Tag Archives: puzzle

Demolish! Pairs 1.1 for Android

Posted on by
1

An update of this fun puzzle/arcade game is available for Android users.

Demolish! icon

Last week, Digital Gamecraft® released a game update, Demolish! Pairs 1.1 for Android, which refreshes the product to support the latest technology, including Android 12, and brings Demolish! Pairs 1.1 for Android current with Google Play requirements.

This update parallels the release (last November) of Demolish! Pairs 1.3 for iOS, which likewise did not add any new gameplay features and required no bug fixes, but makes sure the software supports all the latest mobile phones and tablets.

Development

As noted, there had been zero bug reports for the product (on either platform), but Google Play has been steadily advancing the SDK requirements for products in the app store, so this update was a proactive step to prevent the game from being dropped from the store.

Clearly, this update was not an exercise in direct ROI (return on investment), as the Android version has had, literally, ones of sales. 🙁 Instead, this was an exercise (in frustration) intended to keep our tools and skills up-to-date, despite never having had a client request Android work, for reasons that seem fairly obvious (i.e., nobody pays for Android software).

Because the product had not been updated since its release in September 2018, it had last been built entirely with Android Studio 3.1, and while we had been updating Android Studio quasi-regularly, we had not been making the associated script changes (unnecessary on any other platform) to keep all the tools in sync. This fact alone makes Android development the least appealing of any platform; it takes so much non-programming effort to maintain.

We upgraded to the (then) latest Android Studio which, to my chagrin, has been named, “Android Studio Arctic Fox | 2020.3.1 Patch 4” (because “Android Studio 4.3” was too cryptic and, you know, left out the confidence-building “2020” from a 2022 download 😉 ). Then the real fun commenced, because (of course) the Gradle version was out of date, not to mention the fact that there are two different Gradle versions, and various helpers offered to upgrade these once, and then again, and yet again, to newer versions each time. Of course (because it could never actually just work, you know, like Visual Studio or Xcode), this upgrade chain ended before actually getting the correct versions installed, though it did install three (or is it six?) separate obsolete versions of Gradle, thus leaving me with loads of (all) incorrect options and the necessity to spend a significant amount of time searching the web for a solution. This should not be necessary for development (hello, Gradle) nor using an OS (that’s you, Linux).

Ultimately, I did find the solution and get the Demolish! Pairs code to build correctly, and no actual code (i.e., Java) changes were necessary. However, I did choose to migrate (per recommendation) to AndroidX, for which the conversion tool was essentially flawless. I also am a strong advocate of strict code linting, so I made a few code changes due to new lint messages, although only one that could have made any difference in program operation (and only then if it ran on a theoretical Android device that reports neither ‘portrait’ nor ‘landscape’ orientation, which should not exist in reality).

I should note that, despite its absurd naming, Android Studio is fairly nice to use (once Gradle has been subdued). The static code analysis (i.e., linting) system for Android/Java projects is comprehensive, albeit often self-contradictory, but once one determines which items are pointless and disables them, it is useful. Also, Google provides excellent online documentation of its SDK, the way Microsoft did. On the negative side, I shutter to think how many millions (or billions) of dollars worth of development time are wasted on Gradle configuration, and I weep that some managers think code metrics are a good way to judge source code.

The final hurdle for me was at bundling time. Now, to submit a product, one must supply an App Bundle instead of a prebuilt APK, but that was not the problem. The problem was that to build a final App Bundle (or APK), one must provide the certificate and type in its password. In the intervening 3+ years, which notably included my world being turned upside-down, I had forgotten and misplaced this password. The certificate had been diligently preserved, but without a password it would be rendered useless. After hours of trying different methods to retrieve the password (all failing, as they should), I finally took the tried and true approach: count the asterisks and guess. It worked! 🙂

So… Act NOW and you can be the first person to buy Demolish! Pairs for Android in the current decade!

Also: second January release: check.

