Show HN: My Newest iPhone Game - Dummy Defense

6 points by avgarrison 14 years ago | 12 comments

The game is Dummy Defense. It launched yesterday and is currently at #41 top overall in the US app store. I did some heavy promotion yesterday with a large email list, and FreeAppADay is promoting my other app, SimplePhysics, which is driving quite a few sales. I'd be glad to hear your feedback about the game as well as answer any questions regarding the development or marketing efforts.

Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzk5WVb3JcE&feature=player_detailpage

Here's the app store page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dummy-defense/id460832678?mt=8

Sword_Monkey 14 years ago |

Should be obvious but put it up on Reddit too, free marketing. Though it's kind of pot luck whether your submission will draw attention, although somebody else might copy your submission and that may get better attention. And hey who cares? As long as it climbs, no reason why it couldn't see the front page.

Also Android plox. Or browser based version at least.

avgarrison 14 years ago | |

Good idea. What subreddit would you post something like this on?

Sword_Monkey 14 years ago | | |

r/gaming in my opinion, very good demographic, they're aren't just PC/console nuts, but actual game enthusiasts who will have an interest in games across every medium they have access to which will include iOS. Be prepared for them asking about Android though.

Found your Android sign up thing too, good idea, excellent for grabbing emails. Throw that in all your messaging too though, don't leave people to find it!

dannytatom 14 years ago | | |

Give /r/indiegaming & /r/iosgaming a try.

avgarrison 14 years ago |

Direct Links Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzk5WVb3JcE&feature=playe...

App Store Page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dummy-defense/id460832678?mt=...

coryl 14 years ago |

Looks great, was it built with any engines like Cocos2D? What email list did you use? How many downloads is it getting now?

Why did you decide to go with a 99c price point when you could have gone freemium, give away a few levels and do a 99c unlock? Thanks

avgarrison 14 years ago | |

I actually used a home-made framework that I have been kludging together since my first app, BridgeBasher. Back then, Cocos2D and Unity3D weren't as awesome as they are today. It worked out well though, having my own framework really lets me dig into the nuts and bolts and change any aspect that I need.

I have an email list of about 80k subscribers that I've accumulated from my other apps. About 28% have opened, and about 25% of those who opened actually clicked the link.

Yesterday I clocked 3879 downloads and landed at #52 in the charts. I'm not sure how many downloads I've gotten today.

I decided on the $0.99 price point because of the large e-mail list.

mromanuk 14 years ago | | |

Congratulations on your game, it looks pretty smooth, nice graphics too. According to http://topappcharts.com your game is #36 today, is that accurate? dummy defense is climbing the ladder, would be interesting to know the downloads per position in the charts.

coryl 14 years ago | | |

Thanks for replying. BTW, how do you get a good signup rate for your email list via the app? Do you load a prompt up after X amount of hours/app loads?