Our “Top Secret” Interview with Top Secret Developments, the creators of Ships of Glory

Here we are, back with another developer interview! This time with Top Secret Developments the creator of Ships of Glory. Before we start we’d like to thank the Top Secret Developments Team for participating in our interview and for answering all of our geeky questions! Thanks!

…and without further ado, our interview begins…

The Interview

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/// Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about Ships of Glory! Could you kick-start this interview by telling us a little about your studio, yourself, and what drew you into the gaming industry?

I started programming at the age of 8. At 14 I was writing games that I released on my school network. I then spent the next 15 years as an Industrial & Mechanical Designer before co-founding “errorsevendev” and developing the successful title “Laserbreak” that went on to shift over 10m copies.

Game development is my passion and I have no intention of stopping. Top Secret Developments is my 1 man studio and will likely stay that way.

/// Ok, let’s start talking about Ships of Glory. What are the highlights of your latest release?

Ships of glory is basically a giant naval battle arena that can support 60+ players on a single server. There are no rules, you just do what you want and that normally comes down to destroying as many ships as you can 😃

/// What was the core idea or inspiration behind Ships of Glory? And perhaps more importantly, where do you find inspiration for your games in general?

Well, I enjoyed “World of Warships” on PC, then I played the mobile version and was disappointed. So I set out to create not a better version but rather something better suited to mobile play IMO. Simple controls with more of a focus on strategy rather than who can aim a gun the best on a 5″ screen.

For inspiration, I generally just make games that I would enjoy. In the past, I have developed games for market trends and those titles have always failed, It’s hard to make a good game if its a game you would not enjoy playing yourself.

/// How long was Ships of Glory in development for? And are there any interesting and/or exciting moments or experiences you would like to share with us from that time?

Overall around 8-9 months, I do not keep a log of my hours and often find myself awake at 3 am trying to solve problems. Not sure about exciting moments but I once spent a week trying to debug why my AI’s were perpetually turning left!

Edamame: The A.I. know the secret! When in doubt just turn Left! 😂

/// What software, developer-tools, or black-magic(?) did you use when making Ships of Glory? Is there anything you would like to share with the developers who read Edamame Reviews?

Unity, NodeJS & MySQL for back-end services, a CAD package for model design (from my Industrial Design background) & Blender + PS for texturing. And lots of coffee!

Edamame: Coffee is always on the essentials list for any developer!

/// Is there any secret “developer-advice” you can give our lucky players who read this interview?

The in-game ship “Spike” is mightier than it seems 😃

/// What can we expect to see in Ships of Glory or from Top Secret Developments
in the not so distant future? What do we have to look forward to next?

I’m hooked on creating online experiences now, my loose plan is to make an online version of my other game “Lunar Rescue Mission“. Basically as massive spaceship sandbox where people can fly around and crash into stuff. It’s likely not a good business decision but I will enjoy making it 😅

/// 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?

To be honest, I came across Edamame Reviews only recently but I must say it’s very refreshing compared to similar sites. Keep up the good work!

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