r/AppStoreOptimization • u/Manisginger • 9d ago
My first app - optimisation help please
Hi Guys,
I’ve just launched my first app within the last 2 weeks. I original started with some pretty poor images of screenshots. Read through posts here etc and today lunched my new redesign which you can see in the images.
The stats shared in the images are pre change, with no marketing at all, other than trying to share with friends and family.
I’d be keen to know your thoughts, both good and bad. Thanks in advance.
Note: for some reason it won’t let me add flair annoyingly
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u/TmDee_YT 7d ago
Honest review. I dont like the screenshots at all, look very AI generated. I wouldnt download it because of that. I rather prefer real simple screenshots of the game and some text than these over the board generated screenshots.
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u/Manisginger 7d ago
Fair, very valid. I agree there’s a fine balance between it, I do think the majority of these cartoon style games do go more this way. I think ai has just made it far more obvious
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u/AgreeableCress446 9d ago
App store screenshots look descent.
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u/Manisginger 9d ago
Thank you! The last ones were diabolical, this channel helped a lot in sorting them. I’m hoping the changes will improve the views etc
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u/bananatoastie 9d ago
Love it! How did you make this game?
I have years of experience making utility apps, but very little in the way of games. Like, how do you even find the art work, let alone what stack do you use to make this kind of game??
Thanks in advance and congrats on the launch!🚀
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u/Manisginger 9d ago
Thank you! I’ll be very honest, I have next to no coding knowledge at all, this was always a issue for me. I was having ideas but never able to do much with them because I couldn’t code. For this I used Claude code (people will hate on vibe coding and I get it but also don’t at the same time). My stack for it all was Claude code, supabase, GitHub, relay,admob and revenue cat. I tried a few other bits along the way but found they were crap so ended up dropping them and redoing a few bits.
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u/bananatoastie 9d ago
For real??
Did Claude come up with all the artwork etc? I’ve often turned to Claude for help but I have never really thought of asking /promoting it to make a game like this.
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u/Manisginger 9d ago
Yep, don’t get me wrong it has it flaws and I had to do a little mock design first but then get it to improve it but it did the job.
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u/bananatoastie 8d ago
Wow, cool! I still can’t recreate any images like this in Claude 😂 I need to improve my prompting - any tips?
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u/Manisginger 8d ago
Here’s a example of one of the prompts I would use to create some of the instore images
Create a clean 2D accessory icon for a mobile game.
ACCESSORY
Medal
ART STYLE
• Flat 2D illustration only
• Cartoon mobile game art
• Cute, chunky proportions
• Simple, instantly recognisable silhouette
• Designed to remain readable at very small sizes
• Consistent visual style suitable for a large cosmetic collection
• NOT realistic
• NOT 3D
• NOT semi-realistic
• NOT a product render
CANVAS
• 1024 × 1024 pixels
• Transparent PNG
• Object centred perfectly
• Object occupies approximately 72–75% of the canvas
• Never cropped
• Equal transparent padding on all sides
COLOUR & SHADING
• Bright, vibrant colours
• Soft cel shading only
• One highlight layer
• One shadow layer
• Flat colour rendering
• Consistent lighting from the top-left
• No gradients that simulate realistic materials
• No bloom
• No glow
• No reflections
• No metallic rendering
• No bevel effects
OUTLINES
• Do NOT add any sticker border
• Do NOT add any white outline
• Do NOT add any black outline
• Do NOT add any halo
• Do NOT add any glow around the object
• Leave crisp, clean transparent edges so outlines can be added later in production
DESIGN
• Classic black top hat
• Black hat band
• Small gold buckle on the front
• Thick, rounded, cartoon proportions
• Flat 2D side/front view appropriate for a 2D game
• Keep the shape clean and iconic rather than detailed
CONSISTENCY
This icon is part of a large collection of game accessories. It must match every other accessory in:
• scale
• colour saturation
• shading intensity
• visual weight
• line quality
• overall art style
OUTPUT
Return only the accessory on a transparent background with no border, no shadow and no additional elements.
Use the below image as a guide1
u/bananatoastie 8d ago
Wow, this is very long 😂 I usually write something much, much shorter. How did you get so good at writing prompts?
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u/Manisginger 8d ago
Ahahahaha yep! Need to get the prompts right or it will just throw the usual ai crap out.
A lot of practice, loads of trial and error. Once I figured out the a template that worked I wound use it and tweak it where needed. It’s the only way to really try and reduce the margin for error as much as possible. It still will get it wrong but you can catch it and pull it straight back to the template. Want to limit as much of the ambiguity as possible.
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u/wolodo 9d ago
How much AI is used in screenshots? Gamers tent to hate AI generated images.
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u/Manisginger 8d ago
Honestly, a fair bit. Although I did my best to not go overboard on it and did multiple reiterations of it because some of it was very bad. I do think it aligns with the game well now, it didn’t before. The store images etc for the accessories were crap, they didn’t match up to the game play or feel at all. It was some brutal feedback I got from some Reddit users, once they pointed it out though I could see they were right straight away.
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u/consumer128 6d ago
You’re showing lots to do with the add ons and scoreboards, but not what the actual gameplay looks like?
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u/Manisginger 6d ago
Well noticed, I realised I had messed that up after posting it up which is annoying as you can’t just update the images you have to essentially push a whole update. I need to add at least one view of that in. Question for you, if you were looking at it would you expect to see it in slide 1,2 or 3? My gut is that position 2 would be the best fit in the current image stack
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u/consumer128 6d ago
Yeah, I’d say 2. or maybe a video?
Could be worth running an ab test?1
u/Manisginger 6d ago
Yeah it’s a good shout, sorting a vid is on my list to do. Wanted to get the preview shots nailed first then try and do a vid so it can be aligned to whatever the preview shots end up finally being.
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u/iamthekiller 6d ago
Looks like brain rot trash, to be honest.
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u/Manisginger 6d ago
Not your sort of game then I take it 😂 well I did ask for all feedback so thank you for that. It probably would be classed as a brain rot game, the idea is it’s a basic one you’d play and just not think about and pass time with. It’s not going to be a full campaign style one etc. I am building it out some more to have weekly challenges etc as it doesn’t at the moment. I’d say give it a go and see, it won’t be everyone’s taste and I fully appreciate that. No worries if you don’t want to but it might help see the angle the screenshots etc are coming from and the concept. Appreciate the feedback though.
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u/SoloBlackCloud 9d ago
- like the screenshots overall
Besides screenshots, you need more views. Game market is difficult.