@prince caro 19
how many people had a hand in coconut dodge? I know that there is you, and you mentioned a programmer, anyone else? or did you two just handle everything?
It was mostly myself and the programmer Robin Jubber. However, we had contributions from several other people for design ideas, illustration, music and testing. I think a total of 6 people made a significant contribution.
you say you had a hand in a lot of aspects of the game, what aspect were you most pleased with?
I'm most happy with the Maze Master mode, where you get to play through each maze to reach a particular score. It's very challenging and addictive because the mazes are designed in such a way that you have to learn some very precise movements to collect the valuable treasure. It's a very elegant game play feature in my opinion.
Overall I'm proud that we've managed to make a very addictive game from a simple and accessible concept. Also, I'm extremely happy with the music, despite that not being down to me. The theme tune is just as addictive as the game :)
do you think you put any real unique ideas and elements to use in coconut dodge?
or was it just a mixing of currently existing and well known gameplay elements that you feel fit together in a nice unique way?
There aren't many truly unique ideas in games (or any art form for that matter) - most ideas that feel unique are inspired in some part by other things that have been explored before. With that said, I think we've done a pretty good job of combining existing ideas into one game experience.
Our goal with Coconut Dodge was to create an accessible and fun game that would give us our first step on the commercial ladder, and help us realise our next game which is more ambitious.
it seems to be a somewhat simple mini game, is there a reason you chose to make it for the psp, it looks like it would work on any platform, the iphone being very popular and cheaper. so was it because you were already licensed with sony, that minis work on both psp and ps3, or that the psp just doesn't have a game like this where on the cheaper platforms games that feature dodging falling stuff are practically a dime a dozen, and yours wouldn't be able to stand out even with its unique elements?
There are several reasons we chose the PSP. Prior to Coconut Dodge, we were working on a publisher funded game for the PSP. It was cancelled by the publisher for financial reasons, but we are determined to finish it. We thought going through the process of self publishing something simple ourselves would teach us what we needed to know to finish our previous project.
Another reason is that I have ideas for a game that simply couldn't be realised with any other publisher. Therefore I want to build our relationship with Sony, to get that game made.
Finally, PlayStation owners are largely hardcore gamers. I tend to think like a hardcore gamer, and design games for hardcore players. Despite the cute look and feel of Coconut Dodge, it is a hardcore arcade game designed in such a way that it can be played casually too.
Oh, and I'm a Sony fanboy ;)
@Zoibie
The controls make use of the buttons. The standard left/right movement speed is very manageable. You activate Turbo by holding X, and you activate SuperTurbo by tapping and holding X. You learn when to use each speed mode quite quickly, so what looks like superbly accurate control of the analog stick in the video is actually just pressing buttons at the right time (much easier to get the hang of).
