Amiga Team17 classic platformer, Qwak, re-envisioned for iPhone, by original author.

[rare_j]

Why is it 9mb? Amiga version fitted on 880k floppy!
Just curious.

[qwak]

Originally Posted by Vairn

Had so much fun with this game as a kid.

I bought and played this on my ipad too, looks sweet, will there be an Ipad version, so it isn't pixel doubled?

Hello,

I'd probably do an iPad version, if the iPhone version takes off (it's very very hard to find success on the AppStore, and I'm not expecting it).

However, any future games I make, including a top-secret, not yet announced, Qwak spin-off game, that's way more playable; will be very likely to get custom iPad HD versions, including...

Multiplayer on the same device, where you each have one end of the iPad and face each other. Oooops, I've said too much already! Heheh...

Originally Posted by BrooksterMax

I think a demo may be helpful to those were not familiar with the original.

However I did buy it last night and musically it certainly has the feel of an Amiga title.

I have only tried the tutorial so far, the controls seem responsive. I am getting used to the fact that your thumbs can cover up some of the gaming action particularly when you are dropping down platforms. I think that is the only drawback so far but it does work well all things considered.

Yep, always feel free to drop me an Email with any feedback on the game, or post it on this thread. It's always real useful to hear!

I can make the area at the bottom of the screen bigger (taller), I mean when your duck is at the bottom of a level, and the whole level scrolls up, I can make that scroll up more...

Originally Posted by jotd

@qwak yes I have wrapped the game. Now all levels are unlocked and I can play any of them. Cool.
Ok back to some more serious stuff now

Yup, it's pretty easy to 'marathon' the game now..

See if you can knock 'Wendy' off the highscores though! (I can't).

Originally Posted by fiath

Superb. I've waiting for this game ever since Touch Arcade mentioned it a month or so back. I remember it on the miggy, and I think I remember playing the demo, but not much more. Will be great to see it on my iPod Touch, well done!

Cool! Let us know what you think of it...

(also, if you can rate and review it, that would be super awesome).

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

"me wonders if the level formats of this version would be compatible with the Amiga version"....... hmmmm.....

Nope.

The levels are in a custom format, that's different to the Amiga version. For one thing, they're multi-layered (tiles on tiles etc). There's a level editor built in to the PC and Mac versions, that you can make levels, and upload them to the site, so every other person with the PC or Mac version, can download and play your levels!

I thought it was a great idea, but didn't really take off.

If people make super cool level packs, I could include them in the iPhone version etc.

Originally Posted by rare_j

Why is it 9mb? Amiga version fitted on 880k floppy!
Just curious.

Mostly, it's the music, which on the Amiga is in .MOD format, and iPhone is in .MP3 format, which is much bigger.

Generally, graphics and sounds, are all revamped, and take up way more memory etc.

[fiath]

This game is super-smooth. Very very nice. I see what you mean about difficult though, I had problems even finishing the tutorial levels! (had to restart from the beginning at one point after running out of live - is that kind of a bug?)

I do have a couple of suggestions, feel free to take them or leave them.

Firstly, when I play games on my iPod Touch (and I assume this would be more true for people with iPhone's), it is for a generally quick blast to fill some time. With that in mind, I do wonder if it would be more suitable (especially for a casual gamer) if you could just continue where you left off. Having to start from the beginning each time I play is... a bit annoying. I don't see Quak as a retro-game - it looks like new, and so to have to restart each time was "surprising" if you know what I mean. This is especially for a multi-function device where I might want to check my email, then continue playing.

The other thing, really minor, is that my fingers (being used to other iPhone games) assumed the buttons were closer together, and it too a while to train them to move them further apart to hit the buttons. I tend to "roll" my thumbs in these games to hit the adjacent button, but that is harder to do in Qwak.

Anyway, these are fairly minor things, and the game is otherwise very pleasing to play. Great work!

P.S. I really hate those falling spikey balls!! It goes against the completionist in me to have to escape and miss all that fruit I guess it would be a big change to the point of the game to change them or the timing though (i.e. this is not an RFC).

[Djay]

loved Qwak back in the day (i still have it for my A1200)... i will get this for my iPhone.. thanks

[qwak]

Originally Posted by fiath

This game is super-smooth. Very very nice. I see what you mean about difficult though, I had problems even finishing the tutorial levels! (had to restart from the beginning at one point after running out of live - is that kind of a bug?)

I do have a couple of suggestions, feel free to take them or leave them.

Firstly, when I play games on my iPod Touch (and I assume this would be more true for people with iPhone's), it is for a generally quick blast to fill some time. With that in mind, I do wonder if it would be more suitable (especially for a casual gamer) if you could just continue where you left off. Having to start from the beginning each time I play is... a bit annoying. I don't see Quak as a retro-game - it looks like new, and so to have to restart each time was "surprising" if you know what I mean. This is especially for a multi-function device where I might want to check my email, then continue playing.

The other thing, really minor, is that my fingers (being used to other iPhone games) assumed the buttons were closer together, and it too a while to train them to move them further apart to hit the buttons. I tend to "roll" my thumbs in these games to hit the adjacent button, but that is harder to do in Qwak.

Anyway, these are fairly minor things, and the game is otherwise very pleasing to play. Great work!

P.S. I really hate those falling spikey balls!! It goes against the completionist in me to have to escape and miss all that fruit I guess it would be a big change to the point of the game to change them or the timing though (i.e. this is not an RFC).

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions Faith, all duly noted, and pretty much agree with your observations.

