Interview with the creators of Angry Birds
In October, we were in Kiev at the Casual Connect conference, where we met Ville HEIJARI, vice president of Rovio Ent., Which created the super hit Angry Birds. Ville told us about what, in his opinion, it is important for a good game, how much time they took to develop and how the company plans to develop further.
Surely you have already answered so many questions that it is difficult to ask something that nobody has ever asked ... But maybe there is a question that you always wanted to answer, but no one asked?
I do not know, I think we have always tried to be open and talk about what we are doing. And, nevertheless, for example, after my presentation, people asked a lot of questions. Including questions like: “And on what conditions do you sign contracts with other companies?” - it is clear that this information is closed. I do not know, maybe it would be great if you asked about whether there is a game that we would like to publish or make. If you look at the App Store, there are many great games - such as Fruit Ninja, Cut the Rope, etc. It seems to me that the level of the game is determined not so much by the originality of the idea, as by the execution. If the game is really worthwhile, then I want to ask myself the question: “Why didn't I come up with it? Why didn't our company make it? ”This is the best marker. You can always say, of course, they say, but anyone could have done it, but if the game is done really well, I want to exclaim: “Well, why didn’t I come up with it!”.
')
Those. Do you think that the quality of performance is more important than the originality of the idea?
Cannot sell ONLY idea. We need to work a lot on characters, details. It seems to me that one cannot achieve great success only at the expense of the idea. For example, let's look at Tiny Wings, which showed good success in the App Store. I can’t remember the name exactly, but there was an indie PC game with exactly the same gameplay, very simple and unassuming in itself. And then Tiny Wings appeared - with perfect details, beautiful music, funny characters. In this case, the quality of performance is really more important than the idea. Even if there is an unusual concept in itself, but at the same time it does not “catch” people, does not attract, they will not buy it. When you play games seriously, when you earn a living, you just need to make them attractive and vibrant.
And the details are often very important: even if something does not have a specific function in the game, but it evokes pleasant emotions, this is very cool.
Ok, let's imagine that the developer has some interesting gameplay idea, the game is basically ready, and now he has a choice: to release it now or spend another, say, a couple of months on “polishing”. What to choose?
It depends on various factors. Personally, I would choose the second. But you need to clearly understand what is happening in the market. If this development is now in the mainstream, then you need to be prepared for the fact that someone can implement and release a similar project before you. If this is an original idea - or even if it is not completely original, but different from what it is now - it is better to spend another couple of months on polishing and already produce the highest quality product.
And here all the developers are faced with a problem: how to decide what time to stop? There are no boundaries for perfection!
Yes that's for sure! I believe that we must immediately determine the size of the budget, set a deadline - and gradually it will become clear. This will be a certain feature: OK, we ran out of money, time has also run out, and the game looks good. So it's time!
How long did it take to develop Angry Birds?
8 months. This is from the moment when the idea appeared, until the moment when the game was ready. And, by the way, at least 4 months was spent on “polishing”. The fact of the matter is that Angry Birds is not the first game with a similar gameplay, but we are all very well balanced, every detail is thought out. Therefore, everything looks so natural and simple.
How many people worked on the project?
As I recall, initially the team consisted of 4 people; considering music and other outsourcing, a total of about 10 people.
And how many people are working in Rovio now?
170. About 60% of employees are directly developers. The rest are engaged in a business that requires a lot of attention - issues related to licensing, merchandising, etc.
Do you continue to work on the Angry Birds brand, on its development, etc., or are you planning to create other games?
Of course, Angry Birds is one of the top priorities. But ... you know, there are companies whose products are their brand. For example, who makes Coca-Cola? Coca-Cola Company! In fact, we thought about whether we should become the company Angry Birds, known only for its one product? But we can do so much more interesting! By the way, we were called Rovio Mobile, and last summer they were renamed Rovio Entertainment - a symbol of the fact that we have a global approach to entertainment as such. We can make and release new games and, of course, we will continue to work on the development of the Angry Birds brand: cartoons, videos, toys, etc. This is already a well-established mechanism - with the advent of new brands, we will integrate them there. In my opinion, this is very cool.
Are you currently working on other games?
Yes, but I can’t talk about them yet.
It is clear, i.e. planning to make a few more hits and capture the entire market? ))
Ha-ha!)) I don’t want to seem self-assured, but, you know, when you have already adjusted the process, when you know how to make a cool application and promote it to the top ... I must say that when a company grows, various critics appear out of nowhere which start to say that, well, they say, you have made one successful title and now you are pumping money out of it, doing business. Of course, we do business, but we do it honestly. Some are trying to blame us for the fact that we have only one “full-fledged game” - Angry Birds, and two years have passed since its launch. But what about the Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio? In addition, we have not just made the game, we continue to engage in its support, improvements, updates, etc. Those who acquire Angry Birds, get a lot of constantly updated content. And this is a big job. The alternative is to release a new game every three months, but we have chosen a different path.
