Critical Thought's David Whatley says Microsoft has done a great job for mobile game developers

Microsoft is intent on ensuring Windows Phone 7 is awash with apps on launch day, sourced both from Xbox Live Arcade and iPhone.

One game that has already made a name for itself on the App Store is Critical Thought's geoDefense, the tower defence title which recently has been followed up with geoDefense Swarm and geoSpark.

We caught up with Critical Thought's David Whatley to ask why he's throwing his weight behind Windows Phone 7.

Pocket Gamer: How did you get involved with developing for Windows Phone 7? David Whatley: Based on the success of my geoDefense titles on iPhone, I was contacted by Microsoft to potentially be part of what would become its managed indie program. I imagine many other developers who have been successful on that platform have been similarly approached.

Of course, Microsoft makes the tools available to anyone, so it's as easy to get started creating Windows Phone 7 apps and games as it is for the iPhone.

What is the platform like to work with?

Developing games is remarkably straightforward on WP7.

Microsoft has augmented its extremely robust VisualStudio 2010 developer IDE tool - both the full and express versions - with extensions that allow you to develop directly on the WP7 Emulator and the device.

The work flow is very similar too, and it's as easy to work with as Apple's XCode and the iPhone.

Application development is done in Silverlight, but my focus is games. For that it offers XNA 4.0, which is a mature framework for developing DirectX games on Windows and Xbox. All coding is done in C#, a language I very much like working in.

This may irk those who want to work in C/C++, but in my case it was not an issue. Since the geoDefense games were written almost entirely in Objective-C for the iPhone, there was going to be a porting job no matter what.

What opportunities does Windows Phone 7 offer?

In my opinion, WP7 is a very solid entrant into the consumer mobile space. In particular its potential as a gaming platform is particularly strong. Microsoft knows games, it knows tools, it embraces the middleware ecosystem and it's leveraging its Xbox Live assets.

This, of course, is sizing up a race horse before the bell.

What remains to be seen is how well Microsoft will go to market with this product, and how consumers will respond. But I can say, from my standpoint, Microsoft has done a great job for game developers in particular.

Do you think Windows Phone 7's focus on games will give it an advantage over other smartphones?

The fact is that services like leaderboards and so forth are a mainstay of iPhone games already, thanks to the likes of OpenFeint, etc., and this is before Apple rolls out its Game Center solution.

Xbox Live will be uniquely attractive to Xbox Live members, I imagine, but it's probably less impactful for the casual game player who doesn't even know what a gamer tag is. In my view, Xbox Live will, over time, need to adapt some more causal sensibilities onto its existing core features.

What form this takes will largely be driven by how the device eventually gets used by the gamers. This is no different than what Apple's Game Center will have to do.

What specific aspects of Windows Phone 7's are you looking to take advantage of?

Because WP7 uses XNA, it's trivial to create a Windows and an Xbox Live Arcade title from the same codebase. This seems like a real opportunity to be explored.

How would you say it compares to the likes of iPhone and Android?

I've yet to do any Android work. The market there is starting to evolve, but like many developers, I'm waiting to see if you can make a buck there or not.

The nice thing about Windows Phone 7 is that there is a minimum hardware spec, which is essential for game development. In this way it is very much like working with the iPhone, and for many developers, working in VisualStudio, XNA and C# will be very comfortable.

Would you say the smartphone market is becoming overcrowded?

It is become crowded with opportunities! In my view, a good thing. The iPhone line dominates from an app developers' standpoint - so much so that it needs competition to keep things sane. Even Apple - though hard to admit, I'm sure - needs competition.

From the developers' standpoint, the more the better.

Eventually there will be the leader - for the time being, that's undoubtedly Apple - and then the number two and three players. These represent other distribution channels and a check on the relationship these platforms have with the developer community.

Apple opened the eyes of the industry to what was possible and everyone is rushing to catch up. On the app side, that's hard - real hard. Apple has an impressive advantage, not just in numbers but also in infrastructure.

But it also have shown some weaknesses such as its beyond arms length relationship with developers and propensity for odd and chilling edicts that ripple through the developer community.

The great news is that Apple has really created a new golden age for independent game developers - one where small shops can compete on the same footing, and even win, against the likes of an EA

And Microsoft, Google, Palm and others are just making things even better - the opportunities to make money, lots of money, for indie game developers has never been greater.

Microsoft's managed indie program is, in particular, unique in the industry. It's a real credit to its team that it recognises independent game developers as a vital source of compelling content and has created a program to really bring the best of that to its platform, both at launch and into the future.

Any future plans for Windows Phone 7?

I would love to have some influence in how WP7 evolves as a gaming platform. For a 1.0, it's a very solid offering.

Certainly anything you can do from a gaming standpoint on the iPhone you can do on a WP7 device. But there are opportunities to differentiate too: such as mining the deep and rich PC and Xbox lineage to give WP7 a distinctive edge as a mobile gaming platform.

A lot of this will depend on how the market responds when the first Windows Phone 7 devices hit the shelves. I personally can't wait.

Thanks to David for his time.