Sponsored Feature: CWA Games on mixing mythology with strategy in Age of Myth on iOS

A game steeped in Greek mythology shouldn't be short of material to work with in terms of characters and battles, and so it proves with CWA Games's latest title Age of Myth.

In this action-strategy game for iOS, you battle against a large variety of characters, each with its own unique abilities and skills.

Helen He, marketing operator at CWA Games, spoke to us about how the game works, what challenges she faced in developing it, and what lies ahead in terms of updates. Pocket Gamer: Can you explain how Age of Myth works, and what it offers that you can't get from any other title on the App Store?

Helen He: In regards to how it works, you tap left or right on the screen during the game to move the hero forward and backward. You can also tap soldier type and the skill map to create the corresponding type of soldier and the corresponding skills.

The combination of soldiers has a significant impact on your success when combating different enemies from different stages.

Different heroes possess different skills, you see: some have skills that are useful for short-range attacks, while others have ones that are good for long-range moves.

Careful deployment of hero skills (displayed in the lower-right-hand corner of the screen) allows you to achieve double the results with half the effort.

The game itself is a mix of action and strategy, requiring quick and smart thinking.

There are five different battlefields to fight across - what are the differences between them and how do they help fights from getting repetitive?

Apart from different backgrounds, the enemies you face in each battlefield differ to a large extent. Their attacks vary, for one thing: from short to long range; in either physical or magical form; attacking individual targets or groups.

Different enemies may even have an adverse effect on the player's goal. By having to mix up different skills and types of soldiers to combat different enemies from each battlefield, you, naturally, get a different game experience. You must think carefully and strategise accordingly to overcome the enemies in each battlefield.

All these variations help fights from becoming repetitive.

What were the main reasons for choosing a mythical theme? Any advantages?

First of all, there aren't many games available from the App Store with a Greek mythology theme. It's fair to say, too, that Greek mythology has its special place in Western societies.

Furthermore, in Greek mythology, the distinction between the characteristics of good and evil is very clear cut - this makes it easier to distinguish between the game's different graphic designs for you and your opponents.

What challenges did you face during development, and how did you overcome them? Was the physics engine hard to perfect, for example?

Given the game's 2D nature and battles involving large quantity of heroes and monsters, the greatest challenge I faced during development was getting the frame animation right. It was not really ideal for creating the moves for the characters, and a large amount of resources had been wasted as a result.

After further research, I decided to use tween animation instead, and a new editor was written with reference to AE. This allowed me to use tween to create smooth character movements and a system for changing equipment for a large paper doll troop.

There was no physics engine involved in the creation of the game.

Which part of the game are you personally the most proud of and why?

Well, as the developer, I am proud of every aspect of the game.

However, if I really have to choose a single part, I would probably have to say the design of the individual heroes with all their different characteristics stands out the most.

Having three different heroes - each with its own unique characteristics, equipment, and skill possession - to select from will allow players to enjoy different gaming experiences even when they are playing through the same stage.

How important do you think the achievements and online leaderboards are in keeping people playing the game?

Achievements and leaderboards give players a sense of achievement and an added purpose for playing. They even help establish a competitive relationship between players.

Have you any updates planned for Age of Myth, and if so, what do they include?

There are plans for updates in the future, such as the addition of new heroes, new building functions, and the creation of separate storylines for individual heroes.

Age of Myth is available on iPhone for free (iTunes link), and on iPad for free [iTunes link].

An Android version of the game is currently being developed.