The Design Behind the IPhone Game, Eliss

Steph talks about the design behind the IPhone game, Eliss

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/eliss-podcast.mp3

Or listen to it here…

[wp_youtube]7fELPZ26QRk[/wp_youtube]

Show Notes:
Interviewer: I’m at the Game Developers Conference at the IGF Global Competition and with me today is a special guest. How about you introduce yourself?

Steph: Hi, I’m Steph Thirion and I’m the developer of Eliss which is a crazy finger gymnastics game for the iPod Touch and the iPhone.

Interviewer: So, what’s the game about? You know, you start the game and what happens?

Steph: Well, basically, the basics are you have these little planets. They are not actually solid. You can, if they have the same color, you can join them and separate them. So, you kind of control their size by joining and splitting them. If planets are different colors and if they collide, you lose energy. This is how you lose the fight. It is collisions of colors that are not the same.

Your objective in the game is to make super novas. To make super novas you have to put the planets inside a space phenomenon that I call Squeezar which is kind of like this hole where you put the planets and super nova is made. The thing is that the Squeezars have different sizes, and so you have to match the size of your planets to the Squeezar.

So, basically, that’s the basics of the game, and then if you go on there’s a few extra surprises. There’s a few extra phenomenons that make every level a different landscape and every energy level kind of needs different strategies. It’s kind of an action game but it’s also a puzzle game because you have to figure out how am I going to pass this level. What strategy do I have to go through to pass this level?

Interviewer: What inspired the game?

Steph: Usually, when I do any kind of project I spend weeks on a notebook and trying to do mock ups, but here it actually started by… I thought that I was going to do a game that I would do it in six days. It would be real simple, just projecting circles around using multi-touch because I thought I’d better do it an easy app and make some money because I like trying stuff and I’m not making any money. But, then I thought that I could split these circles and join them, and I realized that there was a lot of potential here. I ended up spending five months on what was supposed to be a simple game.

Interviewer: Sure.

Steph: So, the process was very… I was adding things, kind of like a snowball getting bigger and bigger, and then it became Eliss. So, there are some inspirations, actually. When I was looking for the graphics for this game, I went through paintings by Russian painters and especially there was one painter place called Elissinski [sp]. I actually don’t know how you pronounce that. That was the code name for the game at the beginning, Eliss. And that’s why it stayed Eliss.

The first test of the game looked like Elissinski’s paintings but then I changed it to more like a space game. It just ended up being something different, I think.

Interviewer: During the five month process, did you do any play testing? How did you spec out the game design and, I guess, test out the new opportunity for game play because you’re using multi-touches?

Steph: Actually, I was pretty bad at that play testing. I learned the hard way that play testing is absolutely crucial, and you need a lot of people to play this. So, in this first version of the game I kind of messed up. The game is really hard. Some people like it.

It is a challenge, but I actually looked at the statistics of the game play. Only a few people have managed to finish it so it’s really too hard, so I’m not really referencing play testing, but I definitely want to get better at that.

Interviewer: When you released the game, how did it go on the iPhone? Did people buy it or is it released on the iPhone App Store?

Steph: It’s on the App Store. It’s totally official.

Interviewer: Is there a free version, or is there a pay version?

Steph: There’s only a free – sorry. There’s only a pay version but it costs $4. At this point there is no free version.

Interviewer: So, how are you promoting it? Is it just straight through the App Store, or are you finding other ways to promote the game?

Steph: Well, I started promoting it by contacting Ross which is a powerful way to get known. What I’m finding out is that the App Store is kind of a parallel universe as far as what people know about things that are going on. Basically, what you need to do in the App Store is get into the top, in the top 100 action games or the top 100 games. When you get to the top 100 apps, then things gets really interesting. I haven’t made any of these, so I’m trying to figure out how to get there.

Interviewer: What’s the next step? Are you going to work on this game some more? Are you going to work on another iPhone game?

Steph: So, the next step is getting this game right. I need to add an easier mode, and there’s probably going to be a few more surprises just to get the game right. And then, I’ll be working on a second game. Actually, there’s already a prototype. Actually, I put it on hold to make Eliss and I want to finish it because I think it’s a great game and I’m really excited about it.

So, that’s my next step, doing another game by myself and then we’ll see what happens.

Interviewer: How do you like working by yourself and have you tried to work with other people? Is it more effective or what?

Steph: I love working by myself. I’m really better at that.

Interviewer: Oh, really? Wow. I thought it would be more disciplined if you had another person, but, yeah, go ahead and talk about the benefits of working by yourself.

Steph: The benefits of working by myself? Here’s the thing. I have a music background. I have a design background. I kind of felt like, yeah I want to do everything. I am excited by music and all that. So, it’s something that is your vision, one person. It can either work or not.

It’s about my personality. I concentrate a lot better when I’m working by myself, but I also had some amazing indie experiences, too, to work with other people so I’ll definitely think about that later, especially once I find people that I think are really direct people.

Interviewer: Can you talk about the benefits of working in it? What benefits did you get from working with someone else on a game?

Steph: What I got from working with someone else – it’s actually pretty amazing when you actually see them sketch the idea and direct a person, and then that person produces it and comes back. It’s kind of, you know, utopia. I want a computer that does what I think and then it just makes it. That’s kind of what it’s like working with other people in a way.

Of course, the feedback and the debating of what is right or what is not always good. Of course, you need the right people. It’s not easy.

Interviewer: When you say the right person, is it just someone you can get along with or feels passionate about the idea or what?

Steph: Someone that you get along with, someone that is good, someone that is creative, someone that is respectful, someone that you can trust. That’s a lot of things to fill. Of course, there are people that fill all of these requisites, but it’s not easy to find.

Interviewer: Any last words then for other potential iPhone developers out there?

Steph: Yeah, I think the iPhone and the App Store and the iPod Touch is an amazing, amazing, amazing platform. It’s an amazing store. It’s an amazing opportunity for all of us so I think it’s really exciting times. I am really happy to be here, and I’m happy for everyone who made it here.

Interviewer: Thank you very much.