Ba-Bomb!: Lessons learned (part 6) Final thoughts

Ba-Bomb! was a huge learning experience for me.
It was my first time making a sequel, and I enjoyed the time I spent making the game, but the game's lack of success is a bit of a sad spot for me.

I must admit that I approached this project with a rather naive attitude, both expecting to achieve success by creating a good game, and assuming that my game design was not without it's flaws.

So what did I learn?

I learned that for a casual game to be a hit, it needs:

1. To have a "pick up and play" quality to the game.  If your 70 year old Grandmother can't figure out the game in 10 seconds, then you need to go back to the drawing board.  I came fairly close with Bombin'/Ba-Bomb!, but not close enough.  The game is deceptively strategic and logical, and even though anyone can start playing the game without reading the instructions, they may miss some of the finer points, such as paying attention to their remaining matches.  
2. Mass appeal through pretty graphics and a likable game setting.  Even though Pengi adds cuteness and general appeal to the game, it seems that bombs don't appeal to women.  Women are the #1 market for casual games, and thus Ba-Bomb! doesn't have mass appeal.
3. A multi-thousand dollar advertising campaign, or brilliant guerrilla marketing campaign.  I am not a marketing genius, nor did I have much of an advertising budget.  If I had it all to do over again, I would have spent what little advertising budget I had on something like Google Adwords or Facebook ads instead.

I also learned many new things about game design.  This was my first large independent project, and I got a good grasp on exactly how much work goes into making a polished puzzle game with multiple modes and features.  I learned how to simplify and streamline production by reducing assets and features while still providing a satisfying core gameplay experience.
I learned about advertising, code optimization and how graphics alone can impact gameplay.
I learned about balancing stats for an RPG, and making sure the difficulty ramp-up is fair.

I'm sure there were many other things I learned during the production of Bombin' and Ba-Bomb!, but they slip my mind at the moment.

So, in conclusion, is Ba-Bomb! a perfect game?
Definitely not.

Is it a bad game?  By no means could Ba-Bomb! be considered a bad game.

So what is it, then?
Ba-Bomb! is a game that succeeds in many ways, and almost but not quite succeeds in others.
It's a casual puzzle game that certainly has it's fans, though few may they be, but misses a few key marks that could have brought it success.

Personally, I love Ba-Bomb!, but I can't really be objective as I was the one who made it.

If you are looking for a fun, casual yet imperfect game, why not give Ba-Bomb! a try?

-Links-
Bombin': http://studiopinagames.com/bombin.html
Ba-Bomb! for iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ba-bomb!/id570094968?ls=1&mt=8
Ba-Bomb! for iPad: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ba-bomb!-for-ipad/id573779424?ls=1&mt=8
Ba-Bomb! for PC: http://clickstore.clickteam.com/games/ba-bomb-puzzle