Android!

People have been asking about an Android version of the game since before it came out. There were technical challenges, but a major issue was that I have no particular expertise in Android development. And as a single developer, taking on such a major project would have meant that I couldn’t continue to enhance the game. And even if I did the port, selling via the various Android markets isn’t the same as going through the iOS App Store.

Fortunately, like a heroquester travelling on the Other Side, I could call for help. HeroCraft, a “top developer” on Google Play, took on the daunting task of making the game’s 50 screens work on arbitrary screen sizes. Plus all the other work needed to get a game that depends on UIKit, Apple’s Core Audio sound format, Game Center, etc. to run on different operating systems. And they own a lot more Android devices to test on than I do (just a Kindle Fire I bought to check out the port). Actually, with all that work, maybe they were the heroquesters, reenacting “The Making of KoDP…”

I’m extremely happy to say that the journey is now complete. King of Dragon Pass will be available via Google Play on 12 August for $9.99. If you’ve played the Windows or Mac version of the game, this is the updated version, with a host of new content, more advice, heroquest hints, and a somewhat simplified game. If you haven’t played before, you’re in for a treat!

As a veteran Android publisher, HeroCraft made a fun game trailer. (We probably should have made one ourselves, but wouldn’t have come up with their clever way of emphasizing the story aspects.)

Since I’m not an Android user, I was a little surprised that the game was a medium-sized download, but when you first launch, you need to download the bulk of the assets. I thought the size limit was a thing of the past, but I guess this is standard and you’re probably used to it as an Android user.

In a discussion with HeroCraft, the subject of piracy came up. I have no experience with Android publishing, but they certainly do. It’s a sad fact that people steal games for any platform, but it appears to be worse on Android. If my publisher is concerned, then I am concerned, since affects my livelihood, which in turn affects my ability to make more games. And actual sales will encourage HeroCraft to bring their port to more mobile platforms.

I hate to remind people, because I don’t think it’s you, but buy the game, don’t pirate it. (This may protect you and your friends from malware, too.)

If you haven’t played King of Dragon Pass yet, be aware that it’s a unique game that can be a bit hard at first. Check out the manual! We also have a tips page. And, welcome to Dragon Pass!

King of Dragon Pass for Android Update

When I woke up this morning, I noticed that there was starting to be talk about a port of King of Dragon Pass. Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to post in depth for another 11 hours or so, I posted a quick note. Unfortunately, this ended up not clarifying things, but instead propagated some misinformation.

It’s impossible to call things back on the Internet, but in an attempt to correct what I wrote incorrectly:

Yes, we have authorized HeroCraft to port King of Dragon Pass to a number of platforms. And while information on their web site mentioned PS Vita and Windows Phone, they have not really announced anything. I should have waited for them.

They do have an Android version of King of Dragon Pass. I have run an early build on a Kindle Fire HD 7 inch. And I now know that they plan to launch first on Android, and then consider other platforms.

But other than that, there is not much I can say. The game will be published by HeroCraft  so pricing and availability is up to them. I’m sure they will let everyone know.

I can speak on a few questions:

What version will the Android port be?
Given that A Sharp has not finished the 2.3 update, I would expect it to be based on 2.2.x. (I’d have to track down exactly which version I sent them.)

Will 2.3 come to Android?
That would be great. It will be up to HeroCraft.

Didn’t you say Android was impossible?
Originally yes, it was. The Android Market eventually changed.

Will it run on…?
I have only seen it running on a Kindle Fire HD 7 inch. I know that HeroCraft is well aware that there are many other Android devices. We’ll have to wait for their release to know for sure.

Once again: an Android version of King of Dragon Pass 2.x is in the works. There may or may not be a Windows Phone or PS Vita version. My apologies to HeroCraft for posting this morning.

Android Thoughts

We haven’t gotten any requests for Windows Phone 7 versions of King of Dragon Pass, but we know some of you wish you could play it on your Android phone (or I suppose other Android device, though not many of those have sold).

I’ve written before about how Android was not a possible platform when we started the iOS version. (Not just unviable, impossible.) Even if it had been, A Sharp is a small studio, and can only do one project at a time.

So what about now? King of Dragon Pass is released on iOS, after all.

Well yes, but it’s not done. We’re still working on Accessibility, using VoiceOver technology to allow blind players to enjoy the game.

On the other hand, that effort is pretty far along. Why not do Android next?

I always hate to say “no,” but I think an Android port is extremely unlikely.

Let’s assume for the sake of argument that device and OS fragmentation is not a problem. And let’s assume that Android piracy is somehow dealt with (or is actually no worse than iOS piracy).

As I keep saying, King of Dragon Pass is a big project. It took 20 calendar months to do an iOS version (admittedly there were some months in there when we undertook other projects). All of the user interface code would have to be written from scratch for Android. Much of the user interface art would need to be reworked (since not all Android devices have a 480 x 320 pixel screen). So an Android version is close to the same amount of effort.

A Sharp has no expertise in Android development. In theory, we could get someone else to do it. However, they would no doubt want to be paid. (Coding 40 screens is a lot of work, if I haven’t mentioned that.) Since King of Dragon Pass is a proven product with a good reputation, it might make sense for someone to do this for royalties. However, the studio we talked to mentioned that Android users are notorious for not being willing to pay for anything. (They do both iOS and Android.) So given the scope of the project, they were not interested.

