The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Wispin
Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Chris Graham of Grumpy Face Studios about his iPhone action puzzler Wispin.
What's your game called, and what's it about?
It's a quirky little affair for the iPhone/iPod Touch called Wispin. We describe it as an arcade experience with a unique twist: The addition of "color-matching" gameplay elements. Players can change our spunky hero's color on the fly by utilizing the on-screen "Color Wheel," which can be tapped or swiped much like a joystick. Gameplay involves a constant balancing of offensive and evasive maneuvers, as changing your color determines which enemies you can dispatch (those that match your color) and which will do you harm (those that don't match).
A number of additional features and mechanisms are also present to keep things interesting, such as "color streak combos", performance-based point multiplying, online leaderboards, and an overall game progression that advances from calm to deliciously chaotic. We also tried to inject a healthy dose of wackiness (such as a usable cheese powerup), because we're weird like that.
How did you get started in game design and how did Grumpyface Studios come about?
I attempted to become involved in game design for a long time before it finally happened. My planned "in" for the industry was becoming a 3D artist, which I did, but at the time I found myself only landing unrelated jobs (first in Architectural Visualization, then later in the casino industry). It was beginning to seem like a career working in games, a goal I was always passionate about, just wasn't in the cards for me. I decided I was done waiting around, and for the first time my thoughts turned to putting something together on my own.
Around this time I recall a hopeless addiction to my iPhone, which seemed to be gaining innovative and high-quality games at a ridiculous rate. (The term 'mobile games' definitely use to cause a bit of nose-raising back in the day, so this was surprising.) After doing some research into the "App Store" market and Apple's publishing process, I quickly realized that getting a game out there on my own was actually doable. After this revelation it all boiled down to an "It's worth a shot" attitude!
What was it like working independently?
In my case, I was working at home while also juggling a day job, girlfriend, and social life (no easy task). I started on my own but eventually recruited a small team, and what made our development experience particularly unique was the geography. Each of us lived in a different state. Our brilliant programmer, Edgar Bocanegra, was someone I had never met before! I had no clue if a team could realistically come together in this way for such a huge project, something that could go on to compete in a commercial market, and with little resources or no budget ... but luckily it turned out to be very possible thanks to the right drive and passion being in place for all of us.
Though we planned, structured and organized development to a degree, the creative process was still kept fairly organic and free-form. New ideas were added (and removed, when they didn't work) right up to the end of development; a great freedom that working independently allowed.
What did you learn from the process and what advice would you offer to others?
If you're interested in working on a game, put yourself out there and don't let any worries or excuses stop you! My own experience began with many doubts and a complete lack of resources, but I just kept pushing forward.
Always over-budget your time (especially your test cycle), because it's inevitably going to take much longer than you think! All said and done, Wispin took around six months to complete, though we had planned on four.
If you're working from home: buy an instant coffee maker, eliminate potential distractions, and make yourself comfortable. (Working in pajama pants = one of life's little pleasures.)
What's next?
The feedback on Wispin has been amazing so far and a great learning experience. We're currently working on improvements and updates for the game, and we're also planning some big things for next year. Oh, and hopefully I'll start getting out of the house more!
Want to check out Wispin for yourself? You can grab it right here! If you'd like to have your own shot at converting our readers into fans, email justin aat joystiq dawt com, subject line "The Joystiq Indie Pitch." Still haven't had enough? Check out the Pitch archives.