2024-12-31 - Tinytouchtales

End of Year 2024

Welcome to My Annual End-of-Year Blog Post – 2024 Edition

2024 was an incredibly busy year for me (and my team). We successfully released a brand-new game, GUNCHO, on mobile and Steam. It was my first 3D game title after previously working exclusively on 2D games, and I collaborated with a new team to make it happen. In addition, I got back into prototyping and created several new prototypes exploring fresh ideas, though most remain unfinished. We also released a substantial update to one of my long-running, successful games, Miracle Merchant, which boosted our annual revenue considerably—details are provided further down.

GUNCHO

As outlined in my First Month of GUNCHO post, we released our latest game, GUNCHO, at the end of June 2024. If you’re unfamiliar, GUNCHO is a small-scale tactical turn-based game where players control GUNCHO, a fierce pistolero battling bandits and outlaws. The game features randomly generated levels leading to a mysterious end boss you must defeat to complete a run.

While GUNCHO adheres closely to genre conventions, its unique gameplay hook is the 1:1 mapping of bullets in GUNCHO’s revolver cylinder to the game world. This mechanic means the direction GUNCHO’s current bullets face determines where he can shoot. This innovation introduces various gameplay consequences, thematically fitting the Wild West shootout setting perfectly.

GUNCHO originated from a 7DRL jam game, where Terri Vellman and I developed the core concept within a week. A year later, we decided to expand the idea into a full game, completing GUNCHO in about 11 months, from August 2023 to June 2024.

Being my first full-fledged 3D game, I was initially nervous about the outcome. However, with Terri—a highly experienced 3D artist, animator, and game developer—onboard, we overcame most hurdles quickly. Sam Webster, a talented composer and sound designer, also contributed exceptional music and sound design, enhancing the game’s overall polish.

Releasing GUNCHO simultaneously on both mobile platforms and Steam was another first for me. While I faced challenges, such as accommodating varying aspect ratios and providing controller support, both launches went smoothly and provided valuable learning experiences.

Despite its relatively small scale, GUNCHO received an overwhelmingly positive reception and has generated substantial revenue in its first six months. While nothing is officially announced yet, we plan to add new content to GUNCHO in 2025. Stay tuned!

Prototypes

After GUNCHO’s release, I returned to prototyping. This was partly to explore ideas I’d been considering and partly to identify my next major project. I’m a huge fan of auto-battlers, particularly Hearthstone’s Battlegrounds mode. Battlegrounds simplifies the genre’s mechanics while offering rich design space.

Another genre that fascinates me is the “engine builder roguelike”, which started with Luck Be a Landlord (LbaL) and has since inspired many engaging games. These games focus on building a deck or system that produces combos automatically, aiming to achieve high scores or overcome escalating challenges.

Here are the prototypes I worked on in 2024:

1. LbaL-Inspired Gacha-Machine Clone:
In this prototype, players build a Gacha-Machine instead of a slot machine, pulling items each turn to score points. Item combinations produce larger scores. This project reached about 45% completion.

2. Anno-Deckbuilder-Auto-Battler Hybrid:
Players draft cards to place on a board, generating resources that feed into other buildings. Workers automate the city’s operations, with each round operating on a timer. This prototype reached around 65% completion.

3. Auto-Battler Fortress Combat Game:
Inspired by Attacktics from UFO50, this prototype shifts the focus to destroying enemy fortresses rather than units. It retains the random unit-drawing mechanics of other auto-battlers. It reached 30% completion.

4. Space Ship Backpack Battles:
This prototype applies the Backpack Battles mechanics to spaceships. Players assemble ships from modules and crew, with synergies and augmentations adding depth. This is my most promising prototype so far, and I’m steadily advancing it toward a 90% playable state for testing.

5. Card-Based Dungeon Crawlers:
I developed two prototypes centered on tower defense mechanics, where cards in Klondike-style columns move toward heroes or towers. Rearranging cards allows players to chain attacks and equip items. Both are playable in-browser on Itch.io:

Card Defense on itch.io
3 Hero Solitaire on itch.io

6. 1-Click-Poker:
Created in an afternoon, this fun experiment involved selecting a single card from a 3×3 grid to automatically form poker hands. While simple, it’s a concept I may revisit.

1-Click-Poker on itch.io

Miracle Merchant Update

Thomas (the artist on Miracle Merchant) and I introduced a significant update featuring new characters and lore. The primary addition is The Gossiper, a character who collects and shares stories about the game’s world. Players can unlock illustrated story bits by completing daily tasks. We’ve added four new characters so far, with plans for more in future updates.

The update has been well-received, and we’ll continue supporting Miracle Merchant in 2025.

Revenue

2024 saw a 19% increase in revenue compared to 2023, driven by GUNCHO’s financial success, which accounted for 26% of the year’s total revenue of about $166,000.

Revenue Breakdown by Game:

GUNCHO: $44,300
Miracle Merchant: $37,900
Card Thief: $34,100
Card Crawl: $30,000
Card Crawl Adventure: $10,200
Geo Gods: $6,125
Maze Machina: $1,740
Enyo: $1,652

Revenue Breakdown by Source:

iOS IAP: $62,630
Play Pass: $53,550
Android IAP: $31,200
Ads: $11,637
Steam: $7,000

Conclusion

2024 was a productive and fulfilling year. I released a new game, delivered a substantial update, and explored numerous prototypes. Collaborating with talented individuals like Terri and Sam, and engaging with my community on Discord, kept me inspired.

Looking ahead to 2025, I’m excited to continue supporting released games and working on new projects. Notably, Card Crawl’s 10-year anniversary will be a major milestone.

Thank you to all my loyal players for enabling this incredible journey in game development. Here’s to a fantastic 2025!

All the best
Arnold

One More Thing: The Next Game

In classic Steve Jobs fashion, here’s one more thing: I’ve stumbled upon a compelling idea for a sequel to one of my games—a first for me! Check out beta.cardcrawl.com, join our Discord, and share your thoughts. It’s going to be exciting