Interview with Legally Addictive Games

I managed to get an interview with Martin and Mike who are Legally Addictive Games and they were even kind enough to offer 20% off Addictive Tower Defense for the next two days (see question 7 for details). All BlackBerry owners need this game- you really do.

1/ Tell us a bit about Legally Addictive Games and how you came up with the idea of Addictive Tower Defense?

Martin: I’m in the co-op program in my school, and I got an internship at the company that Mike was (and currently is) working at. We were talking one day, and Mike mentioned that he wanted to do a game for the BlackBerry (being the expert BlackBerry programmer than he is), and we eventually settled on making a tower defense game. I think mostly because we were talking about how excited we were about Starcraft II. At first it was just a pet project, a “see if we can do it kind of thing”, but then Mike started working on the engine, I built a map editor, and then we realized how fun things could be, and we thought that we’d see just what we were capable of.

Mike: I don’t know too many developers that would give up the chance to make a game and the great thing about never sleeping is that you can do it quite cheaply. I had experience with graphic design in the past, my brother works professionally in the art field, but I really didn’t know how this was going to turn out originally, I just wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t have a laugh at our expense come Christmas time. The concept started small and Marty kept having ideas for some great game mechanics so we started working and things just snowballed until we were an actual company.

2. How have you managed to make a BlackBerry game that I want to play over and over again when no-one else can?

Mike: I don’t think that it’s the big things that set the game apart it’s the small things. As a Bold owner, I’m used to clattering away on the keyboard and it is just second nature to me and that’s one of the first things that we set out to do, make a game that felt natural. The animations, holstering behaviour, all grew out of a desire to make a game that fit into your standard BlackBerry experience (pick-up and put-down) but that was a real, complete gaming experience.

Martin: I think that it’s because we made a game that we want to play, not as a distraction but as a serious game. Having no budget meant that we didn’t have to worry about running out of money, since we had no money to run out of, and so we could take our time with it. We talked a lot, were willing to throw out features that we didn’t like, and built in ways for us to change things like tower and enemy numbers easily. We ran a small beta test before we released, which was an incredible help – originally we had thought that the beta would just be to iron out any bugs we missed, but we got the Storm controls to the state that they’re in because of all of the great feedback.

3. What plans do you have for the game in the future?

Martin: Well, like you said, sound would be a great thing to add. More device support would be great – we have the game running on the 8300 now. We want to build a community around the game, something that I don’t think has been done with a mobile game yet. Downloading maps was a start to that, but you’re absolutely right that custom maps would be great, so we’re going to hopefully make a map editor so that users could make their own maps – again, inspired by games like Starcraft, which I think owes its longevity to its wonderful custom maps. We’d also like to start running contests – things like releasing a new map, and sending the person with the highest score on it a prize. Also, people seem to have been beating Addictive mode (which neither of us can do yet), so I think that we have to ramp up the difficulty in some of the future maps to keep these crazies happy.

Mike: The map editor is the biggest initiative we have for the near future, downloadable maps have helped us to extend the replayability of the game but we want to be community builders. Despite painstakingly testing the difficulty balance for the game, neither of us can actually beat addictive mode to this day! I think that’s what we’re hoping to find with the map editor as well, that players will take things to a level that we didn’t initially expect.

4. Are you planning any other games for the BlackBerry platform?

Mike: I would love to do it again. The community support has been great and just seeing our work being enjoyed by people we’ve never met is an amazing feeling. I think the OpenGL announcement from RIM is a call to all developers to step things up,  and we really want to be at the forefront of that movement.

Martin: Absolutely. We think it’s a great platform, and OpenGL ES will be a big help, even for 2D games. As for what it will be, we’re not sure yet, but I think that it will be something special.

5. What phone do you use and why?

Martin: Actually, I don’t own a phone, because the university insists on taking all of my money. Once I graduate (in April!) I think I’m going to purchase a Bold 9700 for myself.

Mike: I’ve worked with BlackBerry devices since the Pearl 8100, but I’ve been using the Bold for about a year now. After test driving the 9700 I think I’ll be sticking with my 9000, I just prefer the feel of it. RIM is known for making hardware that feels like you could put it through a wood chipper without leaving a dent and I think that’s true of the Bold in particular. The Storm 2 with OpenGL support might be enough to convert me to a touchscreen user though.

6. Has the game been as successful as you would have wished?

Mike: The community support has been fantastic and I think that is the success we’ve really been looking for. We have had some great beta testers that have stayed on and kept talking to us, we’ve spoken with  high score holders and we’re looking to start presenting some “professional” strategies on our site soon. That’s definitely the kind of success that keeps me excited. Also, to dispel any conspiracy theories, I’m not MoneyMike, he’s steadfastly destroying my high scores.

Martin: Well, I don’t own a Veyron yet, so no. Seriously though, we had no idea what to expect. So far sales have been modest – not disappointing by any means, but I think that as more people hear about the game, they’ll pick up more.

7. Cheeky question. Can PDA-247 readers have a 20% discount off your game for the next 2 days please?!?

Fine! Twist our arm, why don’t ya?! Use the coupon code “PDA-47” (without the quotes) for 20% off Wednesday and Thursday, because you asked us nicely. You can buy the game here.