Very Angry Robots is Live

Introduction

Over the last couple of weeks I have been working my way down a laundry list of items for Very Angry Robots. The list has been going down at what felt like a glacial pace, largely because work has been rather busy recently, and I was beginning to think that I might not even reach my goal of getting it published on the Android Market by the end of June.

It was only yesterday when I had a bit of spare time, that I realised that the list was actually quite short and that I could get through it that day. Two hours later, and it was done. Very Angry Robots was published on the Android Market. Here’s the blurb from the description…

“Taking its cue from those early 80s arcade classics, Very Angry Robots is a fast paced arena shooter with simple, one finger controls. If you like retro and you have 3 minutes to kill then this is the game for you.”

Download Very Angry Robots (Free)

If you want to get playing then download Very Angry Robots (Free) from the Android Market by clicking this link or by scanning the QR code below.

This is the free version, supported by ads. Ultimately there will be a paid-for version with no ads, but this is really a “stealth” release without any publicity or promotion, so that I can iron out any kinks - technical or otherwise – before charging for it. I also have plans for a few more game modes, so watch this space.

Does it need a tutorial?

The feedback that I’ve had from comments on the Android Market suggests that the controls have a steep learning curve. I know from my own experience, and from watching other people play the game, that the controls are great once you’ve mastered them, so the solution is probably to add a simple tutorial mode to the game.

Feedback

If you’d like to see a tutorial in the next release of the game, or if you just want to report a bug or tell me what you think then please leave a comment below or drop me an email (very angry robots, no spaces, at badlydrawngames.com).

Postscript: Why I wrote Very Angry Robots

The answer is simple. I’m old enough to remember games like this the first time around, such as Robot Attack on the TRS-80 and Robotron 2084 in the arcades. It was those early games, and most of all Galaxian, that inspired me to take up programming in the first place. And I like the fact that when I have time to kill, such as when I’ve arrived slightly early to collect my daughter from her ballet lesson, that I can get out my phone and kill a bunch of robots.

So, next time my daughter tells me, “Dad, it must have been boring when you were young, before the DS and Wii”, remind me to tell her that I spent a large part of my teenage years putting ten pence coins into arcade cabinets hoping to get the high score. It wasn’t boring at all – we were too busy saving the planet from fleets of homicidal aliens and robots.