AppTalk: Interview With The Developers Of Angry Birds
by Staff Writer
August 24, 2010
Our AppTalk section finally returns with a bang. Below is an interview with Ville Heijari from Rovio who was kind enough to answer a few questions that we can then share with you. Please enjoy, and let us know what other developers you would like to hear from.
When you developed Angry Birds did you think in your wildest dreams you would have such amazing success?
We are certainly happy about the resounding success so far, but right from the beginning, we’ve had a good impression that we’ve onto something here. The final confirmation came late in 2009, when our COO showed a near-finished build to her mother, who normally doesn’t play games: she simply refused to hand the iPhone back during the whole weekend. Our designers and developers have really put a lot of effort into making a game for everybody, and we’d say they’ve really hit the mark with Angry Birds.
Describe the production process at Rovio of who does what, etc.?
We have a great mix of designers, artists and programmers, who all contribute in equal measure towards the excellence of our games. We always try to get the core development wrapped up rapidly, and then follow up with loads and loads of iterative testing, development and polishing.
Why have you chosen to develop for iOS over any other platform?
Going for the Apple App Store market was a logical choice for us, because we knew that if we’ll make it there, we can make it everywhere. We never chose to develop for iOS alone – Angry Birds has been available for the Nokia N900 for quite some time, and the Palm version is just coming out this week. The Android version is expected to be released shortly, and Symbian 3 devices will follow suit later. Our aim is literally to make Angry Birds available for everyone!
What do you think of the App Store economy, especially while sitting as the number one game?
The App Store is a fantastic ecosystem for smaller, independent developers to reach a global audience. Reaching the top and staying at the top takes a lot of work, but in our experience it is possible for anyone willing to put enough effort into it. The competition is fierce, and you have to be prepared to continuously develop and promote your work to remain at the top.
How long can we expect updates with more levels, and do you have any info you can share on the next one?
We just released a brand new update with reconstructed levels and more goodies, and our policy is to keep providing more updates.
Are you planning on moving on to developing a different game any time soon or are you going to continue focusing on Angry birds?
Expect lots and lots more of Angry Birds for now!
What's your favorite iPhone game that’s not your own?
We always have a lot of love for all PopCap Games products, they have been a real inspiration to us for a long time.
