Rejected - Guideline 4.2 - Minimal functionality

Hey guys,


I'm an indie game developer and have a good amount of experience developing for Android. But for my latest game project I decided to publish it on both Android and iOS. The game has no ads, and I intend on it just being a completely free game for everyone. I already had the Android version out on the Google Play Store. Truth be told, the process of porting the game to iOS was a complete nightmare, and I really despise many aspects of the process of becoming a developer for iOS. Had to purchase an iPhone 6 on eBay for testing, and fix up an old Macbook that I had so I can utilize Xcode to compile the game. About 3 months and $400 later, I finally had the game ready to go and............. rejected.


Apple basically said my game provided minimal functionality and had very little content. The game includes the following:


-- Unique tilt-based controls with fluid gameplay physics

-- Over 35 levels, all hand-designed.

-- Different gameplay styles: speed-based, exploration, puzzle-solving, etc.

-- Original soundtrack

-- Game Center integration with leaderboards and achievements support

-- Save functionality

-- Customizable difficulty settings and other options


When I politely asked what in the game specifically needed improvements, I received no response. I had been developing this game and its assets completely by myself (no team working with me or anything) since August and put it out on Android. Since around February or so I had been working on porting it to iOS, and now this happens. I feel highly motivated to just drop Apple like a bad habit and stick with making Android games. When you're one person working diligently on a game that wants to be original and unique, with nobody's help at all, and it gets rejected within an hour after submission, it really ***** and it's discouraging...
Maybe some of you could help me figure out what I did wrong exactly? For those of you that perhaps have access to Android, the game is called Ballzerk. This is pretty much the last ditch effort before I give up trying to submit it.


Thanks in advance!

Replies

You've seen it and App Review has seen it, so we're left to our imagination what they witnessed that prompted your exact rejection, but I'd speculate that a tilt-puzzle is hardly original/unique these days. MazeTilt, HydroTilt, Tilt-to-Live, FallDown, Tilt Tilt Ladybug, Block tilt Escape, Gate Tilt, tilt The Box, Time Tilt Ball....on and on, the store seems well saturated, since at least 2010. Maybe they've just had enough...surprised they didn't just flag it w/4.3.

I would disagree with KMT on his first reply. If Apple felt your app was too similar to existing apps that would have rejected it with "4.1 Copycats". I would just keep following up with them. It might not be clear to the reviewer that there are multiple levels depending how the user progresses through the game. I had 4.2 rejection for a simple utility app and I just kept adding features until they finally approved it.