This sprint marked a huge milestone for Connect 3D: the beginning of the Alpha testing phase. For the first time, people outside my immediate circle got their hands on the game and it was both thrilling and a bit terrifying.

Alpha Testing Begins

I started by inviting a selected group of alpha testers across various devices, both Android and iOS. The goal was to:

• Test real-world performance on different phones and tablets.
• Gather feedback on gameplay feel, UI clarity and overall flow.
• Catch any bugs that hadn’t surfaced in internal tests.

It didn’t take long before I got my first real bug reports – most were minor but helpful:

• Small UI alignment issues on tablets.
• On some Android units the player move animation was played twice when switching back to the game from another app.
• The game menu flickered when using the pen on a pen device.

I fixed all the critical bugs and many minor annoyances. Larger feature requests (like expanded chat, in-game emotes or advanced ranking filters) have been logged for future updates – right now, the focus is getting a stable and polished v1.0 release.

Starting to Think About Monetization

Until now, Connect 3D has been a passion project. But passion doesn’t pay for server costs, let alone the months of development time and new hardware. So this sprint, I started exploring monetization options.

The approach I’m leaning toward:

• The game can be enjoyed without cost, but with non-intrusive ads.
• Some actions, like changing avatar, will require the player to watch extra ads.
• For a relatively low, monthly fee, a player will both support the game and turn off any ads in the game.

I want the free version to be fully playable, without gameplay limitations. Monetization should never ruin the core experience. But the truth is, maintaining servers and supporting users takes real resources.

I’m using medals to represent the player commitment. Hopefully, a gold medal shown with your name will encourage players to support the game.

I haven’t implemented anything yet, but I’m now designing the monetization framework – both from a technical and UX standpoint.

Continuous Improvements

Even while focusing on testers and monetization, I kept refining the game:

• Improved the player guide section with better information and pictures.
• Cleaned up the database and some database related code.
• Added a link from game settings to the option to enable or disable notifications for both iOS and Android.

It’s amazing how far the game has come. Watching real people play a match and say “just one more” – that’s the best validation I could hope for.

Next Sprint: Beta and Beyond

Next sprint, I’ll:

• Invite a broader group of beta testers.
• Add option to actually pay for the game and show ads for everyone else.
• Start building some ad and promo materials for marketing.
• Continue polishing based on feedback and play sessions.

This is the final stretch.

– Elena