Thaddaeus Frogley: The idea for the game came first. The game idea actually predates the iPhone, but it wasn't until the iPhone made touch screens popular that it made sense to make the game. The team is mostly me, the artist, Daniel, is a illustrator and friend. Quite early on in the development I told him about the project, asked him if he fancied his hand at doing a game, he said yes, and that was that. Chris, the audio guy, is a bit less directly involved, I worked with him on Silent Hill Shattered Memories at Climax, and after I mentioned the iPhone project to him, he offered to provide some music and sound effects for it. My wife, Andrea, has also been a big help, and has done a lot of game testing. So the team, really, is just some friends making a cool game.
Why did you want to make games?
I've always wanted to make games. Ever since I was seven years old and my parents bought me a ZX81, programming, and making games has been my life. My first games industry job was in '95, and I've worked in the games industry ever since, including on some big name games (X-COM Apocalypse, Grand Theft Auto 3 for Xbox). But this is my first indie project.
Why be independent rather than try to work for someone else?
Creative freedom. Working full time in the games industry now, as a programmer, is not so much about making games, as making the tools that are used to make games. You are a cog in the machine. It's challenging, and rewarding, and I love my job, but I had this game inside me that needed to be made, and I knew there was no way a major publisher would touch it, so I just went ahead and started making it on my own.
What's your game called, and what's it about?
The game, Syd Sym, is a arcade-action style puzzle game. There is a sweet shop, and an OCD owner, and you've got to keep the shop organised as he throws the sweets down to you. How you do that is up to you to figure out, but he loves symmetry, so making patterns and keeping like pieces together is the key. There are also 30 different combos to "discover." It's kind of a game of discovery. But really, there are two distinct ways to play, you can go for high scores, or you can search out combos. Either way is valid. As long as you enjoy playing it, thats whats important.
How long did it take you to create?
I started properly working on it early this year. I had some of the game scoring algorithm already written, but other than that, all the iPhone code, touch interface, graphics and so on, it's been about seven months, but that's spare-time coding. Evenings and weekends. Basically, I've had no life the last seven months, and my wife has been very tolerant!
What are you proudest of about your game?
It's fun. Almost anyone can play it. There have been a few hiccups, but basically, I am happy with the difficulty curve. Most people who play it "get it," and people get really hooked once they start playing. There is enough depth there to keep the most hardcore player challenged, whilst the most casual player can still jump in and have fun. That's a hard thing to get right.
What one thing would you tell someone to convince them to get your game?
What have you got to lose? iPhone games are cheap as chips. Outrageously cheap. A coffee at Starbucks will cost you more.
What's next?
There is a free update coming soon that adds the screen to view all the combos you've collected, improves the feedback to the player, the graphics (including iPhone 4 retina display support), and fixes some audio bugs. After that, I want to add leader-boards via the Apple Game Centre. I think, once online leader-boards and achievements are done, that's the game finished. As for a next game? I have some ideas, but we'll have to wait and see.
Want to get a taste of Syd Sym's shop? You can pick it up on iTunes 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.
