Laser Links - My First Game! (Google Play & Scirra Arcade)

Hello everyone,

I've just finished the production version of my first game on Google Play.

It's called Laser Links and it's a block-sliding, brain twisting puzzle game with colorful lasers.

Google Play link - > https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... odes&hl=en

The game is my first completed creation after a few short projects that helped me learn C2 and it took over a year to make (half of it was correcting mistakes). I compiled it with cocoon.io and Canvas+ and designed all the graphics in Adobe Illustrator. There are 120 levels split in 3 campaigns and I intend to make more packs in the near future. Also, every level is playable in 3 game modes designed for different kinds of players.

The laser beam mechanics are quite flexible and dynamic and were probably the hardest part to code, but somehow not the most time-consuming. Here's some gameplay screenshots:

I am now working on a light version to upload on the arcade and maybe Kongregate and Newgrounds and in the next months I plan to get it on the App Store as well.

If you like what you see give it a try and let me know what you think! I've only had friends test it and I'm starving for some feedback. If anyone has a device higher than Full HD resolution I'd really appreciate a test - the game has graphic assets for multiple sizes all the way to 4K and I have only been able to simulate the larger ones on my PC.

In any case, I hope you enjoy!

I just added a light version of the game on the Scirra Arcade!

You can give it a try here Laser Links (Light)

There are some PC-specific controls but all the mobile functionality has been kept. On mobile the game runs in both landscape and portrait mode if play it in full screen. All the graphical assets are still there so every screen resolution is supported and the graphics stay sharp.

If only uploading were this easy on every site

I am now playing it and I just can say you made an excellent job. It's very polished, so congrats. I hope you find success with it.

Just one suggestion: in the first level I tried several times to move the tiles with screws. If you see that this is a common behaviour in other players maybe you can introduce a small visual feedback each time you touch on an tile with screws. For example, a small movement indicating that the tile won´t move.

By the way, I see there are in app purchases and you used cocoon. Can you please recommend me a tutorial? Do you need the cranberry plugins? Thank you!

I am now playing it and I just can say you made an excellent job. It's very polished, so congrats. I hope you find success with it.

Thank you, I'm really glad you like it. Judging by the game's competition in this laser puzzle segment of Google Play I'm fairly confident it could get at least moderate success but first I have to get it in the top of a couple of searches and there's no guarantee I can achieve that. Time will tell.

You are not the first to tell me about the bolted plates so I think it's time to address the issue. In the next update I'll probably try your suggestion and also add a sound and change the model for the empty bolted plates (sort of draw an X on them). Thanks for pointing it out.

I didn't have to use Cranberry plugins. I used the Cocoon IAP, ads, native share and Facebook plugins but those aren't a walk in the park either. They tend to work in very specific ways, unlike the native ones made by Scirra. You can get the plugins here https://github.com/CocoonIO/cocoon-plugins-c2. I don't remember finding tutorials for In App Purchases but the plugins come with Construct 2 capx examples. It's not as good but you can sort of copy their code and change the variables to suit your products. The IAP system is a bit of a head-ache at first but mostly because it's slow to test.

What you need to know is that in order to test the product you must first upload the apk on Google Play (preferably as an alpha) and then add your account to the testers list so you can test buy-your products. It's also recommended to have a Restore Purchases button so that buyers who uninstall the game and later re-install it can re-activate their already-purchased products. This is only for non-consumable products, like removing ads or unlocking content. I tried to make the whole process automatic but it was kind of impossible with the Cocoon plugins so I recommend using a good ole' button. Besides, I think Apple requires one.

Also, I used Canvas as a web engine. Canvas makes you app significantly smaller than Webview and achieves higher frame-rates but has some limitations. For instance, you must not have normal text objects in your Construct project (use Sprite Font instead) or the frame-rate will drop badly.

EDIT: If you want to try Cocoon and it's plugins I recommend starting with this tutorial

. There's not a lot of them for Construct 2 games compiled with Cocoon unfortunately so every bit helps.

> I am now playing it and I just can say you made an excellent job. It's very polished, so congrats. I hope you find success with it.

>

Thank you, I'm really glad you like it. Judging by the game's competition in this laser puzzle segment of Google Play I'm fairly confident it could get at least moderate success but first I have to get it in the top of a couple of searches and there's no guarantee I can achieve that. Time will tell.

You are not the first to tell me about the bolted plates so I think it's time to address the issue. In the next update I'll probably try your suggestion and also add a sound and change the model for the empty bolted plates (sort of draw an X on them). Thanks for pointing it out.

I didn't have to use Cranberry plugins. I used the Cocoon IAP, ads, native share and Facebook plugins but those aren't a walk in the park either. They tend to work in very specific ways, unlike the native ones made by Scirra. You can get the plugins here https://github.com/CocoonIO/cocoon-plugins-c2. I don't remember finding tutorials for In App Purchases but the plugins come with Construct 2 capx examples. It's not as good but you can sort of copy their code and change the variables to suit your products. The IAP system is a bit of a head-ache at first but mostly because it's slow to test.

What you need to know is that in order to test the product you must first upload the apk on Google Play (preferably as an alpha) and then add your account to the testers list so you can test buy-your products. It's also recommended to have a Restore Purchases button so that buyers who uninstall the game and later re-install it can re-activate their already-purchased products. This is only for non-consumable products, like removing ads or unlocking content. I tried to make the whole process automatic but it was kind of impossible with the Cocoon plugins so I recommend using a good ole' button. Besides, I think Apple requires one.

Also, I used Canvas as a web engine. Canvas makes you app significantly smaller than Webview and achieves higher frame-rates but has some limitations. For instance, you must not have normal text objects in your Construct project (use Sprite Font instead) or the frame-rate will drop badly.

EDIT: If you want to try Cocoon and it's plugins I recommend starting with this tutorial

Subscribe to Construct videos now

. There's not a lot of them for Construct 2 games compiled with Cocoon unfortunately so every bit helps.

Thank you very much for all the information, RageByte. I will take a look to this tutorial and try again with IAP. I am totally blocked because of this.

Good luck with your game!