Category: Developers

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Developers

Getting To Know Rubicon Developers

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Paul Johnson from Rubicon, the developers of GLWG, and GLWG: All Out War. If you have not tried GLWG or any of their games, I recommend you do. All are quite fun.

Q. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your company Rubicon?

A. Sure, pretty common story I guess. Myself and Steve Haggerty set the company up eight years ago when we were offered a bunch of small porting contracts, and we continued doing that for several years. However it was starting to get tiresome being cheated and lied to all the time so we decided to bin that and start taking some control back by writing and publishing our own games. Great Little War Game was an instant success and we’ve not looked back since then.

Q. How did you come up with the idea of GLWG?

A. It’s a game I always wanted to play – kinda like Advance Wars, but with modernized graphics and what I considered to be the weak parts taken out and some new stuff put in. We didn’t set out to make a clone and I’m sure you’ll agree it isn’t one, but it’s silly to try and deny that that classic game wasn’t our main inspiration.

Q. I see that GLWG: All Out War came out recently. Tell us a little about the new game. Do you need to have/play GLWG first?  What else is on the horizon for the GLWG series?

A. It would probably help to play the original first, but it’s not a strict requirement. The iOS version of the main game has two campaigns that can be unlocked via in-app purchases, but we had to take those out of the data for the Android version as there are stricter limits on download size. GLWG: All Out War is simply our workaround for getting those campaigns into the hands of Android users.

On the horizon for both platforms is a brand new sequel containing lots more of everything. There will be many more missions and skirmish maps, new units and terrain, fog of war and a bunch of other big new features. We’re very excited over this and can’t wait to get it finished and shipped.

It’s worth a note here that GLWG just made runner up for “best strategy game ever”

Q. What other games have you guys done and doing?

A. There is of course Yachty Deluxe, our award winning yahtzee™ style game. This is available on both Android and iOS in free with ads and paid versions. You can find more info on that here.  Next up before we switch back to finishing the GLWG sequel is a match-3 game called “Fruit Blitz”. You can see some early pics here.  I think every developer has one of these games inside them and I wanted to get it out before going back to the big stuff for a bit. I’m very pleased with how it’s turned out and we’re just released just last week. There’s no story or other fluff in the background, we just concentrated on making the core game as polished and action packed as possible. You can even import and challenge your friends with a Facebook account and stuff. You should check it out.

Q. I see that you have created the game for Chrome. Do you think browser based games are going to really take off? Think they will become more popular than apps?

A. Bit of a sore point, this. Sales have been epically disappointing on this format for us and we’re not going there again. Facebook games can have success, but in terms of outright selling a browser game I’m certainly not convinced based on my own experiences. Others’ mileage may vary of course.

Q. What, if anything would you do to improve/change the Android market?

A. I would like to see it split into “games” and “apps”. The main feature banners are a powerful tool, but if you’re looking for a game then some keyboard extension being on offer is of no immediate interest, and the reverse is also true. Other than that, I think it works just fine. Well, the other thing I’d change of course is some kind of auto detect so that whenever Rubicon release a title it instantly gets featured for a month!

Q. What are your thoughts on the 15 refund rule that Google has setup?

A. Mixed feelings about this sort of thing. It’s good for the users if they realize they bought the wrong thing or, heaven forbid, an app doesn’t work on their device, Etc.. On the other hand, I’m sure it being offered on a plate does make more people ask for a refund that otherwise may not have. I guess I’m in favor of it overall – if users feel safe in their spending then they’ll be happier taking a punt on something that otherwise they might have overlooked.

Q. Where do you see the Android marketing going in the next year or so?

A. I see a very bright future for Android. Both phones and tablets are generally either cheaper or better than other makes, often both, so the choice is a bit of a no-brainer really. Apple have their ardent supporters, as do Android, but for the vast majority of people on the fence taking an unbiased look, there’s not even a choice to be made – Android wins every time. That has to be a good thing for Android developers as well as consumers. We can spend longer and make better stuff knowing we’re gonna sell more of it, and that filters into the end user getting a better experience. And that cycles back into developers making better stuff, etc.

