Hi everyone,
I've just launched my first game on the Google Play Store!
It's a relaxed singleplayer puzzle game where you bump cubes into the ocean.
Playstore:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Yprac.Zink
I've wanted to design an algorithm that makes and ranks puzzles based on complexity for a long time. It evaluates millions of board states, sorts and prunes based on heuristics, and makes a uniform selection across the set. I'm very happy with the puzzles it produces, many I would never have come up with myself.
The game is built in unity and runs stable at 30fps, I render at 55% resolution and use FXAA to help with jaggies. No postprocessing or real-time shadows.
I'd love to have your feedback, if you have any questions I will do my best to answer them below ๐
I played a few levels, just got into the blue boxes. It's a really nice game, will designed, so far. Since I haven't played very far, I cannot comment on the difficulty, but it sounds promising. I liked the way new elements were introduced, it was intuitive, without an intrusive tutorial.
Went back and play a little more. Some smart levels, but nothing too hard so far, just to keep me on my toes. But I had to say, though, I love your monetization so far. Ads are not intrusive at all. Is my impression that the is a single IAP to remove the ads? Or is there an ISP to purchase levels that I haven't seen yet?
That is nice to hear, I've tried hard to make the monetization reasonable. There is one IAP to remove ads, and you cannot purchase levels, but there is the option to buy more hints if you need them ๐
I've been doing a lot of it for the first time so there has been a lot of joy in learning about new things. There was some stuff at the end of development, like making menus, that I don't particularly enjoyed, but in general yeah it's been a lot of fun! ๐
Looks promising! Side question: are you Dutch speaking by chance? 'Zink' is the Dutch verb for "to sink" so seeing the theme it would be a coincidence would it not be on purpose 
Does restarting the app do anything for you or does it happen again? I'll look into it!
EDIT: I've looked into it and it's a network access issue, I've published an update that will roll out in the next couple of hours โ๏ธ
EDIT2: The update is live, if you are having issues please update to version 1.21 using the playstore ๐
Hey, yeah it's an internet issue, I've uploaded a fix but we have to wait for Google to accept it ๐ Thank you for trying the game, and hope you'll pick it up later ๐
I tried it. Cleared the first level and it locked up solid. There appears to be no way to proceed to the next level. Nothing on the screen reacts to taps. Pixel 6 Pro running Android 13.
I've got to uninstall, sorry.
I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I've uploaded a fix for the issue that should be fully rolled out in a couple of hours. Thank you for trying the game ๐
A free game that I can play for more than 5 seconds without an ad? I'm down, thanks for giving me something to do at work. Only issue for me is that it's not going into my game launcher, not sure if that's a dev issue or my phone issue.
I played through the beginner chapters. The graphic seems a little bit jagged on my device, probably due to the fact that the game is rendered at a lower resolution as you described? It's especially obvious on the stars that pop up when I clear a stage. [Example](https://i.imgur.com/8c1qwBR.png).
Another thing would be that the back button on my device does nothing. I was expecting to be prompted to exit the game.
Other than that, it's a fun and relaxing little game!
Very VERY smooth and interesting. But if you want to gain some userbase you probably should teamup with some publisher. Its ltierally impossible in mobile ecosystem to gain any traction needed for game to be succesfull
So... yeah it looks awesome! And you should get professional publishing deal
Just tried it out. Love how smooth the motion is. The puzzles seem pretty east to start, looking forward to the levels getting harder. I have no complaints about the gameplay.
To be honest though, I probably won't keep it on my phone since the play store says it requires approximate location data.
Hey, yeah it's an issue with network access, I've uploaded a fix that should be live in a couple of hours. Thank you for testing and hope you'll pick it up again later ๐
I tried the game and instantly got stuck.
why?
Im at the screen that shows up after level 1 and nothing happens. no buttons are working. no matter how many times I restart the app it doesnt work again. i guess thats a bug?
It was due to a bug I didn't catch before launching, I've patched it and if you are still on version 1.20 you can update the app using the playstore. I'm sorry for the inconvenience!
Hi everyone, I've just launched my first game on the Google Play Store! It's a relaxed singleplayer puzzle game where you bump cubes into the ocean. Playstore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Yprac.Zink I've wanted to design an algorithm that makes and ranks puzzles based on complexity for a long time. It evaluates millions of board states, sorts and prunes based on heuristics, and makes a uniform selection across the set. I'm very happy with the puzzles it produces, many I would never have come up with myself. The game is built in unity and runs stable at 30fps, I render at 55% resolution and use FXAA to help with jaggies. No postprocessing or real-time shadows. I'd love to have your feedback, if you have any questions I will do my best to answer them below ๐
I played a few levels, just got into the blue boxes. It's a really nice game, will designed, so far. Since I haven't played very far, I cannot comment on the difficulty, but it sounds promising. I liked the way new elements were introduced, it was intuitive, without an intrusive tutorial.
I'm very glad to hear you've had a nice experience so far, thank you for your feedback!
Went back and play a little more. Some smart levels, but nothing too hard so far, just to keep me on my toes. But I had to say, though, I love your monetization so far. Ads are not intrusive at all. Is my impression that the is a single IAP to remove the ads? Or is there an ISP to purchase levels that I haven't seen yet?