Whether Angry Birds was so “cool” that its popularity was predetermined, or some other factor worked; how the game was prepared for release; which platform brings more money and whether someone will be able to repeat the success of Angry Birds - read in the second part of the interview .
Surely you have already answered so many questions that it is difficult to ask something that nobody has ever asked ... But maybe there is a question that you always wanted to answer, but no one asked?
I do not know, I think we have always tried to be open and talk about what we are doing. And, nevertheless, for example, after my presentation, people asked a lot of questions. Including questions like: “And on what conditions do you sign contracts with other companies?” - it is clear that this information is closed. I do not know, maybe it would be great if you asked about whether there is a game that we would like to publish or make. If you look at the App Store, there are many great games - such as Fruit Ninja, Cut the Rope, etc. It seems to me that the level of the game is determined not so much by the originality of the idea, as by the execution. If the game is really worthwhile, then I want to ask myself the question: “Why didn't I come up with it? Why didn't our company make it? ”This is the best marker. You can always say, of course, they say, but anyone could have done it, but if the game is done really well, I want to exclaim: “Well, why didn’t I come up with it!”.
')
Those. Do you think that the quality of performance is more important than the originality of the idea?
Cannot sell ONLY idea. We need to work a lot on characters, details. It seems to me that one cannot achieve great success only at the expense of the idea. For example, let's look at Tiny Wings, which showed good success in the App Store. I can’t remember the name exactly, but there was an indie PC game with exactly the same gameplay, very simple and unassuming in itself. And then Tiny Wings appeared - with perfect details, beautiful music, funny characters. In this case, the quality of performance is really more important than the idea. Even if there is an unusual concept in itself, but at the same time it does not “catch” people, does not attract, they will not buy it. When you play games seriously, when you earn a living, you just need to make them attractive and vibrant.
And the details are often very important: even if something does not have a specific function in the game, but it evokes pleasant emotions, this is very cool.
Ok, let's imagine that the developer has some interesting gameplay idea, the game is basically ready, and now he has a choice: to release it now or spend another, say, a couple of months on “polishing”. What to choose?
It depends on various factors. Personally, I would choose the second. But you need to clearly understand what is happening in the market. If this development is now in the mainstream, then you need to be prepared for the fact that someone can implement and release a similar project before you. If this is an original idea - or even if it is not completely original, but different from what it is now - it is better to spend another couple of months on polishing and already produce the highest quality product.
And here all the developers are faced with a problem: how to decide what time to stop? There are no boundaries for perfection!
Yes that's for sure! I believe that we must immediately determine the size of the budget, set a deadline - and gradually it will become clear. This will be a certain feature: OK, we ran out of money, time has also run out, and the game looks good. So it's time!
How long did it take to develop Angry Birds?
8 months. This is from the moment when the idea appeared, until the moment when the game was ready. And, by the way, at least 4 months was spent on “polishing”. The fact of the matter is that Angry Birds is not the first game with a similar gameplay, but we are all very well balanced, every detail is thought out. Therefore, everything looks so natural and simple.
How many people worked on the project?
As I recall, initially the team consisted of 4 people; considering music and other outsourcing, a total of about 10 people.
And how many people are working in Rovio now?
170. About 60% of employees are directly developers. The rest are engaged in a business that requires a lot of attention - issues related to licensing, merchandising, etc.
Do you continue to work on the Angry Birds brand, on its development, etc., or are you planning to create other games?
Of course, Angry Birds is one of the top priorities. But ... you know, there are companies whose products are their brand. For example, who makes Coca-Cola? Coca-Cola Company! In fact, we thought about whether we should become the company Angry Birds, known only for its one product? But we can do so much more interesting! By the way, we were called Rovio Mobile, and last summer they were renamed Rovio Entertainment - a symbol of the fact that we have a global approach to entertainment as such. We can make and release new games and, of course, we will continue to work on the development of the Angry Birds brand: cartoons, videos, toys, etc. This is already a well-established mechanism - with the advent of new brands, we will integrate them there. In my opinion, this is very cool.
Are you currently working on other games?
Yes, but I can’t talk about them yet.
It is clear, i.e. planning to make a few more hits and capture the entire market? ))
Ha-ha!)) I don’t want to seem self-assured, but, you know, when you have already adjusted the process, when you know how to make a cool application and promote it to the top ... I must say that when a company grows, various critics appear out of nowhere which start to say that, well, they say, you have made one successful title and now you are pumping money out of it, doing business. Of course, we do business, but we do it honestly. Some are trying to blame us for the fact that we have only one “full-fledged game” - Angry Birds, and two years have passed since its launch. But what about the Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio? In addition, we have not just made the game, we continue to engage in its support, improvements, updates, etc. Those who acquire Angry Birds, get a lot of constantly updated content. And this is a big job. The alternative is to release a new game every three months, but we have chosen a different path.
Whether Angry Birds was so “cool” that its popularity was predetermined, or some other factor worked; how the game was prepared for release; which platform brings more money and whether someone will be able to repeat the success of Angry Birds - read in the second part of the interview .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/132537/
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