2 insignificant when compared to things you buy every day (a beer etc.), it's also a fair price. It's not just fair to support the developer, but it's also fair to you the consumer. Not the cheapest, but still fair - win/win. You get a good game, with no IAP tricks or pop up ads. The price point other developers set is irrelevant, particularly when they're set by the same "race to the bottom" or subsidised through deception.

I've often wondered if I might like to try my hand at making my own game on iOS at some stage but this culture of not perceiving the value of software has well and truly spooked me. And what would I do if my son expressed that he wanted to make iOS software for a living - what should I say to him? What if it were your son or daughter?

Maybe if you do decide to pay the $4.49 (or whatever it is where you live) you might decide to dig a bit deeper in the game (find hidden secrets; work out ways to rack up a higher score; design some of your own levels) rather than giving it a quick go and then moving on to the next 99c release. Hopefully you'll find it a rewarding experience.

[sdetoni]

Just bought goat up 2, very nice it is; nice control feel, and nice design.
Yes, the price was more than the previous games, but still feel its a fair price, and more interesting than 90% of dross out.

A prime example of a crap game being
Color Sheep != Good Game.

Thanks,
Llamasoft.

[Deckard]

I bought it but its not for me as tbh my least liked games on my iDevices are platform games but hey ho wait 5 mins and another game will be along......

[The ghost of raids past]

I understand the comment about weighing up the price if you don't play games on your iPad for long. But I'm a bit puzzled as to the direction of the rest of your post. You've shown you have a clear understanding of how low prices on the App Store are less than ideal with there being a "race to the bottom" and all that. And you mention you know that software developers need to make a living. So how can you also be speaking like someone who's not empathetic?

My take is that not only is the price of Goat Up 2 insignificant when compared to things you buy every day (a beer etc.), it's also a fair price. It's not just fair to support the developer, but it's also fair to you the consumer. Not the cheapest, but still fair - win/win. You get a good game, with no IAP tricks or pop up ads. The price point other developers set is irrelevant, particularly when they're set by the same "race to the bottom" or subsidised through deception.

I've often wondered if I might like to try my hand at making my own game on iOS at some stage but this culture of not perceiving the value of software has well and truly spooked me. And what would I do if my son expressed that he wanted to make iOS software for a living - what should I say to him? What if it were your son or daughter?

Maybe if you do decide to pay the $4.49 (or whatever it is where you live) you might decide to dig a bit deeper in the game (find hidden secrets; work out ways to rack up a higher score; design some of your own levels) rather than giving it a quick go and then moving on to the next 99c release. Hopefully you'll find it a rewarding experience.

I purchased the game to support Mr Minter, On playing it I find it to be not my cup of tea. I am not after all a great fan of platform based games. Still as I said I support llamasoft in case in the future one of the games takes me fancy in a way like the original sheep in space did.

The Apple market is a strange place, you cannot charge more than the average if you wish to maintain sales, yet you then must sell thousands of copies to recover your costs and make a profit without relying on IAP. The point of my statement was that by setting a price above the average, you potentially stop casual purchases and so end up making less.

I fully expect everyone on here to be buying it, but there again we are all here because we enjoyed some of Jeff's past games.

The lack of empathy section surprises me, I thought I was making it clear that in my view, which may or may not be wrong, raising prices may actually reduce overall income.

At no time did I say it wasnt worth the price or state that I ddint understand why the price had been set, It just rather suprised me given the cut throat market place Apple allowed to develop.

If your children ask you about becoming an IOS developer as a full time job, I would recomend they dont, the market is a brutal one, if you try and raise prices you will not sell and if you race to the bottom you still may not sell, if you populate your app with IAP you will offend a great many people.

[Neon360]

If your children ask you about becoming an IOS developer as a full time job, I would recomend they dont, the market is a brutal one, if you try and raise prices you will not sell and if you race to the bottom you still may not sell, if you populate your app with IAP you will offend a great many people.

The problem with this whole generation of freeloaders is they all expect everything for free. I'm surprised that real games and consoles are still being made with the spoiled generation we live in today. You basically made it out as everyone being a bunch of whiny, emo gamers and you're right, sadly. Boo hoo, it costs a dollar. Wahh, IAP, how dare them. As said before, games like this used to cost $50 so $3.99 is a steal! I'm not sure what happened or what changed so dramatically that makes everyone think games should be free but that's the problem. That or it has to be so "epic" that they must "take my money now!" smh.... I'm unsure where everything is headed.... another crash perhaps.

But anyways, back on topic

Excited to see it's FINALLY on the store. My heart dropped when I did the Llamasoft search and it went from 9 to 10 and I was like w0000t! Can't wait to get a chance to play it this weekend....

[gilesgoat]

If your children ask you about becoming an IOS developer as a full time job, I would recomend they dont, the market is a brutal one, if you try and raise prices you will not sell and if you race to the bottom you still may not sell, if you populate your app with IAP you will offend a great many people.

