On the path to release!

It's been a few months since I first put Recolonizer out to the world as a free browser game, in the shape of a classic tower defense game prototype.

After much testing, much polish, many improvements, many exciting and thrilling moments experienced by testers, and much thought, I've decided to properly market and sell this game on the iOS app store and Steam, with future plans to port it to Android as well, although I'll need a bit more revenue to prioritize this work. It even has its own website now! But the important news is...

A release date has been set: Mid 2025!

I've realized that it would be wasteful to keep this as a free web prototype, and that this game has the potential of being a very fun mobile game to play a round or two while commuting, or a serious 30min-1h playsession for those who are obsessed. That's why I want to offer it on both the mobile and computer marketplaces, potentially even with MacOS support. To be seen.

Regarding monetization: I want to have a sustainable model that doesn't translate to something absolutely annoying for users. My plan is to put the game up on Steam for a low price (I'm thinking 5$. What's your opinion?) and on the AppStore for free, with reward ads mid game that are unintrusive and give the player currency for watching. There will be a microtransaction to kill ads for good on iOS, if you so desire.

To keep me motivated in developing more and more content after release, I want to have a DLC microtransaction system, where all (or most?) future levels after release will be launched as paid DLC, and will include new cannons and enemies. No intention of implementing loot boxes or aesthetic microtransactions for the moment.

However, before any monetization scheme gets prioritized, let's talk about what I want to add to consider this game fit for release. These might not get added in time for release, but I consider them essential to get the game out of Early Access, or for me to personally consider it a complete game.

A story mode

It's been established that it's fun enough to go island-to-island, setting up cannons, and managing to defend your island against relentless invaders. But why?

> Why did you leave?
> Why did you defend this island?
> Why do you have no cannons, and need to buy them?
> Who are you?

These are questions that could be answered by a proper story mode with a proper narrative. I've already written the rough outline, and know where it starts and where it should end. But I'm more interested in how this would translate to gameplay, as simply adding more cutscenes and characters alone doesn't make a story mode.

The pirate crew and ship

I would introduce to the mix the concept of a pirate crew and their ship. The crew is a set of people who give perks / downsides to the gameplay. Introducing a sharpshooter crew member increases tower ranges, an engineer increases their damage, etc. And the ship allows your crew to carry items and cash between islands / levels.

I would introduce a screen between levels where you view your ship and its crew and cargo, letting you spend money to upgrade the cargo space (how many cannons you can carry), the treasure chest (how much cash you can carry), and the actual cargo – letting you pre-upgrade cannons before the next round starts.

Once the gameplay aspects are implemented, I'll work on implementing cutscenes and story beats to provide good justification and narrative weight to the crew's decision to defend and flee each island.

An arcade mode

While it's fun and engaging to play a hand-crafted campaign, I think it will add important replayability to include an arcade mode in Recolonizer.

This mode would include:

• Infinite procedural waves of enemies
• A leaderboard
• Potentially, rewards for reaching certain levels?

And it would push me to add a feature I've long been putting off:

View what wave we're in, and add a button to call in the next one.

Which would add a risk-reward (and speedrun!) element that is missing from the current version of the game–try to finish the level earlier at the risk of getting overwhelmed.

What's next?

I've got plenty of work ahead of me in terms of preparing to publish this app to Steam as an early access game, and to iOS as a monetized application. Not counting the content I need to make for the game, bug fixes, and the plans to make a story mode and arcade mode. That's why I am looking for funding! Being supported with money allows me to work on this game without being distracted by unimportant things like a job, or needing to eat, or needing a roof over my head.

You will be able to support me on Patreon or on Kickstarter very soon! 
Until then, your support is best given by engaging with these posts and playing the game!

Prioritization

Until I get enough funding to support myself, the main focus will be on the following developments:

• Legal matters, such as establishing a company to publish under
• Organizational matters, such as preparing content for the marketplace pages
• Marketing, such as making videos on Youtube and social media to promote this game
• Content development, such as adding new levels to pad playtime
  • Might begin to make arcade mode, since it could be relatively easy to implement, although it could take a while to balance...
• Polishing, such as refining the intro cutscenes, fixing bugs, adding more visual detail, etc.

With good organization and focus, I think I'll be able to deliver a pretty solid little game by mid-2025. With good funding on top of that, I think I can make this into a proper full game! In conclusion, give me money.

Alas, whether you want to give me money or not, I beg you to give me your opinion. Is there anything you'd like to see in Recolonizer? Any particular island layouts? Any historical events or figures? Any fictional empires?

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Léo (ForLoopCowboy)