Check out the most recent video. The game mechanic has been modified.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGpvGgjztq4

This game is a work in progress and the video may not be representative of the release version.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

I like the game mechanic. It is not as easy to 'get' as the most successfull franchises out there which may be a bit of a hurdle for a portion of the casual gamer public. It could be that they will put it aside or think it is 'just like that other game' you did earlier while is clearly is quite different of you spend some time on it.

I am not a professional when it comes to video game marketing but a lot of people people do seem to want fancy graphics and sound effects in a game and are off put if that is not catered for. They judge a game in the app store by the few screenshots that you are able to put in.

It is a tough market out there. I would love to give you some playback feedback if you'd like.

Here's a more recent video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr_fSN0JmiI

This game is a work in progress and the video may not be representative of the release version.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Depends....You only got so long to capture a potential buyers attention and convince them on make the purchase. You don't have to compromise on your game mechanic, but you do need to present it in a way that also fun and easy to understand.

Alright, but if you make it look like the last 2 games, it will be associated with that game and not a new game.

Novel...I would assume that there are some variations like it out there already....just not exactly. How easy to understand....depends on you you present it...maybe a training mode will help? Visual information overwhelming? Perhaps, there's a lot going on and if you don't know, it can appear confusing.

Thery're just "Bells and Whistles". You can always add them in during the prototyping stage and see how well they fare. Remove, discard, or change as needed.

Maybe an optional training mode. Each step you have them do one simple thing and either build up to complete training before you start playing or teach them enough for the first few levels and then some more training, a few more levels and finally they know it all. You ever play the arcade game Tempest. It has beginner levels that start you out simply and later on add in stuff and by level 9 your ready to go.

Just some thoughts, hopefully other will chime in and offer more opinions that are also valuable to you.

Does the way a game look matter more than its game mechanic?

Fundamentally, this upcoming game is about color matching — there is no color matching in DropZap.

How novel is the game mechanic? How easy is it to understand? Will many players find the visual information overwhelming? Will many players find the game addictive?

BTW, I'm not a fan of adding special pieces as that takes away from the purity of the game mechanic.

Right now, I'm looking into how to help players make sense of what they see so that it does not become overwhelming. I'm also thinking about providing a way to "cheat" in a limited way (sort of like the way bullet time allows you to cheat in a limited way).

Sorry, but it still looks like DropZap. Your obviously getting more complex with what the "objective" is but it still looks the same, the circles are the same and do virtually the same things (same behavior) with a new twist.

Now if you just want us to comment on this new concept that your prototyping, then alright, it's one possible new feature. None of what I said before matters.

So if the current game objects (circles) are just placeholders, let's say your going to use multiple shapes of multiple colors. Have hidden bonus's and objects that explode destroy a line or something. etc.

Throw in an upbeat soundtrack and some effects. Instead of a plain font for the score, something a little more custom.

And those are my, "off the cuff", thoughts.

Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines connect circles of the same color.

A move is made by selecting a column. All paths with at least one circle that column will have their circles shrunk.

There are three circle sizes. When a smallest circle is shrunk, it disappears and anything above it will fall.

When a stack of circles lands, it is automatically selected and shrinks all paths with at least one circle in that stack.

The game is over when circle(s) go above the grid.

I don't have an iPhone, so I never played your previous "Dropzap" games. I did watch the gameplay videos, though. Dropzap looked intriguing enough that I would have tried it if I had an iPhone.

From my admittedly distant viewpoint, this game looks a lot like Dropzap. Since there's no description of what's happening in the gameplay footage, it's hard to tell what's going on. I'm seeing lines connecting different circles and disappearing, but it's not clear why it's happening.

This game looks like a more complex variation of the "match three" genre, not unlike "Columns," but it's not clear what the player's objective or strategy is, based solely on what I'm seeing. So, it's hard to give an opinion without more information on what the gameplay mechanic is.