Actually started coding up the changes a few nights ago.

We now have 5 difficulty levels within the main adventure part of the game (arcade mode stays at 3, but they were never really 'real' difficulty levels - just different starting levels).

"Beginner" is a lot easier than "Easy", with the game running a lot slower - and with a lot more seeds on the screen. It should be a lot easier to score 5-stars on those hard levels.

There is also a "Mastery" difficulty level - probably just for me ;). Yet to confirm that the harder levels are still 'possible' - will do so soon.

The rankings have also been tweaked, to take these into account - to get the absolute best ranking now, you basically have to finish every level at 5-stars on "Mastery" (or very close).

...

Starting to look at co-op functionality now - once I work out how hard the changes are, I'll have a better idea of what game modes will be added.

Will almost certainly do the "Hall of Fame" thing as well - some extra signs in the Rainbow Cave will handle this.

Oh yes - and the game *will* be called "Flowerworks: Follie's Adventure". That is now set in stone (title submitted to all the rating agencies).

Apart from these, a few tweaks... not much else is planned, unless someone has a good idea.

Maybe I'll throw a reference to "VGChartz rulez" in somewhere...

so a few weeks ago, i thought i heard to say something along the lines of you'd do a na udpate with this new stuff if nintendo would let you. what do you mean? wouldn't it just be submitting the updated version of the game for approval like you did with the original release. are there other hoops you have to jump through?

I'm not sure if its common knowledge or not - but Nintendo simply don't allow it. Once a game is released, no updates to it are permitted.

We *might* be able to release "Flowerworks: Follie's Adventure" as a brand new title on the service... but that may not be possible/allowed, and would require existing Flowerworks owners to purchase the new game (rather than just update it). :(

I wish I could do something about it - even if Nintendo allowed one update a year, or changed devs for an update - I would be more than happy with that.

I just started playing the game again, and remembered how enjoyable it was, so I thought I would bump this thread. It's unfortunate that the game did not get more attention in America, hopefully its European release will be more successful.

Shams, what do you think Nintendo could/should do to help these kind of games succeed on WiiWare? I think obviously allowing demos for games would be helpful. But I had also been thinking that it could be a big help and easier if they would allow people to rank games and then be able to search for games based on ratings. Really all they would need to do is be able to search by the game's ratings on Nintendo channel, that way people would be able to see what other people liked. Do you think that could help?

Heading into the European release has the NA release taught or convinced you of a new or different way to market the game? For a game like yours that has the potential to be a series, what do you think about releasing a smaller game for a cheap price like 500 points (almost like a sample or prologue) so people would be more likely to try it, then later after hopefully building a fanbase expanding on the game then releasing it at the 1000 point price? I feel like that could be effective and am surprised that no developer has tried it so far.

Any update on the European release yet?

Hey - I don't visit VG much any more, so it may take a while for responses.

Just about every idea anyone has had for WiiWare, developers have also had - and its just Nintendo stopping any of them from happening. For instance, we are not allowed to change the price of the game once released - or even release any updates to the software (including obvious things like support for new languages).

Our marketing is irrelevant IMO - its been shown to be almost completely useless in boosting sales or spreading awareness. People tend to buy just off the WiiShop information alone.

...

I actually believe that WiiWare is very close to being dead, unless Nintendo changes some significant things on the service - it needs better integration, more flexibility for developers, demos - a full reboot really. Otherwise you'll see more and more releases just coming from Nintendo & partners (i.e. Hudson), and a few other mid/large-sized developers. Looking at releases over the last 2-3 months, its already happening.

At this stage, I think its unlikely we'll carry out our follow-up project, which is a pity - WiiWare just isn't commercially viable for us (starting to look into Android, as well as other things).

...

Euro release is coming along, but a lot slower than I had hoped. Still waiting on translation, as well as rating certificate for Australia. Most of the actual development is done, but its still going to be 2-3 months *min* before its available for purchase.

Two-player co-op is running nicely, and seems to be fun to play. Its just a real pity we can't give the same update to those in the US who have already bought the game.

I see now that Nintendo's bullshit from the past in terms of 3rd party assistance hasn't changed, especially in America with minimalist employees like Reggie Fils-Aime. This post right here pastes Nintendo in an entire new light for me.

Part of the reason the Wii doesn't even get support is because Nintendo rejects it.....Ridiculous. And then we have Reggie bitching about how he cannot understand why games like GTA don't hit the Wii? Pfft. With all those restrictions Ninty insistently puts in place I'm not surprised.

I've seen that character before, not sure where.

Its not that simple.

This isn't a 3rd-party issue - its a platform issue. Nintendo face exactly the same issues as everyone else.

Nintendo is a master of retail - production, printing, shipping, marketing (etc) - over 20+ years, they have this nailed.

But when it comes to digital distribution - they are newbies. There is a lot more competition, the barriers to entry are much lower, and its much more competitive.

In terms of raw 'features', I can't think of a single DD service that is less featured than WiiWare. AppStore, XBLA, PSN, Steam, every casual game portal - they all blow it away.

I was at a friends place yesterday, who has a 360 + Live. The second you turn it on... "Latest offers, latest retail, latest demos..." - all on the main screen. This is exactly what Wii owners need.

Nintendo *can* fix this, and I'm hoping they will.