Interviews

Devs should 'embrace' the smaller smartphone platforms first, says Boonce's Rob Rule

'Intimidating' App Store not the only option

Devs should 'embrace' the smaller smartphone platforms first, says Boonce's Rob Rule
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| Boonce

Given the problems smaller studios have garnering attention on Windows Phone without tapping into Xbox Live – access to which is extremely limited by Microsoft – the platform might appear a strange choice for a developer launching its first release.

The team behind physics puzzler Boonce, however, believe there's value in avoiding the might of the App Store on day one.

According to graphic artist Rob Rule, who joined forces with father-son outfit Garry and Ed McMahon at Kalidorn to work on the release, it's a strategy more studios should employ.

We caught up with Rule to find out why he believes bigger isn't always better.

Pocket Gamer: How did you teaming up with Kalidorn come about? Rob Rule: We ended up working together by happy accident.

I'd vaguely known Garry [McMahon, Kalidorn owner and director] through an online video game community we both frequented and had him on the usual social networking channels - Facebook, Twitter et al.

One day I noticed that he'd quietly started working on a game idea with his seventeen year old son, Ed. The whole father-son dynamic piqued my interest and I quietly kept an eye on their progress.

It was an entirely charming concept, to me – that of the father and son beavering away on a unique game project, learning how to make games as they went.

From my own game making experiences I knew bringing even a relatively straight forward concept like Boonce to fruition would be a monumental task for a two man team that had never tried their hand at a line of code before.

One has their reservations at the beginning of these small indie ventures, if not because so many get started with the same kind of passion and enthusiasm, only to fall by the wayside a little further down the line. But it soon became clear that they were dedicated to their idea and were sticking to it, and beyond that it looked like the game was shaping up to be something special, too.

It was then that I decided to trace Garry's IP address to where he and his son lived, squeeze myself through their kitchen window and, while they were sitting down to dinner, propose my offer of turning their programmer graphics into marginally more attractive technicolour delights.

Or I might have sent them an email. I don't quite recall.

Many indie devs start out on iOS before launching games on Android and, latterly, Windows Phone. What made you kick off on Microsoft's platform?

I think it's a regrettable inevitability that the platforms with fewer users get a look in on titles last - and, sometimes, not at all - particularly when there's so much opportunity in embracing those up-and-coming platforms that have more to prove.

Being the first movers can bring its rewards - like greater exposure, less competition and a less flighty or distracted audience.

Take Apple's App Store for instance. There is, of course, an intimidatingly large amount of stuff on there. Beautifully crafted and well polished games can sink below the sheer volume of apps in less time than it takes to whisper their name - indeed, I've seen friends put out some really excellent experiences that never quite managed to hold their heads above the surface long enough to find the audience they deserved.

This is by no means a problem unique to the App Store, but we think that there's a strong gaming community building on Windows Phone and we want to be right there with it.

How has your experience developing for Windows Phone been so far?

As the 'art guy', I got an easy ride on this project. My input amounted to giving design and GUI suggestions and then firing up PhotoShop and churning out some assets that I hope have at least gone halfway to doing their excellent game justice.

From what little I've used of it, Visual Studio 2010 is a lovely environment to work in and both Garry and Ed have clearly made great strides with it. An enjoyable development process with the only significant pains being those requisite final hours of giddy mayhem. We love the platform and we'll be back for more.

Some indies have complained that, without Xbox Live certification, it's incredibly hard to get noticed on Windows Phone Marketplace. Does this worry you?

We believe – or should that be hope - Boonce's quality will speak for itself and that as more people discover our game, the further word will spread.

Initial reviews have been positive and we've received some glowing feedback from players - all of which has been immensely gratifying, so thank you to you all - so we're cautiously optimistic that Boonce's player base will continue to steadily grow.

We don't intend to abandon the game anytime soon and we have a number of big updates planned to keep things fresh for people – it's our belief that if we continue to support and expand Boonce, people will respond to that and notice us.

What kind of downloads are you expecting, in total?

We won't be sated until we've reached roughly 12 million units sold. We are currently at a percentage lower than that figure.

Any plans to launch on other platforms?

Boonce will be coming to Windows 8 when it's upon us so we're certainly open to the idea of new platforms. There's been some good discussion about other platforms that are out there now, too. Despicably non-committal of me, I know. Ask us again in six months.

Thanks to Rob for his time.


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You can find out more about Boonce developer Kalidorn on the studio's website.

Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.