The alternative is to pay someone prior to release (and thus take on the risk of Android users living up to their notoriety). If King of Dragon Pass had become a smash hit, the risk would be less, and there would be more money to pay for the development. Unfortunately, King of Dragon Pass is probably among the top 25% of games by revenue, but it is not a smash hit.

I suppose another great risk we could take would to create a version for Kindle Fire. That’s close enough to mainstream Android that it would be easy to then do an Android version. The upside may be higher (Amazon actually knows how to sell stuff — both the Fire itself and products for it), but the drawbacks are the same. (It’s still a big project we can’t do or afford.) And I am extremely dubious about how Amazon treats app developers.

So at the moment, I see no road that would lead to an Android version. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but the ways to make it happen didn’t materialize.

But hey, it took 10 months for an Android version of Angry Birds to come out. Something might happen in the next 10 months. But don’t hold your breath.

Android Update

We’re aware that there are a fair number of Android devices out there, and that some of them are owned by King of Dragon Pass fans.

We also know that things have changed since we began development about 20 months ago. Unlike then, the Android Market is now available in Finland (which is one of our most important markets). And unlike then, the Android Market will now accept apps as large as King of Dragon Pass. (Sadly, we’ve heard about some problems facing developers with Amazon’s Android App Store.) So unlike when we started, an Android version is at least conceivable.

It would still face a number of hurdles. The biggest issue is the same one that the iOS version faced: King of Dragon Pass is a big game, with around 40 screens. We’ve worked out the new layout, but that’s for a 480 x 320 screen, and many Android devices vary. The UI would need to be reworked for a new API and a new language (i.e. all the code would need to be rewritten). Even if it’s easier the second time, it would still be a long-term project.

Is it financially worth undertaking such a major project? The easiest way to justify it would be if the iOS version sells really well. So ironically, the best way to convince us to port King of Dragon Pass to Android would be to buy it for iOS. (You don’t need an iPhone, after all. Used iPod touches are apparently under $100 on eBay, and if you want a larger screen, iPad is still the only choice that really makes sense.)

One thing hasn’t changed: A Sharp is still a small studio, and can only do one project at a time. (And we’re not done with iOS once the game releases. More on that in the next post.)

Dead Horses

We occasionally get queries about doing King of Dragon Pass for devices that don’t run iOS. (OK, for Android.) At the risk of beating a dead horse, I’ll repeat: one project at a time.

Remember, our resources are limited. So we’re focusing on the most common devices (iPhones, iPods touch, and iPads) with the most appropriate ecosystem* (i.e. a store that allows large downloads, and which is available in our traditionally important markets like Finland).

The iOS marketplace also has the advantage that potential players can get a device without a contract — this has been a problem until very recently with devices such as Android tablets, for example. (Actually, I’m not sure any viable contract-free devices can actually be bought, though some are announced with plausible shipping dates. As for phones, in the USA at least all are sold with contracts.)

Finally, bear in mind that we had to make development decisions some time ago. If we were starting today, we might make different decisions. But changing target platforms today (even to support iPad resolution) would mean a delay in releasing the game.

Once King of Dragon Pass ships on iOS, we can think about whether it makes sense to do additional versions.

To summarize: we can only do one project at a time. We want to deliver our game to our fans. At least you can buy a good device to run King of Dragon Pass without incurring a debt to a phone company. And unless you can travel back in time, the decision was made a while ago.

* The Amazon Appstore for Android may actually become the most promising way to sell Android apps, but an 8-click install (surely they mean “tap?”) seems like a barrier.

P.S. Note that KoDP artwork is currently at the worst JPEG compression, to get the smallest possible file size, so that copying over USB to a device is faster. (In other words, the final game will look better than the screen shot above.)

Big Game

I mentioned that King of Dragon Pass is a big game. The original was something like 450 megabytes. (We fit both Mac and Windows on the same 650 MB CD by sharing files between the two file systems.) Now, that’s without any compression (I don’t think we had the option, though since it fit without compression we might have avoided it for speed). And the iOS version is for a smaller 480 x 320 pixel display, so the assets will be smaller. So the iOS version won’t be that large.

For development, I’ve exported all the scene artwork at the highest JPEG compression — also known as the worst quality JPEG compression. Since the game needs to be copied to a device for testing, smaller is definitely better. It will be easy to drop in higher quality art at the end (it takes the same amount of memory when decompressed, and reading from flash memory is quick, so I don’t expect any changes).

So right now, the game is about 57 MB. My worst case estimate is that it’ll jump up to about 150 MB with the right art. That’s pretty big, but the largest game I have is Monkey Island 2 at 398 MB. And the largest Apple will allow is 2 GB. You won’t be able to download King of Dragon Pass over the cellular network (the limit for that is 20 MB), but over WiFi or with iTunes on your computer it shouldn’t be that bad.

I just learned that the Android Market is raising its size cap, from 25 MB to 50 MB. I wasn’t planning an Android version for various other reasons, but I hadn’t realized that King of Dragon Pass could not be sold through the easiest channel. This puts any future Android version in serious doubt, I’m afraid. Maybe things will change next year.