AppTalk: Interview With Erik Loyer - The Developer of Strange Rain
by Staff Writer
February 17, 2011
Today in our AppTalk section we have an interview with Erik Loyer, developer of Strange Rain. Below is a little bit of a behind the scenes look of a very intriguing app. For more details on the app check out our review of Strange Rain.
How did you come up with the idea for Strange Rain, as after all it’s pretty strange?
The idea for Strange Rain came about after looking through some old animation prototypes from about 10 years back, trying to find something that would be interesting to turn into an app. I gathered some promising samples and had my kids rate which ones were their favorites. One of the ones they liked the most had a yellow background with orange squares flying towards the user in 3D. After thinking about it for a while, I had the idea to turn the background into a sky, and the squares into raindrops falling towards the screen, and that's when I started working on the initial prototype.
Describe the production process, how much goes into it, and how long it took?
I put the first prototype together over a weekend, and the results were promising enough that I decided to pursue it further. Over the course of the next three months or so I worked on adding effects, music, and refining the experience. I had been interested in figuring out how to add a story element to the app almost from the very beginning, but didn't figure out how to make it work until a couple of months into the project. Soon after that I did a small beta test, which resulted in the great feedback that really helped improve the app, and the final release happened about a month after that, a week before Christmas.
Is strange rain the kind of app where it answers the question for you if you could make your dream app what would it be?
My first app Ruben & Lullaby was more of a "dream" for me in that the idea of making a creative app was a dream I had that I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull off—so when it finally happened it felt great. Strange Rain was much more about taking the things I had learned from the whole experience of publishing an app the first time and putting those things to work to support another idea I was excited about.
What do you think of the App Store market for independent developers?
All things considered, I think it's pretty amazing. For years before the App Store existed, I had been brainstorming ways I could do the kind of creative work I wanted to do in software and make that work available to the general public. Nintendo's WiiWare started to hint at what could be possible if a major hardware maker opened their platform to independent developers, but Apple really saw that vision through. It's not always easy being an independent, but it's often a lot of fun and having such easy access to a market like the App Store makes it a very exciting time to be in this field.
Can you discuss any kind of update plans for Strange Rain?
We've released one update already that adds some frequently requested features like a sleep timer and the ability to play the experience without music, along with some bug fixes. Currently I'm working with two composers to create some beautiful new music for the app, which I'm really excited about, and there are plans in the works to add new stories and visual elements as well. I have some bigger ideas for down the road, but am keeping those under wraps for now...
What’s your favorite iPhone app that’s not your own?
I love esoteric music apps with tons of controls, even if I don't know how to use them! In that category, ReBirth and TouchOSC are my favorites hands-down, especially on the iPad.
The idea for Strange Rain came about after looking through some old animation prototypes from about 10 years back, trying to find something that would be interesting to turn into an app. I gathered some promising samples and had my kids rate which ones were their favorites. One of the ones they liked the most had a yellow background with orange squares flying towards the user in 3D. After thinking about it for a while, I had the idea to turn the background into a sky, and the squares into raindrops falling towards the screen, and that's when I started working on the initial prototype.
Describe the production process, how much goes into it, and how long it took?
I put the first prototype together over a weekend, and the results were promising enough that I decided to pursue it further. Over the course of the next three months or so I worked on adding effects, music, and refining the experience. I had been interested in figuring out how to add a story element to the app almost from the very beginning, but didn't figure out how to make it work until a couple of months into the project. Soon after that I did a small beta test, which resulted in the great feedback that really helped improve the app, and the final release happened about a month after that, a week before Christmas.
Is strange rain the kind of app where it answers the question for you if you could make your dream app what would it be?
My first app Ruben & Lullaby was more of a "dream" for me in that the idea of making a creative app was a dream I had that I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull off—so when it finally happened it felt great. Strange Rain was much more about taking the things I had learned from the whole experience of publishing an app the first time and putting those things to work to support another idea I was excited about.
What do you think of the App Store market for independent developers?
All things considered, I think it's pretty amazing. For years before the App Store existed, I had been brainstorming ways I could do the kind of creative work I wanted to do in software and make that work available to the general public. Nintendo's WiiWare started to hint at what could be possible if a major hardware maker opened their platform to independent developers, but Apple really saw that vision through. It's not always easy being an independent, but it's often a lot of fun and having such easy access to a market like the App Store makes it a very exciting time to be in this field.
Can you discuss any kind of update plans for Strange Rain?
We've released one update already that adds some frequently requested features like a sleep timer and the ability to play the experience without music, along with some bug fixes. Currently I'm working with two composers to create some beautiful new music for the app, which I'm really excited about, and there are plans in the works to add new stories and visual elements as well. I have some bigger ideas for down the road, but am keeping those under wraps for now...
What’s your favorite iPhone app that’s not your own?
I love esoteric music apps with tons of controls, even if I don't know how to use them! In that category, ReBirth and TouchOSC are my favorites hands-down, especially on the iPad.
