SuckItZombies.com

How's it going?

I tried to send the word to as many of you as possible, so many of you have probably already read this; here's a condensed version for others:

I was able to apply for production, but it was denied. It wasn't exactly clear what the issue was, and I had to do some Googling. Based on what I've learned: you have to open the app for at least 2 minutes each day for two weeks. And this is just the general, kind of, assumption or whatever. Google doesn't publish their exact requirements. I guess it makes sense, but with all the obvious trash on the Play Store, I hadn't considered that there might be more to it.
The only feedback given to me was a small bit of text that says:

We reviewed your application, and determined that your game requires more testing before you can access production. Before applying again, continue testing your game following our guidance for gaining production access.

And their help pages just keep saying "12 testers for 14 days." So, I dunno. Just open the game please, lol.

// The Application Process

For those curious, the process for applying for Production was relatively simple, with a short questionnaire - around 9 question - that asked about the app's development and the testing process.
It asked how I built my pool of testers, how we communicated, what your feedback had resulted in, and how I knew it was time to apply for production. This was broken into a few diffeent questions, but the summary to my answers was:

"I asked family and friends to be my testers, as well as making a couple of recruitment posts on Reddit and Lemmy; I have received feedback pertaining to the balance of the game (such as item drop rates, upgrade progression, and enemy attributes), the control scheme, and the accessibility, among numerous small bug reports; I have responded by adjusting the attributes of all items, players, and enemies, as well as adding features such as a tutorial round and controller support. My testers and I have communicated via social media direct messages, email, face-to-face conversation, and other various forms of communication. I feel it is time to apply for production because the number of bug reports has dropped to nearly 0 - only really presenting themselves when I make additions to the game, which I have recently paused. We have implemented all basic features, including [list of every feature], and it feels like the natural time to release."

// Now what?

As discussed above, I guess we all need to start opening the game for a small amount of time each day. I do this quite often, but it's nearly always on my PC or via debug, so it doesn't count. I will set aside a few moments after I finish my meal at work to play for at least 3 minutes.
If you no longer wish to partake in the test, or if you don't think you can manage to open the app at least every-other day, then I understand. If you unsubscribe from this newsletter, I will take that as a sign that you do not wish to participate in the test any longer. That being said, I do implore you to tough it out with us for the next two weeks.
I made this game for my son - so that he and I could have something to play on the couch without having to have a subscription, without having to worry about ads. If we can get this pushed-though- I mean, it won't be much, but it will mean a lot to us, and it will be a small chunk taken-out of the predatory gaming market. Maybe I can make it just big enough with this that I can spend a little extra time building something else next, and maybe that one will gain more traction, and the cycle repeats until we are responsible for saving the gaming industry. Or maybe we'll just have a fun little game to play with our friends and loved ones.

Anyways, that's all.

-Tim

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