Innov8tiv Interviews Developers Of The Fishy Feathers Game
Mid last month we featured an article about the Fishy Feathers game that was going to be released in the market. About a week later, we featured the news about the game’s eventual release on the App Store, so as to keep you, our readers, big on gaming, ahead of the game in terms of knowing the latest and coolest games on the App Stores.
We then decided to get up-close and personal to the creative minds that make up the Lucky Mask Games Inc. the company credited for developing this game. In our today’s exclusive interview, we got to know what inspired the Lucky Mask Games team to create Fishy Feathers game. We also got to know their general outlook on the technology industry as a whole.
Well folks, the following is our exclusive interview with the two members of the Lucky Mask Games Inc. Where we interview both Adam and James separately.
Tell us about yourselves.
Hey, name is Adam Carbone I’m the 3D artist and animator as well as Game Designer and Developer (a title all 3 of us share) at Lucky Mask Games. Professionally been developing for a year, unprofessionally would be closer to 3 years.
My name is James Hooks, and I’m a programmer and designer at Lucky Mask Games. I’ve been working as an indie developer for just over a year but have been developing games most of my life.
Tell us about Fishy Feathers.
Adam: Fishy Feathers started out really different than what the final product is today. Originally a silly idea, it started to get some steam when we were discussing all of the possible things we can do with this idea. First it started off as an overhead view of the bird looking down into a sea of fish, then with some brainstorming, research and elbow grease we really came together on the games overall look and mechanics. A lot of changes along the way proved to be for the better as the finished product is something we still play Fishy Feathers… A lot.
James: Fishy Feathers is a side-scrolling action game where you take control of a bird, diving into the water to catch fish. Once you eat enough fish, you’ll move up the food chain to eat bigger fish and score more points! The game has an old school appeal offering simple mechanics and challenging gameplay with an easy to learn difficult to master progression.
Why did you create this game, and specifically which market of gamers are you targeting?
Adam: We created this game because we love games, all types of them. James, Mike and I trust each other when it comes to game development, and it’s our passion. One summer afternoon over some pints we decided that it was time to finally put a game out there and not just for our peers. That’s how Fishy Feathers and Lucky Mask Games Inc. was born. When developing this game, the tone we decided to follow was that it should be fun for everyone. We wanted to target any gamer old and young. We all grew up playing games and continue to play them now, we wanted Fishy Feathers to be played by the gamer in all of us, young and old.
James: We created this game as a first step in establishing ourselves and our company in the game industry. We wanted a broad appeal targeting both casual and hardcore mobile markets.
Other than just for fun, does this game play any other role?
Adam: If you’re looking to find out more of the story that’s behind Fishy Feathers then no. But if you’re looking for a feeling of accomplishment sprinkled with some frustration and mixed with a tiny bit of anxiety then this game does play another role. Fishy Feathers has 2 approaches, although completing challenges drives it and unlocking more power-ups, birds and levels we’ve noticed a lot of people competing for high scores per round. There has been some fun and competitive meetings, trying to settle once and for all who is the better fisherman, or I should say “fisherbird.” So depending what role you’re looking for, Fishy Feathers does bring more to the table more than a fun adventure.
James: It’s strictly a gamers game, there are no other defining features other than good old fashioned fun.
What was your greatest challenge in developing and deploying this game?
Adam: This question is a bag of mixed feelings and emotions. The game was in development for a while, and we kept adding to it which really opened up the scope but that also became daunting to such a small team. These ideas were too good to shelf and early on in the process we didn’t have a release date set in stone so it was easy to push back whatever date we thought would be a reasonable one. With that came everyone’s opinion on how and what the game should feel like, and working with 3 people is great for solving disagreements when its 2-1 but a lot of the times we were all trying to pull our own ideas. Looking back now, I’m happy it was this way because we’re all very passionate about what we do, and it wasn’t until we saw how each idea was affecting the game did we all decide on which the best one for the game was.
Deploying the game was very interesting. After being so close and working on the game for so many months, it was finally out of our hands. I’ll never forget that feeling, almost like the feeling of being naked in a large crowd. It’s the 1st game we released that anyone could play anywhere, anytime. One of the challenges in releasing it was always thinking we can polish this or that, but once it was deployed there would be no more of that. I was scared at first, I think we all were and that was one of the reasons why the release date was pushed back numerous numbers of times.
James: Our greatest challenge was discovering the many facets a polished game requires, and learning how to implement them successfully.
Do you have any other games developed previously, if not what are your future plans as developers?
Adam: We do, but I don’t think those games are for everyone. A couple of them were developed over a weekend and others as school projects. We are super excited about the future. We have 2 projects in the pipeline right now. Unfortunately, they are so early in the development stages that we can’t really release any info about them. But we are on social networks, and our website will be releasing info on them very shortly!
James: This is the first full, complete game we have developed, before this we had worked on numerous small games including personal projects, school projects and game jams.
What sparked your interest into technology?
Adam: I think in today’s world you have to ask the question “why aren’t you interested in technology?” Since I was a child, I was always interested in gadgets and how things worked. Computers weren’t everywhere when I was a child so seeing them getting dragged into our school was a big deal. I didn’t know one kid in my class who didn’t want to spend another hour on it when we were told to shut them off. Today, it’s convenience at the edge of our hands; some people might consider it lazy, but I remember many conversations when I was younger from adults who would be arguing over trivial things and never agreeing on either one’s answer. Today, we have Google, nobody argues with Google.
James: I’ve been interested in games and technology ever since my family got their first computer back in the 90s. I always had a knack for playing games and in middle school I got the opportunity to start making them. Ever since then I’ve been fascinated with games and wanted to know all the different mechanisms that make them work.
Who is your role model, and why?
Adam: My mom. I have 3 brothers and come from an Italian background. Handling and raising 4 of us was not easy. I appreciate now more than ever the effort that went into that.
James: The person who inspires me is Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. I respect his confidence and bravery and everything he’s accomplished in his career, both for himself and Canada.
What is your career advice to college students entering the Technology Industry?
Adam: It moves fast, if you’re not willing to move with it you might want to look into finding a different career.
James: Your education can only take you so far. It’s up to you to take your time in school above and beyond what is required to prepare yourself best for working with others and mastering your craft.
That would be all that Adam and James from Lucky Mask Games Inc. had to share with us. You can take a look at the Fishy Feathers game by viewing the video below. You can also download the game for free from iTunes App Store on your iOS device by following this link.