Q. Anything else you want to add?

A. Just a big thank you to all our customers. Tiny firms like ours couldn’t make the games we do without finding an audience pretty quickly, and we’re very grateful that we can (just about) do this for a living, instead of having to get a real job!

Well thank you Paul for your time. I always enjoy speaking with developers and see want is coming down the pike or the challenges they face when making apps for Android.  So if you have not tried any of Rubicon Developer’s game,you should they are nicely done.

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Developers

Getting to Know Paw Print Games

Today we get to speak with Anthony White, Director at Paw Print Games. Paw Print Games currently has two games out KamiCrazy and Battle Bugs. If you have not tried KamiCrazy, you need it. It is a fun and sometimes frustrating game. In the game you need to help get the KamiCrazy soldiers home. In each level you need to make a plan and then execute it. Once those guys start running, you can’t stop them. This game definitely is worth a look. After playing it for a while, I decided I would reach out to Paw Print and see if they would be interested in answering some questions for us. They did and here is our conversation.

Q. So Anthony, can  you tell us a little about you and your company Paw Print Games?

A. Paw Print Games was established by Steven Craft and myself at the beginning of 2011 and is based in Chester in the UK. Prior to forming Paw Print Games both Steve and I worked at Sony Liverpool and Travellers Tales where we worked on such games as Formula One 2005, Transformers, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Batman, LEGO Clone Wars and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean.

The path to Paw Print Games was actually quite a long one. When Apple released the official SDK in the summer of 2008 we decided we wanted to develop a Lemmings style game for the iPhone. So throughout our evenings and weekends during Autumn 2008 we created KamiCrazy; a gesture driven fusion of Lemmings and Bills Tomato game. It saw over ½ a million downloads in less than 3 weeks and held a number 2 spot in the All Games chart over the 2008 Christmas period. Since there were no ways to monetize a free game at the time other than the paid version we were not likely to get rich quick unless the free version provided a good free to paid conversion rate; which it wasn’t.

As we had been crunching in our day jobs and on KamiCrazy in our spare time it was time to take a much needed rest and take stock. After not too many days we started to gather all the feedback from reviews on websites and on the App Store and began improving the game. We spent a number of weeks doing this until it started becoming a totally different game. Throughout the summer of 2009 and in to the first quarter of 2010 I continued to evolve this new game whilst Steve ported a Soldier Ants (a friends game) to iOS and began adding Android support in to our engine. By April 2010 we realized the new project was actually becoming quite big and being inspired by the visuals for 3D dot Game Heroes I decided to create a retro inspired version of KamiCrazy using the lessons learned from the first game and some of the ideas developed over the previous year.

By November 2010 we had a trailer for KAMI RETO and started distributing it via blogs, Twitter and forums etc. Almost immediately we started to gain interest from various publishers and began striking a deal that suited both parties for publishing KAMI RETRO, enabling us to take the next step and form Paw Print Games.

Our first release under Paw Print Games came in March 2011 in the form of KAMI RETRO for iPhone. On release it received the Game of the Week App Store accolade and subsequently went on to appear in numerous features including Stylish Games, Greatest Platformers, Innovative Controls section of Benchmark Games. At the end of 2011 KAMI RETRO was entered in to the App Store Hall of Fame. Throughout 2011 KAMI RETRO also saw releases on other platforms including iPad, Android, WebOS and in January 2012 it was released for the BlackBerry Playbook.

Q. Sounds like you guys are doing well.  Just to recap though, what games has Paw Print Games published?

A. KamiCrazy for iPhone was published by Fluid Pixel and by ourselves for Android and PlayBook.
KAMI RETRO was published by Gamevil for iOS, Android and WebOS and was recently published by ourselves for the PlayBook.
Battle Bugs was a porting project and was published by ourselves on Android and PlayBook.

Q. Regarding KamiCrazy, any tips for folks playing? Definitely takes some time to figure out (at least for me)

A. KamiCrazy was ultimately very difficult and has had the progression simplified for the Android and PlayBook release. If anyone has played Fren-zE (a shmup I developed for the PS2) then you will see I had a tendency to create difficult games in the past. For a shmup it is kind of the norm especially the bullet hell style that Fren-zE is but there was simply no need for KamiCrazy to be that difficult really. This is what happens when you spend 14 weeks of intense programming and designing, getting really good at the game and not seeing anyone play test it before rushing it out the door to make it out for the Christmas release. Ultimately this was probably the downfall of the initial release of the game in 2008. So in terms of tips, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Q. Any other games coming out soon?

