When we started reworking Jewel Trader we wanted to make sure that all the locations had their own unique character. Though I believe we achieved this to some degree (as detailed in Evolution of Jewel Trader: Part 1), we wanted to take it even further. Let me show you how we customized our characters from country to country and improved the gamer’s travel experience.
For those of you who have not played the game, in order for you to be able to earn money you need to travel from country to country and buy low (find the good deals) and sell high (cash in when the time is right)–international travel is an integral part of the game.
In my first version of the game, I treated this integral piece as an after-thought; just a means to get from point A to point B. Instead of a unique experience at each locale, there was simply one type of Customs Officer, one type of Gate Agent and one type of Merchant in the Market. Basically, it did not matter whether you went to New York, Moscow, Paris or Tel Aviv. Who cares, they are all the same and that made for a bland gaming experience.
Gate Agent from Original Game
In the updated version, we have decided to localize every country and each country now has their own characters with their own local flavor (see below).
New Customs Officers
New Gate Agent
We have also decided that the Store should have a local flair. So we not only changed the characters, we also changed the backgrounds and gave each city its own ambient sounds so that you feel like you are in India, New York or Paris. To make it even more fun, we’ve even thrown in a few twists with regard to product availability (Hint: VIP passes are no longer sold in every country so use them carefully!)
New Store in Tel Aviv
New Store in New York
New Store in Moscow
Finally the travel in the original game was extremely boring. You basically flew from one icon to another icon. (See Below)
Original Travel Screens
Flight from Moscow to Hong Kong
Flight from LA to Tokyo
My team discussed a number of changes such as doing a panoramic view of the city as if you are looking out the window when you depart and arrive into the city. But we realized that we needed to make travel quick–our goal was to create a better experience without lengthening the travel time between cities. We achieved this with an Indiana Jones style map–this way you get a bit of geography every time you travel.
What might make you choose to become a frequent flier to one Jewel Trader locale over another? Why would you travel to your hot spots when the money making process is so similar? In the updated game you can decide which city’s ambiance is your favorite and become a frequent visitor. In short, just like in real life, you might choose to spend more time in Paris rather than Moscow (I probably would) because it is simply more fun to be in Paris! You might even make your decision based on the looks of the gate agent (the one in LA is really cute), the scare tactics of the customs agent or the apparent honesty of the merchants. Or, you just simply enjoy the long flight from Japan to New York. With the new Jewel Trader, we feel you can experience all these emotions and more, which will definitely make for a better gaming experience.
In the next article I will tell you all about sounds, main menus, buttons and some social media features. Stay tuned and soon you will see the update Jewel Trader at the App Store near you.
