Alpha Testers

This page is written by Tariq explaining how we're going to proceed with the hacker game.

First thing is first, test the app before reading this.

The Business Strategy

Here's the strategy of how we market/publish the app (in order):
  1. We publish a 10 level "prequel" to the main app.
  2. We create a kickstarter and ask for donations to start a company.
  3. We publish an app with levels/profiles of our kickstarter backers. (Hopefully people will jump at the opportunity to be featured in an app.)
  4. We publish an app with 100+ levels for the "main story."

How the game works

Here's what the game essentially is:
-You see a profile (a profile = a computer screen with a picture, name, password length, and hint of the target).
-You guess the password.
-You see a congratulations page with what the computer contains.
-Rinse and repeat.
As the types of profiles, there are six types:
  1. Fictional characters who are based on real people. (Heisenberg, Thor.)
  2. Fictional cartoon characters. (Spongebob, Peter Griffin.)
  3. Famous real people. (Obama, Einstein.)
  4. Companies/organizations. (Lays, Dominos.)
  5. Real life people.
  6. Sponsor levels
Although they currently aren't in the current version, the famous people (3) are supposed to be drawn as cartoons. The company logos are taken directly from them. The "real people" are actual pictures of them.
About the sponsor levels, hehehe. If you notice in the app there's a level for SM Unlisted that asks you to visit this website to find a word, and there's a Starbucks level that makes you watch a video.

I want to ask companies to give us gift cards/coupons (not cold hard cash), and in exchange we'll advertise for them by placing one of their videos in our app or putting a link to their website to find their level's password. I'm thinking 3-5 sponsors in the main story, just one sponsor in the prequel. It'll be nice to get free stuff.
Note that I don't actually care about who shows up in the profiles, I don't care what the password or the hint is, nor do I care about what the computer contains. Those are all easily changeable.
However, the distinction between these categories is important because later in the main story app, the main character in the game will target people based on the category. Speaking of which...

The story

This is what I need help with from you guys.

We need an iconic character for the app. Something people will relate the app too, like how Despicable Me has minions anddd Angry Birds has birds.

Look at this Google Play commercial:
What we need to create is a character that would be a fit in a commercial like that that someone would instantly recognize. "Oh, that character? That's from the Hacker Game."

Here are some guidelines for the character:
  • It has to be simple to draw, because we're probably gonna need to hire a graphic artist to do it.
  • He has to be a hacker.
  • He has to have a distinguishing characteristic that makes him memorable, that also makes him a good hacker. (Maybe he has special fingers, or his eyes let him read machine code, or something).
Special note: although it's not shown in the current alpha, in the published version, in the "The Computer Contains" scene we'll have a picture of our iconic character interacting with what he found on the computer. For example, in level 1 where the computer contains a chemical formula for the nobel prize, we'll have a picture of our iconic character accepting the nobel prize.
For the actual story, this 10 level app is supposed to be a prequel to the main game. The story in this prequel has to be short, but compelling enough that the kickstarter people fund us for the main game.

I'm thinking that the prequel (10 level app) is the iconic character learning backing from a hacking master where he sees the different types of people he can hack (AKA the categories mentioned in the above section), and in the main game (100+ levels) he ventures on his own to hack these groups for some reason. (For example, he starts out by hacking fictional characters for fun, then moves on to companies for money, then hacks famous people for a challenge, etc.)

That's just an idea. I really want a cool story. So help!

Conclusion

I need help thinking of an iconic character that fits as a hacker with a special characteristic that helps him hack, and I need a story that fits having a 10 level prequel and then a 100+ level main story. But the story has to be good, and the hacker has to be memorable.

I'm open to ALL ideas. Not just for the story, but also for features on how to make the app better.

You guys know how to contact me, don't be shy. Be critical, tell me what you don't like, question me, etc.

Thanks for the help!