A. Wacky Rapids will be our next title and will be released on all supported platforms in the first quarter of 2012. It is a river rapids racing game where you take control of one of a number of different cartoon animal characters and race to become the champion of the Wacky Rapids Resort.

Q. What is the hardest thing about developing games for Android?

A. The hardest thing about developing for Android is generating a decent revenue stream on release. There are different models to choose from, paid, paid with IAP, free with ads, free with ads and IAP etc. We are still learning this side of the business but whichever model is chosen it has to work for your game.

Q. Finally, where do you see the Android market going in the next year or two?

A. The Android market has been getting stronger and stronger over the years and when Android first entered the scene being a Google development it was a no brainer to get involved from the get go. I hope to see market discoverability improvements and improved billing mechanisms to aid developers with making a decent return on the platform.

Thanks Anthony for your time. I really appreciate it. I really enjoy hearing the developer’s perspective on things. I have really enjoyed KamiCrazy and look forward to Wacky Rapids and any other future game Paw Print Products.

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Developers

Eike Decker – Enjoying Making Games

 Today we are featuring Eike Decker from Germany.This year we plan to try and highlight as many as possible Android app developers and cool Android related websites. If you know of any, please let us know. Eike wrote the game Recombustor Lite, which we highlighted last week.

Q. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your company?

A. My name is Eike Decker, am 30 years old and I live in Hamburg, Germany. I actually don’t have a company, I am employed as a software developer in a company that is specialized in making browser games. I wrote Recombustor in my free time just for the fun because I enjoy making games.

Q. What games/apps have your developed?

A.  Not so much, at least I haven’t published much at all. Most of the time I only wrote smaller stuff that only few people saw. Most often I was reluctant to publish anything because I wasn’t content with the quality. The only software that received a wider attention is Luxinia, a 3D game engine that a friend and I developed while being at University.

 Q. Why did you develop this game?

A. Mostly because I like games and I want to make games. But also because the game has a simple principle and I finally wanted to finish something. And even though the game is pretty simple, it still took me six month to get it done. And clicking the button to publish the game on the Android market was still difficult for me as I still see so many possibilities to improve the game in so many ways. You could say that it was a “spiritual” process that I went through – my aim was to publish a game and now I have learned now more about how it feels and
I hope that the next game isn’t going to take that long.

 Q. Any new games/apps on the way?

A.  Sort of. My personal aim for 2012 is to release more of the stuff I do for fun. I recently took part in a game jam that was sponsored by the company I work at and it was really fun. The game I wrote is written in flash though, but I am thinking about making an Android version of it (you can see  the game here).

I have a vague idea how to do the steering and how the levels should be working. But I have a couple of other ideas as well that I want to try out before picking something for finishing it. There’s a lot on my list, most of the games would be rather simple, some would be driven by physics, other would be more like puzzle games. I also want to take up the challenge to make a small RPG-like slashing game, but there isn’t anything done yet.

Q. Where do you see the Android market going in the next year or so?

A. I have absolutely no idea. I have a lot of experience to make – it’s pretty new to me and I need to figure out a lot of things. I just wished it was easier to get some attention in the market software. Right now, uploading something will barely result in any downloads unless the app is something that people are specifically looking for.

 Q. How can folks keep up with you?

A.  My google plus ID is 117716667591567551020  I sometimes post stuff there about what I am working on, screenshots of the games I work on during development, links that I find intersting or funny. I think it’s an easy way to get in touch with me.

Thanks for the time Eike. We wish you good luck and look forward to see how 2012 treats you.

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Developers

Psym Mobile -Apps from Down Under

The first game I ever purchased for my Android phone was Abduction! 2. Why–the graphics were good, had many in game options, and looked to be a game I would not finish in a day. Well, the game is still on my phone and still not finished with it.  Today I am  happy to introduce Psym Mobile, as our Featured Site and also as a sponsor of our first survey/contest coming up later today or tomorrow.

