This is SADGames first fully released game for XboxLive.
360 Video poker was created firstly because it was a simple, easy project and secondly to understand the business side of Xboxlive Indie games.
The game features a simulation of Casino Jacks or Better game of Video Poker and it’s “hook” was the “Gamble feature” this meant that when you had a winning hand you could choose to double up by picking one card from 5 face down that had to be higher in value than the “Gamble card” which is face up at the beginning of the Gamble Feature game, I believe this to have helped it made sales. 360 Video Poker also featured what I consider a very smooth control scheme however very few people branded it ridiculous considering holding down two buttons to be too challenging. The control scheme has the player holding down the left trigger to start the gamble selection and then dependant on how far he/she moves the left thumb stick the highlight would go over the corresponding card. This stops pressing right on your thumb stick 4 times to get from the first card to the last and made for much fluid game play. The biggest flaw is that some people aren’t great with hand eye coordination and maybe I should have put a simpler control system in place for these people.
The trial featured 5 credits, max of 20 credits and just 4 hands dealt then the Nag screen would ask you to buy or you go back to the start, I felt this was fair as you got a feel for the game but didn’t play it to the point of not wanting to buy it.
The full game featured 25 credits, unlimited maximum credits and no Nag screen.
While 360 Video Poker wasn’t technically challenging I was worried that spending months working on something really complicated only to find out I couldn’t share it would have been tragic for me.
I was surprised by the sales of 360 Video Poker, I’m aware that the sales on Indie Game market on the 360 is very low for average games and for this reason I gave 360 Video Poker a goal of reaching 100 sales in its full life cycle so I’m proud to announce in 2 months 495 people decided they liked 360VP so much that they paid money, while I’m surprised I am proud.
It had normal reviews nothing criticising it too much and nothing really saying it was that good either which it hurts to say I can totally agree! Some could argue I was lazy by the lack of features and that there was no options but I really wanted to concentrate on moving forward with SADGames and developing games that people wanted to play and not just quick projects to understand business.
