Airport Mania > Limited Release

[cyrus_zuo]

Some of you may know that my pet project at Reflexive over the last year has been working on a game. Notably the game is casual, that is to say I wanted it to be a game that anyone could play. As well I wanted it to be a game that made people smile, which I only mention because I think the light-hearted nature might offend some people's sensibilities (and I really don't know why or how that happens...but anyway...)

The game was just released a few minutes ago at its website www.airportmania.com and is set to go up on Reflexive.com (and affiliates) on Monday.

If you have a minute I hope you'll take a look as I'm quite proud of the results and had to share. The programmer (an IndieGamer himself) did an awesome job of bringing my design to life.

Download:
http://arcade.reflexive.com/downloadgame.aspx?AID=1079&CID=24101

Little Screen:
http://www.airportmania.com/images/screen_08.png

Full Screenshots:
http://www.reflexive.com/images/Skin_RA_Flex/Blogs/blog_images/airport_mania_03.jpg
http://www.reflexive.com/images/Skin_RA_Flex/Blogs/blog_images/airport_mania_09.jpg
http://www.airportmania.com/images/screen_04.jpg

[Jack Norton]

I've been looking for this one, downloading it now :)

[GolfHacker]

Looks great! This looks like something my customer base (kids) would be interested in. Do you have an affiliate program through Plimus for this?

[Desktop Gaming]

Aeroplanes with eyes is always a winner. :D

[cyrus_zuo]

:) Thanks for the kind words :)

No affiliate through Plimus, but since it is a Reflexive game, you can get it through the Reflexive affiliate program starting Monday.

[alfie]

Who was the programmer? Was it the talented James C. Smith?

[Escapee]

This game is fun and great for family. The click mechanism is unique in it own way. ( can't feel any same old diner dash with this game which is great) I think it has huge potential to score very big. Congrats.

[cyrus_zuo]

It's funny how many click-management/diner dash styled games have been released since we started work on this game. Beginning last July, there was about 1 a week, it distressed me a bit, but not too much as I really felt we were going for bluer skies with a different approach in the game play.

As to the programmer, it wasn't the very talented James (who is working on his own click-management game as fate would have it, due out in a couple of months), but Juan Pablo (Pogacha (http://forums.indiegamer.com/member.php?u=928)) of Dylo's Adventure fame :).

[Julio Gorge]

Mac version is out, too! :)

http://www.reflexive.com

I've been responsible for the OS X code and it's been a pleasure to work with Juan Pablo (Pogacha) again. I also think the game has potential to become a hit :cool:

Cheers

[Sharpfish]

Mate it looks really cool, I really wouldn't give a shit about what other developers think re: casual vs core game development. It's completely up to you and it's you who has to put bread on the table.

Everyone is different and most devs are not really so polarized to an "either/or ethic" (there are some but they have their own reasons) on development.

Casual games and core games can learn a lot from each other and that should be the common goal, accessible, easy but deep/fun games with new ideas. It's tricky though developing those, easier to just go full casual or stay 'core' as in games we grew up playing but it's not really a challenge that way!

[ionside]

This is a fun and addictive game Russell, I love it :D

[Maupin]

I've never bought a time management game yet, but I might have to in this case. Good work!

The game is simple, yet very polished with subtle animations and effects (thinking especially of the background scenery). The boy and girl plane sound effects (humming, etc.) are fantastic.

[TeeGee]

Even though the mechanics is a typical click managment (and very solid at that), the game's adorable look and theme made me really enjoy this.

I'm totally sick of all the "you are a young, successful woman and you run your bar/hotel/spa/fashion store" scheme and Airport Mania really felt refreshing. Good work.

[cyrus_zuo]

Thanks all, it's great to hear people enjoying it...that was really the goal, and it's cool to have people giving it a fair look.

The full game went up on Reflexive on Monday and the Mac version got spotlighted on Apple.com. I'm very excited :).

