Interview: OrangePixel, Makers of the Mobile Game DynamoKid Touch
We recently reviewed the iPhone / iPod Touch game DynamoKid Touch by OrangePixel, a mobile game studio. Given the opportunity to ask some questions about the game and the studio’s upcoming projects, we jumped at the chance to find out more.
Scott Morse: On OrangePixel’s website it’s mentioned that upcoming updates for DynamoKid Touch include a bug fix and the addition of a new world. Are there any other updates we can look forward to in the future?
OrangePixel: The update mentioned on the site is now live, but we are already hard at work on real updates. A new world will be added, together with a world-selection map (like the old school Mario games). The update will contain many small enhancements on top of the new world… and after that we plan to add more worlds in following updates… we are not done with this game yet! – check the site for a great trailer of the new world we are introducing.. it’s hot!
SM: Have you considered releasing a demo version of DynamoKid as a way to reach players who are not familiar with your past games?
OP: A lite version will be released on Android together with the next update of the full version (in a few weeks time)… a lite version on iPhone might be made at the same time, we are looking into it.
SM: DynamoKid is available for both iPod/iPhone as well as Android phones. How challenging was it to deliver the game on two different mobile platforms?
OP: Android is our main platform, but with our previous game (Mini Plane) we decided to start releasing games on iPhone/iPod touch also. I took the month of March to drop everything else and learn iPhone development, recreating the Mini Plane game bit by bit. Using that experience it was a couple of weeks work to recreate DynamoKid on the iPhone. The good thing is that we can now develop games on both devices and make sure that the gameplay experience is exactly the same.
SM: I’ve noticed that some of OrangePixel’s earlier games were designed for play on non-touch interfaces such as cell phone keypads. How has the rise in popularity of touch-based devices such as the iPhone and Android changed the way that you design and develop mobile games?
OP: Our idea is that resorting to “on-screen joysticks” is not the best way to develop games for this new generation of touch devices. In most cases it just doesn’t work! There are many new and interesting ideas for controls or game concepts you can try. Most of our game ideas start with a simple classic concept, and then we look at it and figure out a good way to make it playable using touch or tilt controls, and enhance the core concept with new ideas and interesting tweaks to bring it in new directions.
SM: Are there any genres or game types that you haven’t yet explored that you might consider for an upcoming release?
OP: We are currently working on a new idea based on the Snake concept… we have seen millions of Snake games, but there had to be something more you can do with it… so we came up with “Mini Army”. The Android version is 90% done and playable, and when we get all the little issues solved we will develop the iPhone version and release them at the same time. A little preview is available at: http://www.orangepixel.net/miniarmy/