Demolish! Pairs for Android and iOS

Posted on by
Reply

Awesome puzzle game now available for almost any mobile device.

On Tuesday, Digital Gamecraft released both Demolish! Pairs 1.0 for Android and Demolish! Pairs 1.2 for iOS.  This pair of releases represents a recommitment to this product that is enjoyed by game players on a daily basis. Demolish! Pairs 1.0 for Android is the first release on the Android platform, after numerous requests, and it runs on 99.7% of Android tablets and phones. Demolish! Pairs 1.2 for iOS is a long-awaited update release that adds support for the latest iOS devices, including the iPhone X, and resolves compatibility issues with iOS 11. The goal of Demolish! Pairs is to remove pairs of adjacent, matching blocks until the entire board is cleared.  Each time a pair of blocks is removed, the blocks above (if any) drop down and empty columns are filled by pushing the remaining columns together.

Release Date

The release date, September 11, is significant, if somewhat coincidental.  (We decided to release the Android version on that date, and the Apple approval of the iOS version just happened to arrive later on the same day.) Demolish! Pairs began life as a secondary project in the early years of Digital Gamecraft.  After many years of discussing the idea, we started actual game design in August 1999, and we completed the first playable (Windows) prototype shortly thereafter.  A couple of years later, we made the decision to proceed with Demolish! (as it was known at the time) as a primary development project, and we were making good progress for a few weeks. The original design theme was an actual building that was being demolished brick by brick, and the gameplay was fun.  However, the events that occurred on that date 17 years ago suddenly made the idea of tearing down a building very disturbing, and it became clear immediately that the game could not continue along the same path.  We initially renamed the project to Diminish, making the destruction as abstract as possible, before finally shelving the whole thing for almost a decade. In early 2011, we picked up the project again, deciding to continue with the abstract design and target mobile devices, but to return to the original name.  We had a number of different play mechanics that we were implementing, but determined that the one with selecting only pairs of blocks was both unique and the most obviously skillful, so we focused on that particular mechanic.  Demolish! Pairs was born. The dramatic history of this game does not end there, but this post does. 😉

Happy Birthday, Demolish!

Posted on by
Reply

Demolish! Pairs celebrates one year since its launch on iOS.

One year ago today, Digital Gamecraft launched the original iOS version of Demolish! Pairs.  Demolish! Pairs 1.11 is a challenging puzzle/arcade game for iPad and iPhone.

Demolish! Pairs 1.11 for iOSDownload and play Demolish! Pairs now!

Here are the top 5 reasons that you should get Demolish! Pairs:

  1. It is fun to play for gamers of all ages.
  2. It exercises your brain to help keep you mentally sharp.
  3. It provides relaxation during less interesting activities (such as watching Nigeria versus Iran in the World Cup).
  4. The programmer just got hit in the forehead by a fallen tree and could use any sympathy and support that he can get. [*]
  5. It is FREE (for one day only)!

As promised, to celebrate this anniversary, Demolish! Pairs 1.11 is completely free for TODAY ONLY.  There are no strings attached, though when you do take advantage of this special offer, it would be nice if you would rate and review it on the App Store.

Also, for those who already have the free-to-play version, Demolish! Pairs FTP 1.0.1, all in-app purchases are free for today only as well.

For more information on the game, please visit DemolishPairs.com.

[*] Medical Update: The injury was not at all serious, causing no extra brain damage. 🙂

 

Please… Download and Enjoy!Demolish! Pairs on the iOS App Store

Demolish! Pairs 1.11 for iOS

Posted on by
Reply

Another update to our challenging puzzle game is released.

Digital Gamecraft has published Demolish! Pairs 1.11 on the App Store, where you can buy it for only $3.99 (US). This is, of course, a free upgrade for all existing customers, downloadable from the ‘Updates’ tab on the App Store.

Demolish! Pairs 1.11 for iOSDownload and play Demolish! Pairs now!