[Greg Squire]

Congrats Russ! The game is awesome! It's certainly a refreshing take on the whole click management genere. I love the theme and the graphics. Happy, cartoony, and fun; right up my alley. :D I hope it does well for you.

It looks like the word is getting out as well. I purposely hadn't told my kids about it yet to see how long it took them to find out about it and download it. Didn't take them long, as they were playing it this morning. Now I just need to get my game done! ;)

[pardoman]

This is an awesome looking game! Music is really enjoyable throughout the levels. The tutorial is very well done, explains everything clearly (loved the hints).

As someone said up there, airplanes with eyes is a WIN/WIN :D

I just love this game :)

[HDL]

Sorry for the bump but I just finally got around to playing Airport Mania. It's been my addiction for the last 2 weeks since it hit Shockwave. I never downloaded it when I first saw the thread here since the screenshot just didn't appeal to me. Whilst I did enjoy click management games I'm beginning to get a bit fed up of them all being very similar.

So my first attitude was "oh no not another click management game" which is why this one was a genuine surprise when I actually played it. It's not just another click management game. I didn't expect to like it. I was bored though, I'd finished the other games released that week and I wanted something else to play so I just downloaded it spur of the moment. It was a genuine surprise to discover that I thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that I've been playing it on and off for the last few weeks, a level here, a level there.

It really is a game to make you smile with the happy music, cartoony planes with smiling faces and the cheerful humming sounds they make every so often. The difficulty level was great, some levels were tough but after a few replays it was possible to get expert scores on them all. I liked that I didn't feel penalised for not doing the best which sometimes I do. I'm glad you never tried to stuff in a plot. It was lots of fun. I liked the rewards for ensuring all the planes were happy, or the gates were x4 and keeping the boat on the screen and those sort of things. They were all neat little touches that made the game more fun.

It was a lovely game and it's always nice to have something that actually lasts for more than a few hours. Several weeks out of a game, where all the levels feel different (as opposed to in Diner Dash when it gets to a point all you do is stand at the podium for a few hours then seat everyone) is great.

[Grey Alien]

Congrats! Been meaning to try this for a while. It's doing well on BFG now too, in the top 10!

Question is will you review it on Game Tunnel? haha ;-)

[MrBear]

I've played this game before... Its great! Everybody seems to like it, kids, women and men. Good job!

[cyrus_zuo]

Question is will you review it on Game Tunnel? haha ;-)

;)
Not in the cards, though I did a self-interview on GT...

It's really good to hear how many people have been enjoying the game...and that people are smiling as they play it. That was really my hope, and I've been really happy that people are digging it!

AM:FF has made several top 10 lists and I'm excited to see that as well. I aimed to make something that was familiar, but different than the other click-management games available, and it seems like a lot of people agreed. It was great to work on the game with a team of very talented folks who made my happy happy joy joy vision a reality. :)

[Grey Alien]

Not in the cardsAs an aside, in England we say "not ON the cards". "IN the cards" sounds weird to me but I gather it's normal in America, just one of those little differences...Originally the intro sequence for Fairway had the announcer saying "is it IN the cards?" at the end but I got them to cut it out ;-p

[SteveZ]

;)
It's really good to hear how many people have been enjoying the game...and that people are smiling as they play it. That was really my hope, and I've been really happy that people are digging it!


Count me in as one of those people. Finally got a chance to play it and from observing the game as a whole to noting the smaller details, I can tell much passion went into it. What you have done with airplanes is, to a certain degree, analogous to what Pixar has done with cars. Congrats!

-Steve Z.

[wazoo]

Great job Russell! I liked it as well.

Judging by how quickly my kids elbowed me to let them try it, they liked it too. :)

[GolfHacker]

Sorry for bumping the thread. Just wanted to say that I finally got around to trying this game, and I like it. And I normally hate time-management games. But this one is cute and simple and really fun. Great job!

[cyrus_zuo]

:D
It's been great to continue to hear positive remarks about it. I'm really glad people for the most part have enjoyed it :).