After months of brainstorming, planning, development and design, our first game of the year has finally been released! Make way for–Totem! Totem is an action puzzle game that challenges the player’s reflex and reaction skills. The idea of the game came from our fondness with Lego bricks and Erick’s dream of Jack climbing a totem pole that reaches outwards to the sky instead of a beanstalk.
Totem is available for all Windows Mobile devices (WM5 and WM6 included) and supports 240×240 square screens, 240×320 portrait screens and 320×240 landscape screens. This game will definitely keep players glued to their device for hours of fun and excitement. And to add some more challenge, players can even post their scores online through the Totem Leaderboards.
Everyone can grab a free trial copy here and play Totem to their heart’s content. 
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Once a game concept has been approved based on its prototype (see Part 2), the actual development phase begins and the game assets–sound effects, music, artworks, etc. are identified one by one. As the development progresses, the game assets are also coursed through the proper person/channel. In our case, since we are just a small company, we usually have these assets done by third party development partners like Groovy Audio and Jaybot7 for our sound effects and music needs, and freelance artists like Stefan Hoercsoeky. We don’t have full time musicians or sound engineers but we have full time in-house artists like Erick Garayblas, our Chief Design Architect.
Game assets play a major role on the final game design and lay-out because this is what the players see and interact with. The assets need to be synchronized with events within the game like screen transitions, tap sounds, etc. Game asset creation, depending on the complexity of the game usually takes around 4-5 weeks and we also allot a week more (or two) for revisions as we enter the Beta phase. Check out what happens after the final game is complete on Part 4!
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Have you ever lost a copy of your game and found the need to redownload the installer? Unlike other sites who charge a premium for download protection, we provide this service for FREE here at eSoft Interactive. All you have to do is look up your receipt code, go to this page and enter it. A receipt code is the one sent via email when you purchase a game from our online store. If you already lost your receipt code, feel free to drop us an email anytime.
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After all the game features and details have been discussed, the next step is to create a playable prototype of the game. This is usually done within two to three weeks after the brainstorming phase. Prototype builds usually just need temporary placeholder assets (graphics and sounds) because the focus is more on gameplay and usability. The main idea for prototyping is to find loopholes within the gameplay as well as pinpoint key features and consider them in the final development process. Another advantage of creating playable prototypes is to determine which kind of user interface lay-out will best fit most screens without sacrificing the main game contents and bearing in mind how the game will automatically adapt and adjust itself on different screen sizes. Like apps, games nowadays need to be “intelligent” too–they should know what device and resolution they are being run on.
The prototyping phase is what usually gets us more excited here at eSoft. It’s where we decide if a game project is worth pursuing and if its gameplay is addictive enough to pass our standards and expectations. We also let our internal beta team play all our prototypes so we can get as much feedback on it as possible. Come back soon for Part 3!
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This month’s issue features Traffic Jam, Traffic Jam 2 and Traffic Jam Extreme for PC and MAC! Plus, don’t miss our Power User Tip of the month!
You may subscribe to our monthly eNewsletter here!
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For the next couple of weeks, we’ll be sharing with you how we create games here at eSoft Interactive in a series of articles. I’ll synch this article with one of our on-going game projects which we’ll call Hoist for now.
Like any other project, game design and development for Hoist began with brainstorming. We usually conduct several brainstorming sessions and invite everyone from the team to share their own ideas and suggestions for a new game. These ideas are then consolidated, sorted out and combined together to form an interesting game. There are no valuable and lame ideas, there are only used and unused ones. Unused ideas are kept for reference and sometimes used in later game projects. We have what we call an “ideabank” wherein all our game ideas, features and miscellaneous stuff are stored for future reference. The chosen ideas are then combined and discussed further so that we can produce a playable prototype out of it.
I usually head all our design sessions within the company and these ideas are very essential to my work. I always expose myself to various games, reading materials and any other media to keep my imagination in its top shape. Whenever I’m not doing any programming work, I usually carry a small notebook with me so that I can easily write my thoughts and ideas wherever I am, that is, if I’m not carrying my PDA. A cool idea or game concept is the heart of a game. It defines whether the game will appeal to its audience or not. It keeps the players interested. If implemented properly, it makes the game a best-seller!
Watch out for for Part 2!
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Being in an industry where imagination is used more often than anything, one of our passions (or most of us, at least) here at eSoft is to catch up on reading–all kinds of interesting books, novels, comic books (yeah! we’re huge Marvel and DC fans!) magazines and other reading materials. Creating video games, like any form of art, comes from a source of inspiration and we often find it by exposing ourselves to various reading materials. This gives us a chance to gather new ideas or something that we can improve our own ideas. Its not always play and work here at eSoft, we also stock up on knowledge about the gaming industry and its history, related businesses, various technologies, upcoming games and software, the latest mobile devices, what’s hot and what’s new. Have you read any good book lately?
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One of the games that got the entire team hooked recently is Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin for the Nintendo DS. This turn-based strategy sequel took on the basic gameplay of the original Advanced Wars and coupled it with new twists, characters, strategies and an engaging storyline. We’ve been playing this game for hours (yes, the game includes multiplayer online play) whenever we’re on break or off work (and yes, we need to keep up with our schedules). Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin will capture the heart of fans and new players alike. It didn’t only keep us entertained but it gave us inspiration in our upcoming games as well! We invite everyone to give the game a try and drop us a message if you wish to duel!
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eSoft Interactive, in partnership with Alawar Entertainment has just released another brand new PC game: The Treasures of Montezuma!
The lost Treasures of Montezuma awaits those with a daring spirit and a clever mind! This amazing match-three game will keep you glued to your computer for hours of fun and excitement. The guys here at eSoft have been playing with this game for days now.
The Treasures of Montezuma is available for Windows PC. Grab a FREE copy now!
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