Demolish! Pairs 1.11 is an upgrade that simply lowers the minimum version of iOS to 5.1.1, making it (again) playable on the original iPad. For more information on the game, please visit DemolishPairs.com.

Please… Download and Enjoy!Demolish! Pairs on the iOS App Store

Demolish! Pairs 1.10 for iOS

Posted on by
Reply

An update to our premier arcade/puzzle game is available.

Digital Gamecraft has published Demolish! Pairs 1.10 on the App Store, where you can buy it for only $3.99 (US).  This is, of course, a free upgrade for all existing customers, downloadable from the ‘Updates’ tab on the App Store.

Demolish! Pairs 1.10 for iOSDownload and play Demolish! Pairs now!

Demolish! Pairs 1.10 is an upgrade that updates the program interface for iOS 7.x and adds 64-bit support.  For more information on the game, please visit DemolishPairs.com.

While supplies last, readers of this Gamecraft blog may receive a code for a free copy of the game simply by sending an email request to marketing@digitalgamecraft.com.

Please… Download and Enjoy!Demolish! Pairs on the iOS App Store

Demolish! Pairs FTP 1.0.1 for iPad

Posted on by
Reply

Our first “Free-to-Play” game is now available in the App Store.

Demolish! Pairs FTP, the free-to-play iPad version of Demolish! Pairs, our hit arcade/puzzle game, has now been released on the App Store.  Price: FREE

Demolish! Pairs 1.0.1 for iPad

Download and play Demolish! Pairs FTP here (no charge).

This version is our initial (and, perhaps, terminal) entry into the mobile free-to-play marketplace.  We would truly like to see this fun game in the hands of as many players as possible, and if we can recoup something for our efforts (on a simple game that took more than a dozen years, during which time half of the development team died), that would be nice, too.  Seriously, it is important to us to get this product as widely spread as possible for the integrity of the data/results, which I intend to (mostly) share on this blog.

Download and Enjoy…  and then please Rate and Review it on the App Store!

Mental Retooling

Posted on by
2

Grizzled veteran embraces free-to-play concept.

In my last post, You Lost Me at ‘Buy’, I was ranting about a scenario that really had me down-heartened about the direction of the game (and, in particular, mobile game) industry.  However, not being one to wallow, I already had a plan in motion (and development) to adapt to the changing landscape of the business I chose (back in the 80s) to be part of.

In the two months since that post, I have been working on Demolish! Pairs FTP, a free-to-play version of our latest iOS release.

In truth, the process was already underway when I made that blog post, but a comment from Joel Davis, along with an intense read of the book he recommended, Free-to-Play: Making Money from Games You Give Away, by Will Luton, caused me to revisit the (free-to-play) design from the top, with a different attitude and approach.

I ended up with a separate design document just for the free-to-play features that was longer than the design document for the game itself.  I did not change anything about the actual gameplay, deciding against banner advertisements that would adversely affect the experience, and determined not to allow “pay to win” in any sense.  However, I did incorporate several features into the product (interface) to allow for free-to-play, including certain (temporary) game restrictions and advertising, as well as means of playing for “free” forever (wherever time is a valueless commodity).

To be clear, I “embrace” free-to-play approximately the same way as I might embrace a great aunt who I have never met, and may never see again.  Of course, if it turns out that this great aunt happens to want to enhance my income substantially, then the least I could do would be to visit more often and get to know her, and my embrace may grow sincere.  It would be the polite thing to do. 🙂

In the world outside that metaphor, the new version is designed to allow, and encourage, players to give us money for the fun product we have created.  However, it does not force anybody to part with money and, actually, players may not be significantly restricted until they get decent at the game.  The other major drive and purpose of the free-to-play version is to get information about the market, relative to the paid version.  Although the first/paid version of Demolish! Pairs did make some money, that income stream deteriorated to the point that the possibility of cannibalizing sales with a “free” version is no longer a serious risk.  (A game needs to make a meaningful contribution to keeping our company in business, or it may as well be free anyway.)