Thanks Phil for taking time out of your schedule to spend some time with us.

Q. Tell us a little about yourself?
A. My name is Phil Symonds and I’m originally from the UK, but I now live in Sydney, Australia. I’m a software developer in my day job, and I’ve been creating Android apps in my free time for the last 2 1/2 years. I’ve been gaming since I can remember and programming almost as long, but only recently did the two interests come together.

Q. When did Psym Mobile come about?
A.  I never planned to make games and certainly didn’t expect to earn money from doing so. Before Android I had made a few apps on Java enabled phones, GBA and PC, but nothing that was publicly released. I had been keeping an eye on Android throughout 2008 and bought the G1 (dream) as soon as it was released over here, back in Jan 2009. I’ve been programming in Java for 15 years, so an open Java powered phone was immediately appealing.

I wrote the first release of Abduction! in about a week as a learning exercise, and when I found myself playing it more than writing it I placed it on the market in a half finished state to get some feedback. After 1 week I had a few thousand downloads and with the quick feedback loop possible in the Android market I was adding features and incorporating user requests every couple of days. Before I knew it I had an app in the top 10 of the market.

I started the company later in 2009 once the paid apps became popular and it became clear this was turning into more than a hobby. The major event was the release of the Droid. Downloads doubled overnight and suddenly making apps for Android made sense commercially.

Q. Which games or apps have you developed?
A. Abduction! was my first Android game and the free version is still the most popular with over 7 million downloads. Following that was the paid version “Abduction! World Attack”, and a simple puzzle game, “Milky Milky”.

A few years back I made a PC game based around helicopters putting out forest fires. I started converting it to Android but never really finished it due to other commitments. The great thing about the Android market is that I could still release in it’s unfinished state, because there isn’t a quality control test to pass. I figured it’s better to release an unfinished app and label it as such rather than just let it rot on the shelf.

Next came Gem Miner which has become the most popular of my paid apps. The game mechanics came together quite quickly, but it took a long time to tweak the various prices and scarcity of items to make it play well.

Late in 2009 I started work on Abduction! 2 and that went on from about 9 months. This was the first game that I used beta testers on and it has a much higher level of polish than the previous apps. The jury is split on this one though – some like the cleaner look, others miss the rough-round-the-edges feel of the original.

Q. Can you tell use what is coming down the road from Psym Mobile?
A.  All development effort for the last 9 months has been on Gem Miner 2. It’s gone through several iterations trying to keep a balance between adding new game play features and not straying too far from the original formula.

This is the first app I’ve made where I’ve had help from others with the graphics. I’ve still created 90% of the sprites, but I’ve had help with character design and animation. I’m really excited by the result compared to the original which was very basic in that respect.

I’ve been saying that it’s 2-3 months from being finished for the last 6 months, but now I think that really is the case. The main work left is creating the adventure levels and menus, the core game is just about complete.

Other than that I have 3 prototypes and loads of ideas for new games, just no time to develop them! Gem Miner 2 is the priority right now, after that I’ll be starting on completely new game.

Q. What do you see in the future of Android?  Mobile gaming?
A.  Android is going to keep growing in the short to medium term because it’ll always capture the lower end of the market due to licensing costs, and the techie’s among us due to the customization. I think that whether it continues to cut into the high end share will depend entirely on what Apple turns out with the iPhone 5. I found the iPhone 4 very disappointing for an Apple release.

Casual mobile gaming is here to stay, it’s just a case of how it  affects the rest of the gaming market. Nintendo already seem to be suffering and whilst the Sony Vita is an impressive piece of hardware, I can’t see it fairing much better than the PSP. The average person is not going to pay an additional $200 for the privilege of spending $40 per game when they can get hours of entertainment for $1 on a device you already carry in your pocket. You see games on the 3DS market costing 4-5 times as much as their identical phone version, that can’t be sustainable.

In terms of gaming on Android, it’s improved by an order of magnitude in the last year. In part this is due to better hardware, but mostly it’s just because it’s being recognized by the major software houses as a viable platform. It’s making it more difficult for small outfits like myself to compete, but Android is still the  most accessible mass market for indy developers.