u/nvrcr

Is anyone running the latest Capcut 8.9.1 on MacOS 27 (Golden Gate) beta 3 (release around last week)?

It was running fine on beta 1 for me. I recently upgraded and am now getting a crash.

Log is here: https://gist.github.com/arcoraven/1a7aca6a5574c3305626bfc24ca8d894

Any advice?

Hey fellow devs,

I'm about launching a mobile, casual word game called EVERYTHING MUST WORD (Android, iOS soon once Xcode behaves). It's basically solo Scrabble with leaderboards: build words, score points, restock tiles, upgrade word score bonuses. Un-intrusive ads w/$2 IAP to remove.

I'm a full-time solo dev marketing my first game, and I want to be intentional about where to spend my limited time. I'm aware mobile games are dominated by studios with big marketing budgets, so I'm treating this launch as learning to set me up for future Steam/mobile games.🤞

What I've done (sometimes various iterations):

• App store screenshots
• App store trailer (visuals are stale but the gameplay is clear)
• App store copy
• Studio website w/ SEO-optimized keywords

What I plan to spend time on:

• Post on a few key subreddits (will try not to be too flagrant with the self promoting)
• Post every 2 days on Twitter, IG, Tiktok (15s gameplay videos, simple hooks); my socials currently have minimal followers since I haven't posted pre-launch
• Preparing a minimal build to publish on CrazyGames as an upsell channel
• Ads: I may do a quick experiment but probably nothing extensive unless I can measure ROI
• Creators: I'll research content creators that play mobile or word games to see if there's any interest
• (And double down if any of the above show promise)

Some questions that would help me on my journey:

1. Any other obvious high-impact approaches I'm missing? Or areas to de-prioritize?
2. What types of social hooks work for you? I personally enjoy "how it was made" shorts, but I think that doesn't land with the general mobile gaming audience.
3. Any thoughts on CrazyGames/Poki as a "demo" platform to upsell to mobile?

Thanks, and I'd be happy to share what ends up working for me (if anything!).

My game allows players to pick a color palette, something like: LIGHT_MODE (default), DARK_MODE, RETRO.

Some elements in my game are spawned via code, so I can programmatically set colors on creation. But most elements like UI are created in the Editor and I explicitly created them with the default colors. I could script ALL my UI elements to update via code but I'd really prefer to avoid that since it's much easier to visualize in the editor.

Is there a best practice for setting semantic colors to my UI elements so when the player switches theme, all UI elements recolor accordingly? For example, I'd like to define colors for FOREGROUND_TEXT, BACKGROUND, PRIMARY, SECONDARY for each theme.

For webdevs, I'm looking for something analogous to CSS design tokens (e.g. setting a button to an "accent" color which differs per theme).

Sorry if this has been asked, didn't see a relevant thread in search. Thanks in advance.

I'm building a mobile word game (think single-player Scrabble): draft tiles, build a high-scoring word. (Not promoting since it's not out yet)

If the player drafts poorly, it's possible for them to get in a state where they can't see a valid word. I'm looking for solutions for this state.

The tricky part is vocabulary. In most puzzle games (chess, sudoku) every player has the same solution space. In a word game, the solution space is limited by the player's vocabulary.

Here are the options I'm considering:

Option 1: Always force a valid word

The game always gives the player letters that allow at least one valid word.

• Pros: Keeps uninterrupted flow state and avoids frustration.
• Cons: Assumes vocabulary. Reduces strategy and player agency, because the game is always gives them an "out".

Option 2: Hint at valid words

The game gives hints like highlighting tiles that can form a word or showing how many words are available. If no valid word exists, the level ends.

• Pros: Saves time if there's no valid words and still leaves discovery to the player.
• Cons: Still assumes vocabulary. It would be frustrating if the hinted word is one they don't know.

Option 3: Allow redraw bad tiles

Each turn, the player can discard + redraw some tiles with some penalty (lowered tile values that turn, negative modifiers on the board).

• Pros: Gives the player a way to recover from bad drafts or dead ends.
• Cons: Adds another mechanic and extra UX. Personally I think strong players will never use it, and weak players wouldn't want to use it since it hurts their score.

Option 4: Restart if stuck

The player can only restart the level if they're stuck.

• Pros: Simple and clean, with no extra mechanics.
• Cons: Most punishing for players with weaker vocabulary or poor drafting.

Right now I'm leaning toward option 4 with fast restarts. With short levels and seeing the same tiles each run (because of the deterministic seed), I'm hoping restarting feels lightweight enough to feel like "another try" instead of a punishment.

I'd love advice from people who play a lot of word games. What makes failure feel fair, and what makes you want to try again after getting stuck?

Some more context about my game that may be relevant:

• Tiles are currently drafted via machines that dispense the next available tile, and you can see the upcoming tiles. This gives some agency/planning to the player so they can try to avoid getting stuck.
• Draft options always provide vowels and consonants, as well as "fancy" tiles like letter pairs (e.g. TH, ER) and wildcards. If the player drafts no vowels, it's their own fault 😅.
• Draft options are weighted by frequency + some fairness rules. Players should get common ("easy") letters often.
• Levels have a minimum score to pass as well as leaderboards. So there is incentive to maximize your points.
• My ideal target audience is someone who likes puzzles and word games already. I'm not catering to the hypercasual player, though ideally they'd be able to enjoy the game without competing for the leaderboard.

Playable in your browser 👉 https://arcoraven.itch.io/everything-must-word

The premise: You're employed at a wordbuilding factory. Draft tiles, build words, score big points. It's meant to be a casual wordbuilding game where you can compete with friends/leaderboards on each level.

I've played a handful of word games in the past few months (key ones: Scrabble, Wordle, NYT Spelling Bee, Letter Quest, Cursed Words) and built something that took my favorite parts from each. The formula I landed on:

• Spelling Bee's word hunt
• Scrabble's slot bonuses
• Wordle's social competition

All wrapped up into short levels. Each batch of levels introduces a twist that changes what tiles you play or how they're scored. Between turns you're given upgrades to shape how tiles are scored in that level.

Feedback I'd appreciate: Is it fun? Is it intuitive? Which "batch mechanics" do you like/dislike?

The game is still in development. I'm exploring leaderboards and social features to entice players to compete with their friends. Long term I'm aiming to launch it on the iOS/Android (no current plans for web/Steam). My best playtesters were my nephews (5 and 6) who couldn't stop playing it (until they needed help with spelling).

I'm happy to share more about the game or the pivots I took along the way. Thanks for reading!

Hey all,

I play Wordle, Mini Crosswords, and Connections with two close friends semi-regularly. I like that they're short and tickle my brain, but they aren't replayable (expectedly since they're puzzles) and are basically pass/fail.

I'm building a word game for mobile that involves drafting tiles to build high-scoring words. I'm hoping the "chase the highest score" aspect of my game gives my friend group some "back and forth" competition.

I'd like some advice on what people think makes a good daily word game. Or recommendations for new dailies that might be good inspiration.

The current structure is puzzle levels: try to hit score targets and beat your friends' scores. All levels are seeded so anyone (re)playing the same level gets the same options. I'm thinking about adding a daily challenge so players can compete with friends or global leaderboards.

Here's a playable browser link to my game: https://arcoraven.itch.io/everything-must-word

I appreciate your feedback...thanks in advance!