Crystal Crusade is a really cool game with a very neat concept.
Today we were lucky enough to interview two of the lead members who took part in the creation of this game.
Kevin McIntosh – Head of Production
Joel Gatt – Lead Programmer
Before we start, I’d like to thank the whole Torus Games Team for participating in this interview, and for spending some of their valuable time in answering our questions. Thank you very much.
Now, without any further ado, here is our interview with Kevin McIntosh and Joel Gatt- the creators of Crystal Crusade.
Ok first up, why did you decide to make Crystal Crusade?
Kevin: I can still remember the moment when the idea came to us. I was speaking to my brother Andrew about another title and showing him some elements which I liked. We started talking about the idea of assembling an army, but we wanted a difference – a way of assembling the army before the battle. We were playing around with concepts when Andrew mentioned matching crystals together, and that every successful match would spawn a troop. It was a light bulb moment for us, and it sparked a conversation for the next hour of various mechanics.
Sounds like so much fun, so what programming language and or software did you use when making Crystal Crusade?
Joel: We decided to use Unity for our new iOS / Android title. This was due to a range of factors, such as an immense library of developed features that we could use, including IAP plugins, UI plugins, Social platform plugins, etc. We also decided to use C# for development as most of the team at Torus are quite experienced in the C and C++ field – migrating to C# made a lot of sense.
Ok, here is a mean question. What was the hardest problem you needed to overcome when developing Crystal Crusade?
Joel: One of the biggest hurdles in supporting so many platforms and pushing so much action to the screen is ensuring we are not using too much memory. There are so many avenues to investigate for this kind of task so it can be tricky. Additionally, feature-creep and planning were initial hurdles for the team – we wanted to deliver as much as we could in the final product, and keeping a lid on scope was an early issue.
Last question. Where do you get your inspiration or ideas from?
Joel: Most of my ideas are inspiration less to be honest. Just having played a large catalogue of games and being able to reference how Game A solved Problem B was where my ideas stemmed from for the most part. Additionally, I found having a formulaic approach to game mechanics also helps a great deal. My formula generally goes along the lines of; how does our new “Feature Z” work coherently with “Features A to Y”?
If you find that the new feature improves existing features and works coherently with them, then you have found yourself a potentially solid idea.
Kevin: Very similar – the more games you play and analyse, the more tools you have in your repertoire to use. Some ideas come from outside games, where others will be sparked from a combination of game elements. Often times they start with a simple mechanic, and we look to build that up and expand from there. Each game needs to feel right to play for the target demographic before we even think too deeply about character or art style.
A few words to Crystal Crusade fans on Edamame Reviews.
Kevin: To the fans of Crystal Crusade we want to thank you for playing the game and driving it up the charts. Sharing and recommending the game is the greatest compliment for us. We’re going to continue to support the game and you’ll see seasonal and gameplay updates from us over the next few months. Stay in touch over Twitter (@torusgames) and we’ll keep delivering new content. As far as the future is concerned, we have some great new titles right on the near horizon. If you were at PAXAUS you may have seen some of our new content. We’re finalising the game titles now so we’ll make some announcements over the coming weeks.
Lastly a few words on how you feel about Edamame Reviews and our service.
Joel: I’m personally quite delighted that Edamame Reviews have gone out of their way to review our game and contact us for an interview, Top stuff and seriously appreciated!
Kevin: Fantastic that you’re drawing attention to new games and some thought provoking questions.
Thank you for following Edamame Reviews!
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