AppTalk: Interview with the developer of Soosiz, Ville Mäkynen

It's AppTalk time again, and now we continue our series of interviewing the developers of the Top 5 games of all time. We gave you a look into the minds behind Jet car Stunts, and now today it's the minds behind Soosiz. Soosiz is an amazing game, and now we'll give you a little insight into the development process behind the gem. Enjoy. First Off, whom is TouchFoo made of, and what does each person contribute? Touch Foo consists of two people, me and my brother Tuomas Mäkynen. We are both students at a university here in Finland studying computer science. I am the programmer and Tuomas handles the artistic side. In addition, we both do game design and whatever other duties are involved in the game development process. Why did you decide to develop for the iPhone? There were many factors as to why we chose the iPhone. First of all, we really liked the user experience on the multi touch display, and also the hardware cababilities seemed great for game development. The App Store was probably what had the biggest influence. Being able to easily distribute the game to a lot of people, and getting paid for it, was something that no other platform could offer. How long did it take to create Soosiz, and do you believe it was worth it? The project was initially started in December 2008. At first, it was completely a hobby project that we did in between our studies. Around March we had our first prototypes running, and that is when we realized the potential of our game and started working on it seriously. The game was submitted in September, so the development took around six months of full-time work with two people plus some three months of part-time work. Being the first game that we ever finished, I think it was worth it just for the experience alone. In addition to that, even though we didn't become millionnaires yet, Soosiz has earned us enough money that we can really focus on our next game. So yes, it was certainly worth it. What do you think of the App Store economy as a whole, especially in regards to small developers like yourself? There is no easy money left on the App Store anymore. You either have to get really lucky or you have to have a very good product. In this sense, it's not really different from any other platform. It is still possible for even a small developer to be successful. And what really makes the App Store great is how easily you can get your app on the store. You can just develop your game without worrying about whether you can get it published. Do you have any plans you can discuss with us about a new game? All I can say for now is that we have some really ambitious plans for our next game. It is still too early to say what it is, and to be honest, we are not totally sure what it will be either. We are working on an idea, but it might very well turn out to be something very different. What is your favorite game that is not your own? I have many favorite games on my iPhone, but if I have to pick one, I would say MiniSquadron. It is a really fun game with nice graphics, and unlocking the planes is addictive. Another game I'd like to mention is Train Conductor because I like trains. =) (And because it's a good game.)

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