February 11, 2013
2/11/2013
Short Circuit has been back in peer review now for about three days, and it has gotten one review in that time. This latest review points out what I consider to be a very minor bug. The reviewer suggests that I pull the game back and fix it, but unless some major bugs are revealed I think I’m going to let it ride. What was the bug, you ask? According to the reviewer, if you start the game in trial mode and purchase the game, the main menu doesn’t update from the trial version to the full version until you enter and exit some other menu option. Obviously, this is a design flaw, and a fairly easy fix at that, but does it really require me to pull the game and wait another 7 days before I can submit it for release again? The reviewer seemed to think that it would be a point of contention with people purchasing the game, but as is evident by the nature of the bug, it resolves itself fairly quickly and I don’t think that most people would even notice it. That said, I’m going to let the game go through with this small bug, and release the fix later with additional content. Yes, I just mentioned additional content. As i stated on the front page of the site, I fully intend to keep maintaining my games as long as there appears to be an interest in the games. This game is no exception, just because it’s a puzzle game doesn’t mean that I can’t find some way of pushing in new features that might make the game more enjoyable. “So, what is this new content you speak of?” I’m so glad you asked that question! Right now, Short Circuit relies upon a set specification of levels. Once you beat the 35 classic levels and 35 advanced levels there isn’t anything else to the game. I want to fix that problem with a random level generator. Essentially, I plan to add an additional game mode where the player can select the size of the grid, whether or not the multi-phase lights are used, and the par for the level. The game should then use those rules to design a level the same way that I did when I created the game, and allow the player to play it. When the player beats such a level, it should give the player the option of playing another level with the same rules, or to change the rules. “When can we expect this new content?” For now, I’ll say that I’ll begin working on this new content once Short Circuit is out on the Xbox marketplace. I don’t know how long it will take me to get this new content in place, nor can I know how long it will take to get it through the review process, but I can say that I do expect it will take more than a month after Short Circuit goes public.