Prototyping tutorial: a sketch of the main idea
basic materials
the elements
work in progress
...almost done
Archive for February 2012
“Hazienda HD” official announcement
Today we agreed, it’s a right time to make an official announcement. Hazienda HD will be published by CubeYourMind.com up to 2 months. The official date of sending game to AppStore approval is 2012, March 15th.
Hazienda HD is iPad adaptation of the famous “Hazienda” by Wolfgang Kramer. Original “Hazienda” is great family strategy game and we believe that thanks to mobile version it will bring fun and enjoyment to many players.
We are going to publish a game for iOS platform. We do believe in the potential of Android, but our professional experiences suggest that if we want to run a business, the promised land is in the domain of iOS devices.
We have also decided to publish Hazienda HD only on iPad. The most important thing to us, is positive experience of mobile boardgaming. In our opinion, in the case of Hazienda, this experience can be guaranteed only on bigger screen, and that is the reason, why we postponed preparations for iPod and iPhone versions. We would like to emphasize, that iPod/iPhone versions are frozen, not abandoned. What we are trying to do, is focusing on the customer and its needs, and to satisfy them with great experience.
Hazienda HD will be published in a series of releases including official “Lite” version. Full version of Hazienda will allow:
- single player mode (with Artificial Inteligence)
- pass and play mode (multiplayer on a single device)
- multiplayer mode (synchronous and asynchronous)
- two basic maps (more to come)
- version for left-handed
- support of Game Center
See you soon 
A Perfect Manual
Our developers are developing Hazienda HD and I’m thinking about user friendly version of the manual.
I know the feeling, when I buy an app and I want to use it NOW. I have no time for such stupid and unimportant things as the manual or rules. C’mon, I want to run my app right now!
And that’s how the story of misuse goes. The customer doesn’t want to go through a manual and probably he will fail with the usage of an app very soon. I know it, because I have the same problem (as I am just ordinary specimen of humankind). If we are going to launch the-best-conversion-of-boardgame-into-iOS-ever, we must have easy to use and easy to understand manual. As we want our app to be language independent, this manual must be based on symbols and icons. And this is a challenge, believe me.
Today I have sketched three main rules, most of them in 2-3 versions. Within the next 3 days I’m going to prepare early sketches of all rules and confront them (sketches, I mean) with real users. These user will be my colleagues, with whom I will be on team-building even in the end of this week. I am very curious how they will find both my conception and its realization. One of my friend who often had played boardgames, found my conception very exciting. But she could be a kind of exception.