Everyday Gamers: How did you come up with the concept of Bug Bounce?

David Janik-Jones: I wanted to create, for the first Cocoa Touch Games title, something simple that matched my game-creating philosophy of “fun, simple, joyful.” And I also something I could get my feet wet with in terms of iPhone SDK development, modularization of things like high score systems, 2D physics solutions, etc, that I could use across a number of titles. Spring was just starting up here in southern Ontario and with the bugs just making their appearances, it seemed a natural fit to do a simple 2D physics game with fun little bug icons with nothing more strenuous than escaping the bugs as long as you could. Plus my sons thought it was a fun idea — and loved the cartoon-like bugs.

What made you decide to go with the art style that you did for BB?

My whole philosophy of “fun, simple, joyful.” Art (and associated gameplay) that appeals to a wide range of users. Colourful and bright to work well with the iPhone and touch displays. Realism in game art is fine, but for what I’m trying to achieve, I’d rather go for something like Ferry Halim’s brilliant little Flash games than Doom 4. It’s really a matter of personal taste to many … but I like fun and whimsy in my games.

Who does the art for Bug Bounce or CTG for that matter?

Concept artist and character designer Sam Lamont (of http://www.moonskinned.com) stepped up to the plate at the last minute after my original artist backed out. He created the player and bug icons and got exactly the look I was shooting for first time through. I do a lot of the art and art direction myself for Cocoa Touch Games … backgrounds, logos, general look and feel for the games, storyboards, etc. Some of the tiles and obstacles in Garden Marbles have been generously supplied by Daniel Cook of lostgarden.com, and I will be using some more of his game images in Cloud Girls as well. Finally, for some of CTG’s upcoming titles (CocoaBot and Flick Car) I have an number of very talented artists who have asked to work with me and I am thrilled that they want to.

How many people does Cocoa Touch Games consist of?

Right now each game is being created by a team of two or three. When it’s two, it’s myself (producing, some coding, and doing art) and a freelance programmer; when there are three it’s myself (producing), and a freelance artist and programmer. I’m using contract/freelance help for the programming and have been fortunate to have worked with a brilliant, very thorough and thoughtful young programmer on Bug Bounce and Garden Marbles named Jedd Haberstro. I’m in the process right now of looking for one or two others to get started on the final programming for the next two titles right now on various Xcode programming forums. I can’t imagine a time when teams of more than just two or three per title would be needed.

What made you decide to develop for the iPhone?

I knew there would be a marketing opportunity to make fun, simple, joyful games for the iPhone and touch even before the SDK was announced. I’d developed a highly successful line of Apple Dashboard widgets that are approaching more than 1,000,000 downloads and knew there was a place for small, indie developers to make fun little games (and toys) for these devices. I’d also had experience developing indie games (and also writing tutorials and helping test) using what I consider to be one of the very best game engines available, Unity, and knew that I wanted to get into something smaller that had more opportunity for individuality and simple creativity.

Is CTG focused strictly on the iPhone?

iPhone and touch, yes.

Do you have any plans to make a game that the player has to invest time into, instead of just pick-up-and-play anywhere?

Not so much, no. The whole philosophy of CTG is “fun, simple, joyful.” I don’t have a big enough team structure in place, nor the necessary funding to leave my “real” career as a senior graphic designer, to start up a studio capable of delivering anything more (right now) that I can’t do in a simple way. And while the iPhone and touch offer really great power to do much more dazzling games, that’s not a direction I personally want to head in. Also, I am trying to realize the inherent time limitations of playing games on devices that are not simply advanced Nintendo DS-es, but also have to first and foremost function as your phone, PDA, web browser, music library, etc. I’m developing simpler games that fit into the way many people will use their device.

That being said, when the Unity game engine (later this year?) is capable of saving out built apps for the iPhone and touch from the same code-base I use to create web games, Dashboard games, and OSX/PC games, then I might endeavor to stretch my goals into fully 3D games a bit. I can see Unity being the very best 3D game development environment for the devices very soon. I’m also hoping to be invited into the upcoming beta of Garage Games Torque Game Builder as they make it capable of doing iPhone/touch apps. That would hook me up with some brilliant game makers on their forums to collaborate with, especially with my current focus on 2D. Using TGB, I was able to recreate two months work on two titles in Xcode in only 90 minutes.

Other than your own games, what is your favorite game for the iPhone as of now?

That’s a tough one to answer as I have many favourites. There are a lot of developers delivering fun gameplay but if I’m being forced to choose only one or two in no specific order I’d say either Trism or Cro-Mag Rally.

What do you think the future looks like for iPhone as a gaming platform? Do you think it can compete with the Nintendo DS or PSP?

I should state that I have been an Apple user since the later 1970s, and have been at times accused (unfairly) of being a fanboy for the company. That said, I think that the iPhone and touch devices, and the future ones I have to assume are coming from Apple, absolutely are a solid, capable gaming platform for Apple. How it might compete in the long term against something like the Nintendo DS (which I believe is a superb device) is tough to say as neither device is yet down in that price range. If you could get a touch for the same price as a DS though I’d be selling my Nintendo stock The PSP in it’s current form though is, I think, quite within the range of the iPhone and touch to be displaced as a gaming platform of choice for the “in crowd”. How fast and by how much is hard to say. But I think within a few years that people will be stunned (much like when the iPod was first introduced) by how quickly Apple has gained market and mind share in the field of gaming platforms.

Of the games you are currently working on, which are you most excited about releasing?

That’s like asking which of my two kids I love the most! Hmm. Garden Marbles is coming along nicely (but again will have only very short gameplay per game), and I love the art I’m finishing for Cloud Girls (and gameplay), but in the long term CocoaBot … however it finally evolves … will be a title I’m most looking forward to finishing I think. I’m excited about every one of them of course. And one of the two unannounced titles is simply a blast (literally)!

**Make sure you check out our full review of Bug Bounce and stop by Cocoa Touch Games to stay up to date with their latest iPhone and iPod touch games.