AppTalk: Interview with Anders Hejdenberg, Developer of Dark Nebula
by Staff Writer
January 21, 2010
Tell us about your background, and why you decided to develop for the iPhone?
I started out in the games industry about twelve years ago as a 3d artist, but it didn’t take long before I became intrigued by the whole process of creating a game – game design, project management, animation, sound design and programming principles. I read every book or article I could come across that would bring any insight into making great games.
I tried out various different roles – I was a project manager for a few years, and then I became a lead game designer. There was always something new and interesting to learn. After working on the Battlefield series, I started my own company doing freelance game design work for various development studios and publishers. I got to work with some truly amazing people that I could learn a lot from.
But as time passed, I felt that each new project was less inspiring. The passion for making great products had been replaced by politics and greed. The result was that you had a fantastic team working overtime to create something that was just not worth the effort. Over and over again.
So I decided to take a break and do something else. I went on a long vacation, but as time passed, my love for games resurfaced. But I didn’t want to go back to the games industry in the state it was in, so I found a new way.
I had bought the iPhone just a couple of weeks after its launch, and I was very impressed by what it could do. By complete coincidence, my friend had just left his job to work as an iPhone programming consultant, and I was thinking about various games he could potentially create for it. One sleepless night I had an idea for what I felt would be an interesting game, and a few weeks after that I hired him to create what would become Dark Nebula.
The months that followed were truly amazing. The magic I had felt starting out in the industry was back, and making games was fun again. There was no publisher telling us what to do, there was no creative director interfering with the creative process – it was just pure bliss. We just did what needed to be done, and the constant stream of input from our testers made the game into what it became.
How did you come up with the idea for Dark Nebula, and how long did it take to turn that idea into a reality?
When starting out, we only had a rough idea of what we wanted to accomplish – but the main thing initially was to get the controls right. Without good controls, you have nothing. We started out using touch controls, but it just didn’t feel right. We tried out various different methods, but having your fingers all over the screen just felt too intrusive. We were used to making games that were controlled with analog sticks and buttons, and touch control was just not good enough for this type of game.
The reason we were so hesitant to implement accelerometer-based controls at first was because the games we had played that had used this method did not feel very good. We thought it was the accelerometer’s fault, but it turned out that the controls were just not implemented very well. With a great deal of tweaking and tuning by our programmer, we managed to get a result that felt great.
Once we had the controls in place we actually built the game around that. If it was fun to move in a certain way, we would create obstacles and traps that required that type of movement. The result was a game where everything you encounter is built around what you can do, and what is fun to do control-wise.
The game took roughly four months to complete, and during that time we built our own engine and level editing tool.
Dark Nebula is an amazing game, as we ranked it #21 of the best iPhone games ever. How did you make such amazing graphics, pinpoint controls, and the gameplay that leaves us wanting so much more?
I think the main thing was that the game was built by a passionate team. We had a lot of fun making the game, and we all wanted it to be great. If some aspect wasn’t good enough, we weren’t satisfied until we made it good enough.
The other thing was that we tested the game a LOT. For each new obstacle or new level, we would test the game on someone new to see how they reacted to it. We would see immediately when a certain part of the game did not work for some reason – perhaps because it was too hard or unclear what you were supposed to do.
We realized that the difference in ability between one person and another can be quite extreme, which made it very difficult for us to design the levels. One person would get bored because the game was too easy, while another would find the same level almost too hard. Since the right difficulty is crucial to how much you will enjoy a game, we decided to have the game adapt to how you played. If you play well, the game gradually gets harder – and if you struggle to complete a certain section the game will adapt to your skill.
Why did you decide to make your Dark Nebula into Episodes, and was that the plan all along. Why only 10 levels in the episode one?
The initial idea was just to make one game, but as we were creating it we came up with so many great ideas that we felt that it would be a shame not to create a sequel.
We would have loved to include more levels in episode one, but it in order to do so we would have needed to implement a lot more different obstacles to prevent it from becoming repetitive. We just didn’t have the time or the budget to make it any longer, which is something we certainly regret.
But we have listened to the feedback, so the next episode will be a lot longer and a lot more varied both in terms of gameplay and art style.
What do you think of the App Store economy as a whole, and where you fit in?
I’m amazed that it works as well as it does, but I think both Apple and the developers would make a lot more money if there was a good way of providing more exposure for quality products. Most people only look at what’s on the top free or top paid apps list and make their purchases from there, but I wish that games could also be ranked based on quality.
In the console and PC games industry you have services like Gamerankings or Metacritic that give you an average score based on what the reviewers are saying. They only include reviews from sites and magazines that have a certain amount of readers as well, so it’s not just anyone who can affect the overall score of the game.
But the bottom line is that the App Store works and I think that as the general quality level of the games and apps go up, people will be more interested in visiting various app review sites to get a better idea of what’s available. This will allow more than just a select few developers to recoup the money they spent on development, which is great for everyone.
Do you have any details of updates for episode one? Or any details on Dark Nebula episode 2?
We are currently considering releasing an update for episode one that will contain the first three levels of episode two for free once it has been released.
Regarding episode two, we wanted to create something that was a fresh new experience – not just more levels with a few added obstacles. So we have expanded the gameplay by adding in weapons and various different types of enemies that you get to fight. The controls are exactly the same, but you will have a lot more things that you can do with your character. We will also include open areas in the levels where you can move in all directions – not just backwards and forwards. This provides excellent arenas where you can battle a lot of enemies at the same time.
We have put a lot of effort into making the art more varied throughout the game. You will now be moving through various different types of environments – from jungles to underground industrial zones. We are also adding music, which has a remarkable effect on the general atmosphere of the game.
What is your favorite iPhone game that is not your own?
I don’t really have a favorite game as much as a favorite app, which is the Sleep cycle alarm clock. Sleep cycle uses the accelerometer in the iPhone to monitor your movement as you sleep, and will wake you up when you are in your lightest sleep phase in the morning. It works perfectly, and it also shows you a graph of how you’ve slept each night that you can post on Facebook. Very cool stuff.
***I hope you enjoyed our interview with a truly great gaming mind. Stay tuned for more info about Dark Nebula Episode 2.
