Thinking about developing FlatFatCat more desktop appealing instead of mobile

[Ruffiely]

Hello everyone,

today I would like to start a discussion with you and think about the future of FlatFatCat on Steam. First of all I have to say I am overwhelmed by the performance the game had here so far. I have to admit that of course it was planned for mobile devices, so I am pretty stunned by the interest here on Steam.

Nevertheless I think it is a big issue that the game is primary pointed to mobile devices and could be improved in a lot of ways to make it more appealing to Steam and desktop users in general.

Unfortunately I couldn't spend much time into the development in the past and also at the moment I can't say that I would have enough budget or time to make it perfect, but I am willing to spend time and money into further development.

For this I hope we can take this thread and discuss about features, improves and / or changes which will make FlatFatCat a better game. I appreciate your feedback a lot and I am very proud to having you as players here!

I hope for a lot of ideas and contribution :)

Best,
Thorben

[robinrescues]

Hello Thorben,

I salute you for making what looked like an interesting game. The cats look cute and it looked like a fun, family friendly game.
However, I'm very disappointed in the way you have chosen to develop FFC.

If you are still working on a game and it is not in final form, it should be tagged as "open beta" so customers know to expect changes.
If you are planning on adding major gameplay changes like adding achievements, you should have stated that in the game description so players could make an informed choice about buying the game. Not every player wants them, and some actively avoid them.
If you ignore all that and decide to add achievements after game release, it should have been added as a separate edition of the game. The same way there is Faerie Solitaire/Faerie Solitaire Remastered and Icy/Icy Frostbite edition; where players KEPT the original game that was as they bought it and they were given a free copy of the changed version of the game - this makes all your players happy. This way, all your customers can have the game they want. Instead, you forced the achievement "upgrade" on everyone, without pre-purchase notice. That was wrong of you. You should have given your customers the CHOICE of keeping the achievement free game they purchased and/or having the option to play a version with achievements.

I wanted a casual, no pressure, relaxing game - and FFC looked ideal. I specifically bought a game that had no achievements. There was no notice that adding achievements was in progress, and I expected the game to stay as it was.

By adding achievements after people bought the game without disclosing this to customers this was planned before they purchased; you have deceived your customers and fundamentally changed the game they have purchased.
By adding achievements, you have taken what could have been a fun relaxing game and turned it into a grindfest that is now at the bottom of my list to play.

People like me purchased a no achievement game to relax, and now are stuck with an achievement game with no way to refund. I have quite enough achievement games - I was looking for a relaxing game and you changed the gameplay of what I purchased.
I'm disappointed in the way this game has evolved. I wish I could refund it, but that's not possible.
I realize the achievement hunters might cheer and buy your game, but you should also consider the customers you are driving away by changing the nature of the gameplay with no option to keep the original, achievement free version as purchased.

At this point, you have not given any indication you plan to do anything to allow players to have the game as they purchased it. The best I can do is "vote with my money" and not buy future products made by you, and to warn others potential customers of my experience so they can make an informed decision and understand what they buy today might not be the same game down the road.
I feel how you handled adding in gameplay changes without pre-purchase notice was a very poor way to treat your customers.

[Ruffiely]

Hey thank you for your detailed reply I will go over it and update accordingly

[robinrescues]

Hi Thorben,

Thanks so much for considering my suggestions.

I should probably explain something though - I am just coming out of completing a 95 hour, grindy as heck achievement game so that's part of why I'm pretty down on achievements right now. It stopped being "fun" around 20 hours in ...
I'd like a chill game I can relax with, and that's part of why I was sad to see achievements got added to FFC. I will get to playing FFC someday, I'm just avoiding grinding for achievements for the immediate future.

Anyway, thank you again for considering my suggestions.
Have a good one!