Could you describe Fruit Attack for anyone who hasn’t seen or played it, yet?
Fruit Attack is a "falling block" puzzle game where you match three of the same kind of fruit. It has a lot of different game modes including a two player battle mode, which inspired the game’s name. The quest mode is my favorite because it poses a lot of challenges to players and introduces a gameplay that’s a bit unusual for this type of game.
Your game was the first to pass Peer Review and be on Xbox LIVE Community Games–how’d you do that?
I think it was just luck! I finished the game on the day after XNA GS 3.0 came out, and I submitted it for Peer Review that night. I was pretty confident in the game's ability to pass Peer Review on the first try because I really tried to make sure I met all of the best practices. After I submitted it, I got a little nervous because I saw how all of the other games submitted at that time were getting rejected. But, It all worked out in the end.
So, had you been planning to have it done then? Or was that just luck, too?
November 1, 2008 was my original target completion date, so I guess I made it with a few hours to spare! At that point, I was just sort of sick of working on it :) There comes a point where you have to just stop working and say "I'm done." I've known developers who keep re-writing things and keep starting over to make it "better." It's much better to just finish and move on to the next thing.
What did you think of the process for submitting a game? Was it pretty straightforward for you?
The process was very easy and went smoothly for me. The only thing that I found myself questioning was how the statuses worked. I wasn't sure how long it took to get fully approved, or what "Review Closed" meant, etc. Luckily, the people in the forums were able to answer my questions.
Did you do any Playtesting?
I did plenty of playtesting on my own, but I did not submit it to Playtest on the Creators Club website. In hindsight, however, I think I should have, simply to get more feedback and really ensure that the game was indeed well-tested. Even though Fruit Attack passed review on the first attempt, I would put all of my future games through Playtest first.
Have you done any Peer Reviews of other games?
I have reviewed some games. My Xbox 360 actually red-ringed of death a few days after I submitted my game, so I wasn't able to do much until recently. I've Playtested a lot more games than I've reviewed. I hope to get back into reviewing soon.
What made you want to make this sort of game?
The main factor was that it was simple enough that I knew I could complete it in the timeframe that I was given (I wanted to make the launch of Community Games). I also personally enjoy these types of games. I think a lot of beginners try to do games that are simply too challenging to create for them. I knew the game had to be fun to play, be more than just a demo, but still be able to be completed. I considered this project a "foot-in-the-door" kind of thing.
What games influenced or inspired this game?
Obviously Columns had a big influence on the gameplay. I tried to add a few things that I thought would be interesting (such as the combos and quest mode). A game for the SNES called Wario's Woods was also an inspiration when it came to two player game modes. That game is probably my favorite puzzle game. I also looked at a lot of XBLA games to see how they did menus, trial mode, and "nag" screens.
What games are you playing now (other than Fruit Attack)?
I'm currently playing LEGO Indiana Jones. I think the LEGO games are so creative. I'll probably be looking into more Community Games, too. My wife likes to play my game. I think she is my biggest (and probably only) fan!
Can you tell us more about the other things you’ve worked on?
I made one other game back in 2001 that made it to the point where I considered it "complete." It was a vertical scrolling shooter written in C and used DirectX® 7 on Windows®. It had a tile engine and an editor. It was a big accomplishment and learning experience. I released it on the internet and got a lot of downloads (it was freeware).
What made you want to use XNA Game Studio 3.0 to make your game?
I had used Managed DirectX to make several projects and I loved it. XNA is its successor, so I immediately downloaded it when it was available. I think I even got an XNA Creators Club account to do Xbox programming on the first day that came out. Even when it was totally a hobby, I was thrilled to be able to develop on a console.
I also liked the content pipeline and how easy it is to manage game assets. Since I had some experience developing games with C and DirectX and Managed DirectX, it was pretty easy to see how XNA Game Studio makes life so much easier for this boilerplate coding everyone has to do.
When I saw that Community Games was being created, I got very excited at the prospect of selling games on Xbox LIVE. I am fascinated with entrepreneurship. I thought that now was the opportunity to start my dream.
What other tools and programs do you use to help you make your games?
I use Paint Shop Pro for graphics, and I used Audacity for some basic audio editing.
How many people are on your team?
It's just me. My wife helped with the testing by playing the game a lot. I also hired an art student to do a few of the graphics.
How long did it take you to make this game?
In actual hours of work, I think it was between 230-250 hours. In calendar time, it took from July 23 to October 31, 2008.
Can you walk us through a usual day for you?
I worked on my games nights and weekends, because most of the day I was at my paying day job. I would typically only program on my game for, at most, a couple of hours each day. I would select a specific set of tasks and try to complete them in that time. It can be difficult to balance a job, a side game project/business, and your family life, especially when you are newly married -- like I am.
Do you have any ideas, wishes, hopes, or dreams for anything XNA Creators Club could do or provide to be even better?
There's so many ideas floating around out there, but I think a really cool thing would be to have a section of the website dedicated to posting job offers for content like art and music. I'm not just talking about a help wanted forum, but a system that would allow artists to advertise themselves and post their portfolios, and would allow developers to post job ads and rate artists on their quality and timeliness.
For me (and I think for a lot of developers), the biggest hurdle for game development is the content issue. Games are not just about programming but also about artwork and music. Sure, there's free stuff out on the internet, but real games need custom content. It could also allow budding artists to get experience and make a little money on the side. It could improve the quality of Community Games as well. I know there's other websites out there that can do this sort of thing, but having it available directly in the XNA Creators Club would be better for us and give it that Community feel.
I also really like the free content like fonts and button images in the education catalog. More of that kind of thing would be awesome.
What’s next for you?
I'm currently working on my second game. It's in the card and board genre. I'm working mostly on a prototype and the design at the moment.
