Here we are, back with another developer interview! This time with Master Games the creator of Master Ball Jump! Before we start we’d like to thank the Master Games Team for participating in our interview and for answering all of our geeky questions! Thanks Guys!
…and without further ado, our interview begins…
The Interview
/// Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about Master Ball Jump! Could you kick-start this interview by telling us a little about your studio, yourself, and what drew you into the gaming industry?
My name is Matej Arlović, I’m 23 and I come from Croatia. With programming, I started in elementary school. There we programmed various things in QBasic, serious programming started in high school where we learned C ++.
I really liked to play video games so I decided to connect these two hobbies in one. Firstly I developed game modes for a famous video game, after that I started working on my own video games.
I quickly found people from other Balkan states, and we started working on major PC projects. Then the idea for Master Games came to us, but there were obligations in real life, so the team started moving in different directions.
Now we have just left Ajdin and me. Ajdin comes from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He works with me as a developer and 3D modeler. We dropped out of major projects and started working on Android games together.
Our first video game is Space Adventures (SPAD) which was actually completed for the needs of my college. It describes the procedural generation of terrain based on the image. Soon after Space Adventures, we developed Master Ball Jump. It actually came about within 3 days of consecutive development. We wanted to see how we can make a hyper-casual game.
/// Ok, let’s start talking about Master Ball Jump. What are the highlights of your latest release?
Before we made Master Ball Jump we made Space Adventures which was a very big and demanding project. During the Christmas holidays, we decided to make a hyper-casual game. For this, we have determined three days of active development and another week of fine-tuning.
Master Ball Jump is a hyper-casual game for Android platforms. The main idea was from the old Icy Tower game. But here you control the ball and jump on the platforms. You have three types of platforms: normal (orange), faith and moving. Faith platforms change color, and when you stand on it it can become red or green. The red platforms immediately disappear, while the green platforms give a stronger jump. Movable platforms are created in the late game, and they simply move left-to-right and thus make the game more difficult.
Balls in Master Ball Jump can be stylized with skins. At the moment there are over 20 different skins in the game. Coins can be collected while jumping on platforms.
/// What was the core idea or inspiration behind Master Ball Jump? And perhaps more importantly, where do you find inspiration for your games in general?
The main idea for Master Ball Jump was taken from the old Icy Tower game. I remember playing that game the whole day with my friend! So I decided to bring that game on mobile platforms with a twist! I added new platforms and changed the Icy Tower character with a ball.
Ideas for my video games I find everywhere! In books, movies or other games. I take and then develop an idea with my team so it’s not a pure copy of the basic idea, but also to add something new or fix things from other games in our game. I want Master Games to be different from other game studios. I want to create games that have good performance and are fun for players.
/// How long was Master Ball Jump in development for? And are there any interesting and/or exciting moments or experiences you would like to share with us from that time?
We developed Master Ball Jump during the Christmas holidays. I remember that my ex-girlfriend’s brother got addicted to this game. Both of them helped a lot with their ideas and feedback. She holds the highest score in the game.
The most annoying part of the development was implementing the leaderboard system. We wanted to make a robust leaderboard system that will track global and local score. But we did not manage to do so, so only a global leaderboard system was implemented.
/// What software, developer-tools, or black-magic(?) did you use when making Master Ball Jump? Is there anything you would like to share with the developers who read Edamame Reviews?
To develop our video games we use the Unity game engine. This is a great game engine for indie game developers. In Master Ball Jump, we used their new Job system for the first time.
Unity’s ECS and Job systems are very hard to understand, but in the end, you gain more performance! If your game has good performance then the battery on your mobile will slowly drain and the mobile phone won’t overheat. It is very good that Unity has a great community of developers that are helping with tutorials and tips, but also tips on their forum.
/// Is there any secret “developer-advice” you can give our lucky players who read this interview?
Jump as far as you can and try your luck on faith platforms. In some cases, the risk will be paid off!
/// What can we expect to see in Master Ball Jump or from Master Games in the not so distant future? What do we have to look forward to next?
In the future, we are planning to add a local multiplayer to Master Ball Jump. Like in old video games.
Currently, we are developing a new game. The main goal of this game will be to design and sell houses. This project is the largest one that Ajdin and I have developed so far. That’s all that I can reveal for now!
/// Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to our awesome team of Writers, Developers, and Supporters who keep Edamame Reviews up and running?
Thank you for the opportunity. Continue with great work guys!
Thank you for following Edamame Reviews!
Let us know your thoughts on Twitter at @Edamame_Reviews
Find it on Google Play