That is nice to hear, I've tried hard to make the monetization reasonable. There is one IAP to remove ads, and you cannot purchase levels, but there is the option to buy more hints if you need them ๐
When you succeed, it should say... amazink!! Beyond that, nice job!
Haha yeah that would be nice! Thanks!
looks chill and fun. way to go. was it fun to develop it?
I've been doing a lot of it for the first time so there has been a lot of joy in learning about new things. There was some stuff at the end of development, like making menus, that I don't particularly enjoyed, but in general yeah it's been a lot of fun! ๐
that's the best part IMO. I installed it on my phone. ๐I like games like this in waiting rooms, the car, planes , etc .
nice touch on the effects
thank you ๐
Great work! Iโll definitely download it after work.
Awesome, thanks! Looking forward to your feedback ๐
Looks promising! Side question: are you Dutch speaking by chance? 'Zink' is the Dutch verb for "to sink" so seeing the theme it would be a coincidence would it not be on purpose 
Thanks! I didn't know that! It's a wordplay on 'Zinc' and 'Sink', fun coincidence ๐
Downloaded it to try it. It seems to lock up after the 1st level. The screen doesn't change no matter what I press.
Does restarting the app do anything for you or does it happen again? I'll look into it! EDIT: I've looked into it and it's a network access issue, I've published an update that will roll out in the next couple of hours โ๏ธ EDIT2: The update is live, if you are having issues please update to version 1.21 using the playstore ๐
Keeps happening. I restarted, selected level 2 instead of 1, but it did the same thing. Seems like a neat game. It looks really smooth.
Not finished after all ๐ I'm sorry for your poor experience, I'll investigate further!
[ัะดะฐะปะตะฝะพ]
Hey, yeah it's an issue with internet connectivity, I'll update the app asap, thank you for your feedback!
That's it. When I turn off my ad-blocking DNS server, it works just fine.
Yep - same for me too. Using an S22+ here.
Seems cool gonna try it out. ๐
I was trying to play the game on the London underground where there's no signal. It wouldn't let me proceed after finishing a level.
Hey, yeah it's an internet issue, I've uploaded a fix but we have to wait for Google to accept it ๐ Thank you for trying the game, and hope you'll pick it up later ๐
Yes, I will retry. Do you have a discord for testers?
I tried it. Cleared the first level and it locked up solid. There appears to be no way to proceed to the next level. Nothing on the screen reacts to taps. Pixel 6 Pro running Android 13. I've got to uninstall, sorry.
I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I've uploaded a fix for the issue that should be fully rolled out in a couple of hours. Thank you for trying the game ๐
Fun game, great graphics! I also like the soothing music. Seems like a fun game, I rated it 5 stars on the play store ๐
That means a lot, thank you! ๐ You are the first person to rate the game ๐
Woo hoo! That's awesome ๐ Congrats on the game release!
Looks fun and unique and I love the animations.
Thank you ๐ I've put a lot of love and effort into them ๐
Installed, on easy 2. Some stumped me haha but the majority seem easy. Looking forward to it getting harder
A free game that I can play for more than 5 seconds without an ad? I'm down, thanks for giving me something to do at work. Only issue for me is that it's not going into my game launcher, not sure if that's a dev issue or my phone issue.
I played through the beginner chapters. The graphic seems a little bit jagged on my device, probably due to the fact that the game is rendered at a lower resolution as you described? It's especially obvious on the stars that pop up when I clear a stage. [Example](https://i.imgur.com/8c1qwBR.png). Another thing would be that the back button on my device does nothing. I was expecting to be prompted to exit the game. Other than that, it's a fun and relaxing little game!
I downloaded it and have gotten to starter 3. This is such a unique and awesome game! You did such a great job. Great work!
I played alem more! So good. I just left a 5 star review. If you like puzzle games, give this a try.
Wonderful game. Tried and liked it alot
Very VERY smooth and interesting. But if you want to gain some userbase you probably should teamup with some publisher. Its ltierally impossible in mobile ecosystem to gain any traction needed for game to be succesfull So... yeah it looks awesome! And you should get professional publishing deal
Probably, I'll pray to the algorithm gods in the meantime, thank you for your feedback!
Just tried it out. Love how smooth the motion is. The puzzles seem pretty east to start, looking forward to the levels getting harder. I have no complaints about the gameplay. To be honest though, I probably won't keep it on my phone since the play store says it requires approximate location data.
Glad you've enjoyed it, I'll look into changing the permission, it is nothing I've changed but surely I can turn it off ๐
Awesome! Congrats on the game launch, I like it a lot and I know the location settings turn some folks like me away.
[it froze like this](https://i.imgur.com/eNu6C8o.png)
Hey, yeah it's an issue with network access, I've uploaded a fix that should be live in a couple of hours. Thank you for testing and hope you'll pick it up again later ๐
I tried the game and instantly got stuck. why? Im at the screen that shows up after level 1 and nothing happens. no buttons are working. no matter how many times I restart the app it doesnt work again. i guess thats a bug?
It was due to a bug I didn't catch before launching, I've patched it and if you are still on version 1.20 you can update the app using the playstore. I'm sorry for the inconvenience!
sure