It's quite possible to continue on a level, while the spikey balls are falling, true qwak ninja's eat spikey balls for breakfast! ;-)

[wilshy]

Good stuff Jamie, will check this out sir

Now my ATR pestering will restart. You'll regret showing your face again

[Sledge/FLT]

The gameplay is top on the iphone. Have been playing it quite much. The controls took me some time to get used to though... finding it hard for a start to control the jump and shooting. But once you are in to it, it works really good. Not on par with a TAC-2 or a Wico joystick though

But hey... it rocks! Thanks!

[qwak]

Heheh ... I've been coming up with these cool captions ....

Real Qwak ninja's like to play out in the rain ......... the RAIN OF SPIKEY DEATH!

[BrooksterMax]

Hello again Jamie, I played more last night and my earlier comments about my thumbs covering up some of the action was not entirely correct - it is not a problem when falling down platforms but more when you reach the base, footing. The duck is only marginally a pixel or two from the thumbs and so it can be a little tricky to see those pesky baddies.

However I had a good solid play on it and its a good platformer game faithful to its Amiga father.

By the way the music and SFX are spot on. That sound of a crunching apple gets me every time - it sounds delicious

[qwak]

Originally Posted by BrooksterMax

but more when you reach the base, footing. The duck is only marginally a pixel or two from the thumbs and so it can be a little tricky to see those pesky baddies.

I think I know what you mean. When the duck is at the bottom of a level, and the whole level scrolls up a bit, and a dark area appears behind the controls...

Do you mean the dark area is not tall enough?

[qwak]

So, here’s what I have planned for the first update…

Difficulty:
I’ll be making the game easier and will include 2 difficulty settings. A new easier (default) setting, which I’ll call ‘NORMAL’. Plus, keeping the existing difficulty setting, which I’ll call ‘NINJA’.

Controls:
I gotten a mixed response from people regarding the on-screen controls. What I plan to do is add in an option to re-size the controls, and an option to swap UP and FIRE. Also, the dark area that comes up, behind the controls, when your duck is on the bottom of the screen, I’ll add in an option to make that bigger (helps avoid obscuring duck with fingers etc).

Online High-scores:
I always intended to have online scores in the game, the only question, is do I use a pre-existing solution, such as OpenFeint, or do I roll my own? If I use OpenFeint, I could also add in achievements, and all the other OpenFeint stuff. If I roll-my-own, it would just be high-scores (no achievements) and it will work more like the desktop version of Qwak, and better integrate with the game (same look and feel etc).

Let me know what you think about that, please leave a comment!

Anything else?
If there’s anything else you’d like to see changed or added, please leave a comment (leave one anyway) and let me know.

---

Okay, I've mirrored this on my blog:

http://www.jamiewoodhouse.co.uk/2010...-first-update/

---

I'll be monitoring this thread, feel free to comment here, or on my blog!

Thanks again,
Hope you're still diggin' the game!

[fiath]

That sounds great. I'm looking forward to it!

As to the hiscores, I don't have any real opinion on that. Maybe whatever is easier to implement? Achievements does sound good of course

[BrooksterMax]

Looking forward to the next update.

For scores why spend so much time on a in-house solution when you could use Openfeint which is pretty much the defacto scoreboard thingy now for such games? I suppose it is a case of whatever is easier for you.

Hope the sales are going well for you, much deserved.

[Pyromania]

@qwak

I just bought the iPhone version.



Nice job, I enjoyed the GBA version I bought from you years ago too. Would you be open to doing more iPhone games under contract for other companies?

[Galahad/FLT]

Wouldn't mind seeing Nitro get a re-release, I presume that belongs to you and not Psygnosis/Sony?

[qwak]

Thanks everyone!

Going quite well sales wise, much better than PC and Mac!

I'm very likely to be doing more iPhone games (really enjoying iPhone development), and hopefully Android too. I can't see myself doing games under contract for other companies though, not unless they're prepared to throw massive amounts of cash at me (unlikely). I really like the idea of being free to make the kind of games that I truely believe in, and make them as best I can, and I think I've found working for other companies is often very restricting, and creatively restricting too.

So, just seems better to me, to do my own thing, probably will work out much better financially to do so, and more importantly, it's so much more creatively rewarding.

Deffo follow me on twitter or signup to my newsletter, if you want to keep in touch (newsletter and twitter info both on www.qwak.co.uk).

As for Nitro, I'd need to dig the contract out and check it over; it maybe that I'd just do a top down racer and not call it Nitro..

[BippyM]

Nitro would rock. Definitely my fave top down racer.. the gfx, playability, sfx, music.. SoOOoo atmospheric

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by bippym

Nitro would rock. Definitely my fave top down racer.. the gfx, playability, sfx, music.. SoOOoo atmospheric

Ditto, just something about Nitro that got me, much preferred it over Supercars 1 / 2.

Only thing that bugged me was the music wasn't very varied, but other than that it was great.

[qwak]

Agreed! Nitro type game would be cool on iPhone, not sure if it would sell though!

Anyhoo......

Limited time sale on Qwak iPhone, 66% off, just while the 1.1 update comes; which has..

Better, configurable controls.
Option to resume your game.
Tweaked the difficulty level down a bit (so regular mortals can now enjoy the game).
Auto-fire option (like having a semi-automatic egg firing gun).

Didn't get online scores in to 1.1, I wanted to focus more on the controls.Will deffo have online scores in 1.2 though, will be working on that next...

http://bit.ly/qwakappstore

[fiath]

Excellent news! I'll look forward to this!