Interview with the creator of Dream:scape!

Did any single aspect of the game’s technical execution stand out as being the most troublesome or challenging?

Not being a programmer myself, game coding was one aspect that presented a real challenge. Fortunately, UDK offers a fairly intuitive visual scripting system (“Kismet”) that I was able to pick up fairly quickly. One major difficulty was the lack of Adobe Flash support on Apple devices, which presented itself as a problem when I realized that UDK’s HUD and menu system was based on Flash and therefore unusable. For example, I had originally intended for Wilson’s diary to be a Flash-based interface, called by a menu button and existing entirely as flat, animated images. When I realized I would not be able to use Flash in Dream:scape, I resorted to using a physically modeled diary mesh with actual animated pages. While this was wildly problematic to animate and code, the end result is, in my opinion, far more immersive than a flat Flash-based interface ever could have been.

I’m probably showing some bias here, but I think most players will agree that iOS was the perfect platform for Dream:scape – the game relies heavily on audio, and earbuds give that audio a certain immediacy that just wouldn’t have been there on a console or PC barring a high-end sound system. Do you plan to port Dream:scape to any other platforms or will it remain iOS exclusive? If you plan to port, do you foresee any particular challenges in properly delivering the experience on other platforms?

I have already had a lot of requests to release Dream:scape for PC and even via Wii-ware, and while I am considering those options, I agree that Dream:scape functions best in the mobile environment. The audio-centric nature of the game obviously features into that fact, but also the style of experience itself, which is less game-centric and more narrative/experiential. The mobile platform is still very experimental and undefined, making room for something like Dream:scape, where the traditional gaming world might find a harder time accepting something so atypical.

Dream:scape fans will be spending plenty of time discussing the game’s intrinsic merits, but one of the things I’m most impressed with as I write this is your orderly release strategy. You’ve got a release date set in stone, well-received preview videos and hopefully several day-one reviews waiting in the wings from various publications. What release phase advice would you give fellow indie developers who are just now wrapping up development of their projects?

Most of this happened by pure happenstance and luck, I admit. Dream:scape was slated for launch last month, with virtually no pre-release promotion. The discovery of compatibility issues forced me to postpone launch just as the hype was hitting a fever pitch, and while this created some frustrations on both ends, I do think that the delay had some unintentional benefits. Word of Dream:scape has spread much farther now, and attention has only increased over the past few weeks. 

Thus, my advice would be to do intentionally what I ended up doing by accident: release a teaser trailer showing the best of your game/experience without giving too much away, send the link to any and every app review site you can find, and hope for the best. DO NOT announce the game’s release until the app has been approved by iTunes. You can set your own release date once approval has been granted, thereby controlling your own launch date.

What’s next for speedbump studios? You’ve already revealed that you’ve got at least one additional project on tap; can you share any details about that yet? For example, will it be related to Dream:scape in any way?

I’ve got several games in mind for development and have already begun working on the next one. I am hoping to follow the same general process — complete creative control and doing nearly all of the work myself, although this time I do hope to partner with a professional programmer, since the next game will require some much more complex coding. I have hopes that Dream:scape will be the first of a long line of very unique and ground-breaking iOS games.

And that’s a wrap! iFanzine’s thanks goes to G. Norman Lippert for completing this questionnaire. Dream:scape is less than a week away from release; you can further satiate your appetite for info by checking out the speedbump studios website and Twitter feed until then.

 

Be sure to check back with iFanzine on June 9 for a release day review, and don’t forget to participate in our giveaway for a chance to experience Dream:scape for free!