As someone planning to build some iOS games as a side project, I really appreciate this info.

Some questions for you:

Have you considered offering your game for free for a limited time to get your game out there, so it can hopefully find some more coverage? If so, what made you decide to keep it a paid app?

Did you consider any other game dev tools, such as Unity?

Did you reach out at all to any mobile gaming sites or blogs to try to get coverage for your game? If so, did you have any luck?