So, I created this new free-to-play edition, Demolish! Pairs FTP, over the last couple of months (in addition to a whole new round of iOS solitaire game updates for Goodsol Development).  The actual development time for just the FTP (which does not stand for what you think it stands for) version was 80% of the time it took to build the original iOS (paid) version of the game from the prototype.  The game has been submitted to the App Store, so now we are just waiting for approval (I hope), after which we will see how the initial sales stack up against the initial sales of the paid version.

The free-to-play edition should have a much longer tail than the paid version, so when (<optimism>) this new version matches or exceeds the income of the paid version over the critical first 3 days, and then grows instead of plummeting, then my attitude will truly be changed (</optimism>).  I have a very specific target in mind for iOS to be considered a successful platform for us, and I am anxious to see whether we make that goal.

I plan to write more about the free-to-play features and results once there are actual results to consider.  In the meantime, you can buy (the original version of) Demolish! Pairs in the App Store, with no ads nor restrictive baggage.

Note: If we get at least 350 purchases of Demolish! Pairs 1.0 before the end of this month [October], Digital Gamecraft will donate $1000 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, plus 50% of all net proceeds for sales beyond 350 (before November 1).

Demolish! Pairs 1.0 for iOS

Posted on by
1

Our arcade/puzzle game has been released!

Digital Gamecraft has published Demolish! Pairs on the App Store, where you can now buy it for only $1.99 (for a limited time only).

Demolish! Pairs 1.0 for iOSDemolish! Pairs represents a true milestone.  This is the first truly self-published title we have released in more than 23 years, and at the same time, it is the very last title on which we worked with our late friend and partner, Rick Tumanis, who did most of the artwork, and all of the sounds, for this game prior to his passing in 2011.

We are providing a limited number of free review copies to press (traditional or online) and, indeed, to the first three people who send an email to us at support@digitalgamecraft.com and tell us you read about Demolish! Pairs on this Gamecraft blog.  [Editor note: Press copies are still available, but the giveaway codes are gone.]

Please…  Download and Enjoy!Demolish! Pairs on the iOS App Store

Seeking a few great Beta Testers

Posted on by
Reply

We need people to playtest our arcade/puzzle game.

Demolish! Pairs for iOSToday, Digital Gamecraft is making an open call for iOS beta testers to help us test Demolish! Pairs in preparation for its upcoming release on the Apple App Store.

Anybody with an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch is eligible to join our team and get early access to this fun game, while helping us make it as good and solid as possible.  All you have to do is play the game (and then tell us about it 🙂 ).

For more information, and to sign up, see our call for iOS beta testers on the Demolish! Pairs site.

DemolishPairs.com

Posted on by
Reply

The spiders already have it, so it is announced.

Demolish! PairsToday, we unofficially launch our brand new web site, DemolishPairs.com, in support of our upcoming release, Demolish! Pairs.

Demolish! Pairs is an arcade/puzzle game, initially for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, where players remove pairs of bricks (or other blocks) and attempt to entirely clear the grid for each level.  Players compete in either Arcade Mode or Zen Mode, depending whether they want a challenge against the clock or a more relaxing experience.

So just how new is the web site?  It is so new…  Only a couple of pages were published when Google stopped by and added it to their database (#1 for “Demolish Pairs”), caching the main page in the process.  Because of that unexpectedly accelerated schedule, the number of pages that are actually ready will depend on how quickly you visit the site. 🙂

iPhone screen shot of Demolish! Pairs

Demolish! Pairs on the original iPhone [8 x 5, 4 colors, ‘Brick’ block set, ‘Darkness’ background, toolbar hidden]

What I can say with some confidence is that there will be a call for beta testers within a few days.  In the meantime, if you have any comments about or suggestions for DemolishPairs.com, they will be greatly received at webmaster@digitalgamecraft.com.