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TroyHepfner
January 9th, 2008, 03:49 PM
Now that the web site migration is complete and our new forums are on-line, I can turn my attention to my annual blog entry where I take a quick look at our milestones and accomplishments from the past year and reveal our plans for the coming year.



In 2007, we finished our Mac port of Dirk Dashing and released the long-awaited Deluxe version of Fashion Cents for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Our decision to support the Mac turned out to be a very good move for us - over 65% of our sales this past year were for the Mac versions of our games. Fashion Cents Deluxe was nominated for the Player's Choice award on Game Tunnel's annual Game of the Year awards. And on a personal note, I wrote a series of articles about Linux game development that were published on GameDev.net (http://www.gamedev.net/reference/list.asp?categoryid=57#245), which have been well-received.



For 2008, we will be working on a brand new game. We're all eager to work on something new, and we're very excited about the project we have chosen. The decision of which game to make next was a challenging one. Victoria and I have ideas for about a dozen different games, but not enough time to make them all. Before Christmas, we had narrowed it down to three possibilities, and last week I made the official decision. I'll post additional details about our upcoming game in this blog as the project is developed, including the usual screenshots and sneak peeks, so stay tuned!



In the meantime, we will eventually need beta testers for this game. The beta testers that we select for our beta test programs are individuals who demonstrate continued commitment and enthusiasm about My Game Company over an extended period of time by


buying our games

participating in our forums

actively promoting our games to their friends and helping generate sales

leaving positive reviews of our games on various game web sites

frequently writing to encourage us

providing feedback and suggestions for improving our games

helping us identify and fix bugs that they find

offering to help us in various ways that directly contribute to our success

We generally chose people with whom we have developed a friendship and trust, and who we know will actively provide feedback to us during the beta program. In return, our beta testers get a free copy of the game and their names listed in the game credits.



If you would like to be invited to participate in our beta test programs, then let us know of your desire to be a beta tester by not only writing to tell us but also by picking some things on the list above and doing them. Perhaps we will select you for the beta test program on our next game!

jadeyes41
January 14th, 2008, 06:06 PM
To be part of that process seems very interesting, I'm a graphic designer and I love games. Believe me I've played a lot of games and I have bought a lot of them too. But Fashion Cents it's different because it let me relax from my work!! I come home and always play for a while because of the relaxation it brings to me.

Again thank you for making this game and I'm very excited waiting for the new one!

TroyHepfner
January 14th, 2008, 06:30 PM
Glad you are enjoying the game! That's what we like to hear!

The beta test process is interesting, but of course it is different for me as the developer. We had about 20 beta testers for Fashion Cents Deluxe, and while I think they enjoyed getting an early release of the game, they also had to put up with some initial install issues, software bugs, last-minute design changes, and such. And when they did encounter problems, I had them try to recreate the problem, document the steps for us, collect log files, do screen grabs, and gather other info to help us find and fix the bugs. Most of the beta testers we selected were very understanding and patient, and they were eager to work with us to solve the problems. That made it a very enjoyable process for me.

jadeyes41
January 14th, 2008, 06:42 PM
Hi!!

That's the interesting part, being there from the beginning and knowing and being part of all the processes involved. All the difficulties and issues that have to be resolved before releasing a product. All the long hours dedicated designing to achieve a specific purpose!! That's one way in which people can understand why they should buy the game instead of trying to obtain it any other way!

Keep doing the good work and the GOOD games coming!!

Warm regards,

Judith