The May 2023 update has fixed many technical issues in Seashine. Upgrading the game to the latest standards was clearly not a piece of cake.
If making a game like Seashine is much harder than what people usually think, maintaining such a game is also a constant fight, especially on mobile devices where hardware and regulations change so fast.
The game now runs smoothly on recent devices. Once again, I want to thank all the beta testers for helping me solve some of the remaining issues.
Now that a big technical barrier is lifted, it’s a good time to share with you a roadmap of what to expect next. But, before that, I need to talk about the financial risks I’m taking with Seashine.
Being an artist is great: you’re the CEO, the manager, the creative department, and the unpaid intern all at once.
I’m going to be transparent. I have never earned much with the game. I don’t even think I would reach 1€ for each hour I worked on the game. Removing the ads to better protect the environment, the players, and the unique atmosphere of the game has removed a big chunk of that small income.
In my previous post, I explained how I will introduce bonus in-app purchases (IAP) in future updates to help improve the economic sustainability of the game with fair IAP like the zen mode. Until then, I’m on very thin ice. I’m also not entirely sure this will work.
Seashine has a fantastic community. Many of you have asked for alternative ways to support the development of the game and encouraged me to create a donation page. I should have accepted the help of such a caring community a long time ago. Things would probably have been a lot easier.
I followed the advice and you can now support my work on Ko-fi to help me make Seashine bigger, brighter, and more inspirational. Thank you for your support. 💙
Back to what to expect in the next updates.
I have recently decided to break a big chunk of the big update into smaller updates.
Below is a timeline of the different steps awaiting me (click the image to enlarge). I won’t give all the details in this article as it’s already long enough. Instead, I’m going to post a series of articles explaining everything within the next two weeks.
I am just going to clarify a couple of things before the next article.
First of all, on top of the above chart, the oblique text corresponds to major updates. There will be small updates adding lifeforms and/or playable jellyfishes between these major updates.
Next, I want to talk about the “Core routine” (developer pun intended). Regardless of what the next update is, there are some things I will keep working on. These things include adding new core lifeforms, non-zen playable jellyfish, or working on the core environments.
What do I mean by core? In the roadmap chart, you have probably noticed the bonus biome part. This is the second type of fair IAP I want to introduce. From now on, I will make a distinction between the core content (free) and the bonus content (IAP).
I will give you more details on the bonus biomes in an upcoming article. The next article will talk about the “Refresh & harmonize” step.
I’m going to start posting images, blog posts, and more on my new Ko-fi page. Don’t hesitate to follow me there. Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi if you appreciate my work on Seashine. Thank you! 💙