Unless your child or whoever is some sort of "marketing genius" and/or manages to be "so mainstream" and/or has that "something I dunno well what" we don't have I would NOT recommend to become a full time IOS developer ONLY to NO ONE !

I mean "at the very least" you have to be some "multi platform" one and try to sell "everything in any corner you can".

And/or if you manage to find "a niche target" that you can target well and be self-sustaineable then you are some sort of genius and/or very lucky one and I would have not really much of a clue about what to tell you, you'd know much better than me.

Reality is whatever we miss we don't have we don't have it yet, we don't have "enough" to say "IOS is enough", it is not, and it probably never been and will never be

IOS with the prices of before I can tell you it's been not good enough and at that rates and such is not going to work, it's really "impossible" with that kind prices without massive sales, anything "less than massive" and you are fucked basically there's simply not enough money coming back it's just too few as simple as that.

Even this "new pricing experiment" is a bit "on the fringe of something that should work" certainly "less than that does not work" there's just not enough money to live on.

What's going to happen with all this things/situations "in general" .. I don't have a clue .. it does not look very good but "we just do the best to keep going" ..

If there will be going to be some sort of "1983 videogames crash" ? .. I don't know, in a way it surprises me "it's not already" but probably is never going to happen, nevermind anyway things happen if they are meant to.

But one thing is certain and there is no question about it, at some prices ONLY *BIG* volumes of sales can make you stay afloat, if they are not big enough you won't, it does not matter "how" in some way the money has to come in but it's precisely cause those prices that IAP and all the other 'weirdnesses' exist, because "where do you get it from otherwise ?".

But yeah "back on track" .. "your son wants to become a full time IOS developer ?" .. well as an employee with a salary maybe ( until it lasts ) .. as self employed I do/sell my own games .. "good luck" but consider that "failure IS an option and a very realistic one", you NEED a "backup plan" and/or "another job" as well.

I can tell you another thing I think it's pretty realistic as well "pricing ALONE WON'T affect your sales", you are NOT going to make "big sales" because the price is 69p .. you are thinking WRONG if you think that.

[Harlequin]

If your child wants to become a professional iOS developer them them to become a professional actor instead. They at least then might have a chance at making almost enough money to live on.

[sdetoni]

If your child wants to become a professional iOS developer them them to become a professional actor instead. They at least then might have a chance at making almost enough money to live on.

I'd like to think there is money to had in computer entertainment, but sadly no. My kids ask me why I don't sell my games to the public; simple reason, too much effort for very little return. So I write these games or programming projects as a hobby ... if you wanted to make some serious money, then become some Database consultant for some enterprise level corporate application like SAP, Oracle E-Business Suite, Data Warehousing etc. It won't be fancy, even boring with all the accounting terminology, you could even get anal and become some guru about optimising SQL, at least you will be able to feed the kids.

So the reason people are in the game entertainment business is because they like the creative lifestyle ... sure you may strike it lucky with a hit game, but unless you can make successive hits afterwards, it maybe hard to justify the time taken to reach that goal compared to other means of computing employment. And to achieve those goals is getting increasingly harder, everyone expects professional design graphics, musical score, and flashy graphics to cover up a very simple and repetitive game that is mobile games.

My daughter (13) said, why are you paying for that game "goat up 2", I said it was fun and unique. She only saw the old style graphics and assumed the game play was rubbish, kids expect professional art and whizzy firework graphics to congratulate them on the simple achievements in the game, because that is what they get from other software for practically free. Actually, I kinda of think these new games with IAP as software gambling devices, showing flashing lights, and congratulatory sounds for completing simple things requiring you to invest more into a an otherwise simple game. Classic example Monsters Ate My Condo, after 10 mintues of this game you've seen pretty much everything, but they expect you to pay more to progress, but in paying more the pay off is nothing special! So they got more money and you got nothing much except more flashy lights and whizzy sounds, and you feel ripped off... actually I hacked the game granting myself copious amounts of money because I hate IAP. Apart from being some digital pachinko device, MAMC offered little reward as skill wasn't required. Is this what we expect in the future, some gambling delivery device? I really hope not!

So to end on a positive, great game guys, its the unique that makes a difference to me.

[Yak]

haha, I am the diametric opposite of that in that if I see an iOS game with the kind of generic kinda-cartoony graphics that a lot of stuff has these days I am quite likely to assume it's just some piece of generic pap without any substantial gameplay that I'll forget about in 5 minutes after I've played it. Seeing something that's properly nailed a retro feel makes me think maybe they've paid special attention to the gameplay as well. Of course I'm not always right but often I am.

Anyway moving forward we are certainly not going to stick with iOS as our only platform. It simply isn't worth it.

[PVB]

I bought it but its not for me as tbh my least liked games on my iDevices are platform games but hey ho wait 5 mins and another game will be along......

Thing is, you don't have to create platform-based levels. They could be physics/inertia based item collectors against the clock, there's no pressure to make pixel perfect jumping.