u/darzui

https://www.tiktok.com/@scundered.studio/video/7658096672714542358?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7649385618669159958

I started using TikTok for the first time a couple of days ago, and submitted a series of videos for my new Android party game, Mortified.

The link to the video above has 1010 views, which I honestly didn't see coming. There are a few others that have over 900 views.

I've been playing with schedule timings, and release cadence of the videos, to try and find what works best. I spammed about 4 videos when I started, to catch up with what I'd posted on YouTube shorts, but the last 2 from those 4 have less than 10 views each. I'm assuming there's some algorithm.

From what I can tell, I can get away with 3 posts per day - 8am, 6pm, 11pm. I'm going to keep experimenting to see if I can get away with 4 a day.

Does anyone have any tips on this? Or know what the algorithm is so I'm not wasting time?

Any honest feedback would also be good on the videos. I'm very new to this, but I'm enjoying the creation process and experimentation!

I only posted about Mortified 4 days ago on here, so I appreciate that this might be verging on spamming - but there are a few updates that I think some people will find useful.

The big news is that I decided to create Mortified Lite, a completely free version that allows you to try before you buy. It has all of the same features, and comes with 2 of the theme packs for free - that's 126 scenarios, so plenty for a few games to make sure you and your group enjoys it before committing to buying the full version (currently 22 theme packs and over 1100 scenarios).

A big blocker for some people was ensuring that it would work on their network, or at the pub. Other people didn't want to reach out to me for a free code, so didn't get the chance to play it. So now you can give it a go before parting with your money if you want the full game.

You can get Mortified Lite for free on the Google Play Store.

It also means that I don't have to keep up with the requests for free promo codes :)

The other big update is off the back of a comment from u/jigglituff. They asked could they play the game on Discord - and the honest answer was no. So I've built a Scenario Shuffle feature that makes browsing the scenarios fun by allowing you to enter a list of your mates and the app will put there names in to random scenarios. It's another way to play the game without having to get people connected over wifi. You can screen share, or share individual scenarios quickly from the app to whatsapp, discord etc.
It's a half-way house without me needing to run servers etc - something I want to avoid for now.
Hopefully this feature suits the needs of some that aren't currently in the country, don't like to go outside, or want to play with imaginary friends.

I wanted to round off by saying a massive THANK YOU to everyone that got in touch via comment or DM. All of your feedback has been fantastic, and I've taken it all on board.

I won't post about Mortified for a while because you're probably fed up seeing it. But I will drop a quick post in if/when I get an iOS version because alot of you were interested!

If you want to follow along with the progress and updates on the apps, I'm posting regularly over at r/Mortified. Maybe we can carry the conversations on over there.

Thanks again everyone,

I hope you enjoy the game, and as ever I'm very open to feedback.

Darren - a humbled solo dev

Last week I posted about launching Mortified, the in-the-room party game from my midlife crisis company, Scundered Studio, and the response here was lovely. I handed out about a dozen promo codes and got some great feedback. I took a lot of that on board and made a ton of changes.

The top comment last time was "Good idea, but nobody on Reddit has any friends", so in your honour I built a Casual mode that allows two or more people to play - hopefully you can find one other person to play with! (Or be really sad and add another phone to the party and play yourself) It's more relaxed with no voting or scoring, just the scenarios going back and forth, and gets the instant laughs rather than the party-style game. The Scored voting game still needs three or more, but the floor is two now.

I haven't heard a bad word said about the game yet - everyone that has played has really enjoyed it - it's just hard to get in front of people. I added a fun sharing mode that allows you to share your funniest answers and overall game scores.

There's a bunch of other upgrades from feedback like an accessible font option, in-app patch notes, better history, and a pile of reconnection and polish fixes.

Last week it climbed to #2 in the Play Store's top paid casual games, which I didn't see coming. So thank you to everyone that made that happen! It has lost a bit of momentum in way of sales, so it has slid back down again.

I've also set up r/Mortified, where I post the announcements and the more detailed behind-the-scenes stuff, so give it a follow if you want to see what's coming next.

I'm still happy to send a free code to anyone who missed it, so DM away. It might give you something to do tonight if the weather doesn't clear up!

If you do play, I'd love to hear how it went, or a review if you're feeling generous.

Thanks again!

Game Title: Mortified.

Playable Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.scunderedstudio.mortified

Platform: Mobile - Android

Description: 
Mortified is an "in the room" party game where one person buys the app, and everyone else can join with a QR code. It's all local network, no data collected, no accounts, no subscriptions and no in-app purchases - simple and fair I think!

Once everyone is in, a round consists of a scenario being shown with one of the players in it. For example, "The message Hannah sent to the family WhatsApp that was meant for the work one.".

There's over 500 scenarios, none too rude, so it can be played with family, co-workers, or close friends.

The fun, and how far you want to take it, is completely up to the people you're playing with. Everyone answers anonymously, then we vote the best. Only then is it revealed who said what. It keeps scores, but nobody is really keeping track.

Free to Play Status: Key available (DM me)

Involvement: Solo Dev

If you're looking for a party game this weekend, drop me a DM and I'll happily send you a Google play store promo code to get the game for free - although supply is limited right now! I'd really appreciate some feedback in return, and hopefully a nice review if you enjoyed it!

I've been a software engineer for over 20 years, with the last 15 or so being in insurance. I hit 40 a few months ago, had a mid-life crisis and set up my own company, Scundered Studio, to work on some fun side projects to take me back to my roots and bring some enjoyment back to coding.

After several months of dev and play testing with friends and coworkers I've launched my first app on Google Play Store - Mortified

It's an "in the room" party game where one person buys the app, and everyone else can join with a QR code. It's all local network, no data collected, no accounts, no subscriptions and no in-app purchases - simple and fair I think!

Once everyone is in, a round consists of a scenario being shown with one of the players in it. For example, "The message Hannah sent to the family WhatsApp that was meant for the work one.".

There's over 500 scenarios, none too rude, so it can be played with family, co-workers, or close friends.

The fun, and how far you want to take the fun, is completely up to the people you're playing with. Everyone answers anonymously, then we vote the best. Only then is it revealed who said what. It keeps scores, but nobody is really keeping track.

Every time I've played has been a completely different experience. It's always been hilarious when at the pub with friends or just with my wife and kids at home.

If you're looking for a party game this weekend, drop me a DM and I'll happily send you a Google play store promo code to get the game for free. I'd really appreciate some feedback in return, and hopefully a nice review if you enjoyed it!