Launching the Game

I decided to launch Big Croc with the minimum viable requirements because I knew if I didn’t I would never release it opting to add more features and fixes. Instead, I made the decision that it was better to release it now in its MVP stage and release updates later on than to release a full product if it ever gets completed. I’m glad I went with this approach because I was able to receive feedback on the game beyond what I could get from testers with a wider range of devices.

Difficulties with Apple App Review

My first game that I soft-launched was Spartans on the Google Play Store, a project I would like to get back to just because it was a fun experience. This time around I decided to upload my App to the App Store first. The beginning stages of distributing Big Croc were fine, until it came time for the game to be reviewed for distribution. This was where the fun began.

My first submission was rejected stating an infringement on guideline 4.1- Copycat. The App Review team deemed Big Croc was a copy cat of an existing popular game or a game that was available on a developer website or other source of distribution. I sent a response, but received no feedback on the situation. I figured maybe my starting game UI in my screenshots were too similar to another game. So I removed that particular screen shot and resubmitted that game.

My second submission was rejected with App Review (AR) mentioning that the previous issue was still there. Confused, I sent them another reply asking what specifically was wrong about the game. AR sent a response saying quote: “We are not able to provide feedback on app concepts or features, but we recommend evaluating your suggestions against the App Review Guidelines, as well as the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, and the Human Interface Guidelines.” At this point in time, I believed that the issue was caused by my original app description mentions that Big Croc: The Prequel was the game that came before the “legendary game Big Croc vs. Technobirds”(which doesn’t exist yet). Perhaps AR believed that I was copying Big Croc vs. Technobirds and was denying my that. So I changed my App description and resubmitted.

My third submission was rejected with AR finally stating: “This app or its metadata continued to appear to be misrepresenting itself as another popular app or game already available from a developer’s website or distribution source, or from a third-party platform. Specifically, your app resembles Big Croc: The Prequel.” At this point I was completely flabergasted as there was no other game in the world called Big Croc: The Prequel. So I did a google search and found the first link was to Hoplyte Studios. And all of a sudden, it clicked. AR believed that I was stealing Big Croc: The Prequel from Hoplyte Studios, not knowing that I am Hoplyte Studios. The confusion started with my developer account being named DANIEL DRAGON WAKEFIELD instead of Hoplyte Studios due to my company not having a DUNS number at the time of set up, which is a requirement for distributing apps to the US. Despite my name being on the website, which matched my developer account or despite my game’s metadata including Hoplyte Studios and links to Hoplyte Studios, AR requested proof that I owned the company. So eventually, I sent them a profile report from the Ontario Business Registry stating that I was the sole proprietor of Hoplyte Studios.

And with that, AR approved Big Croc: The Prequel.

Update 1.0.6

After launching Big Croc: The Prequel to the App Store after a back-and-forth argument with Apple’s App Review Team about who owns the rights to my game, I received some feedback about the game’s UI scaling when it came down to older devices with different pixel densities from the devices that I was testing the game out with. I found the source of the scaling issues when I did not set my canvas scaling properly, which it is now set for Scales with Screen Width or Height. I also fixed a problem with the gameover screen where pressing the volume up or down buttons triggers the ‘Restart’ Button instead of the intended effect. To resolve this issue, I looked at the order of the UI buttons and noticed that the ‘Restart’ button was below the other buttons indicating that it had priority over them. By re-ordering the UI elements such that the Play button had the least priority meant the other buttons could function as they should. The confusing part about this fix is that the Transform Rect and the interactable surface of the play button should not have crossed over or intersected with the other buttons, but it was.