Hello, I'm making(non match 3) matching game. I can't find a theme for my game (undersea, atlantis?,ancient civilization,etc). I'm wondering is an overarching story or theme nessasary? Do these convey a sense of value to the customer and/or portal? My game is centered around: clicking -making connection w/ adjacent pieces getting board changing powerups scoring within time limits new levels bring new pieces pieces with limited personality(like chuzzle maybe less)
you can always just make it vanilla (like Super Collapse, Tetris, Bejeweled) but most games nowadays have some type of theme
You don't need elaborate themes...good gameplay will overcome the need for great graphics. My favorite match-3 game of the year was Xmas bonus: http://greyaliengames.com/ and, while it did have a xmas theme, it didn't have the standard move-along-the-map progression or spectacular graphics.
wow Smiles, I can't believe you said that! thanks actually my game was pretty popular but I'm sure it would have made more sales with better graphics and some kinda fake plot/map thing with "goodies" you get every few levels, as that's what people expect now. I just concentrated on good gameplay and the comments I get back seem to reflect this.