I've Released My First iOS Game, Balance Birds

Published February 22, 2015

This article was published a really long time ago.

Its value then was likely questionable. Its value now is certainly pure nostalgia.

Earlier this month I released my first ever game on iOS, it's called Balance Birds and the title pretty much gives it away.

Balance Birds presents you with a platform, attached to it is a few sticks of TNT and a level, like what a builder would use. When you tap the screen, a bird is dropped. The bird can be a normal bird, or one of two obstacle birds - a bomb bird that explodes after a few moments, possibly destroying all your hard work; and an anvil bird, that is a lot heavier than other birds and requires more skill to keep in play.

Balance Birds iOS Game Gameplay Screenshot

The aim of the game is to get enough points to proceed to the next level, earning points is accomplished by balancing the birds on the platform for as long as possible. If the platform tips over, the bubble in the level hits the end and explodes the TNT, the game is over. If you didn't drop enough birds and keep them balanced long enough to earn enough points to pass the level, the game is over.

How to win points in Balance Birds

Development

The game is a native iOS app written in Objective-C using Apple's SpriteKit framework. I worked on all areas of the game by myself, including the game design, the programming and the artwork. The only things I outsourced were the icons used in the menus and the game sounds.

Balance Birds Obstacles and Bonuses

Design & Artwork

I came up with the idea for the game when making a balance platform for another game idea I had. When I was testing the platform, I found myself trying to keep it balanced as long as I could without it tipping over. I got majorly side tracked and ended up making a game out of this and never went back to the game I was initially going to make.

Another Balance Birds Gameplay Screenshot

Marketing

Unfortunately I don't really have a marketing budget for the game. For now I am doing the basics like a website, a Facebook page and Twitter. Twitter was a pretty unnatural option for me given that I've never really been a big user (with the exception of maybe 6 months when Twitter was pretty new), but it has lead to some interesting conversations with other indi game devs.

The website is attackopotamus.com/games/balancebirds (Attackopotamus is just a name I came up with and liked for releasing games under)

Somebody out there made a gameplay video and uploaded it to YouTube, which was really cool, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIS5YsStqbM.

Balance Birds

If you're interested in playing the game it's on the App Store. I've released a small point release currently waiting for review and am working on a major release for 2.0 with new levels, obstacles and a new character and hints for new players.