作者：Gabe

Little Geek是一家当前致力于开发iOS电子游戏的独立开发商。早在90年代中期，我作为一名游戏程序员，与一群来自于Vision Software的搭档们一齐活跃于游戏产业中。那时我开发的最大一个项目是名为《Seek and Destroy》的射击游戏（针对于个人电脑）。

Trapit(from buttonmasher.co.nz)

《TrapIt》真的很有趣，我很想知道你是怎么获得这款游戏的制作灵感？

有一天我在与好友喝咖啡的时候对他说道：“我想再次制作一款游戏。”然后我们便围绕这个想法展开讨论。我突然想起我的妻子早前所尝试过的免费游戏，如《Jezzball》，《Minesweeper》和《Solitaire》等都带有一些较为简单，且重复进行的游戏机制，所以玩家都能够轻易上手。所以，我认为《Jazzball》这类型游戏的机制刚好适用于iOS游戏，但是前提必须是，这些游戏机制必须能够调动那些“老”玩家们的游戏激情，并且让他们感受到与街机游戏一样的乐趣。

作为一家游戏公司，你们的开发团队规模尚小，可以说说这给你们带来了什么优势吗？

作为一个独立的游戏编程团队，我不需要刻意地去适应任何人。我可以自行控制自己的时间，做不同的尝试，并针对游戏做出最合适的决策。

《TrapIt》与我之前玩过的游戏有所不同，它虽然较为简单，但却同样能让玩家轻易上瘾。你能否说说你对这款游戏的想法？

我认为《TrapIt》这款iOS游戏是简单游戏和上瘾游戏的结合体，并且带有街机游戏的趣味性。早前的街机游戏的最大魅力在于，能够吸引玩家想要在游戏中“继续升级”或者“获得更好的游戏分数”等等。在这些游戏中，玩家必须与自己的身体技能以及反应能力进行竞争。我想这些也正是街机游戏如此受欢迎的重要原因吧。

你是从何处学到游戏开发技能？

我可以完全保证，这都是我自学的成果。从10岁起（我现在40岁）我便通过阅读书籍，反复尝试并学习相关知识而进行长时间的编程体验（最初是使用Vic20，随后换成了SpectraVideo ）。那时，电脑可以说是专为编程而设置的设备，你只需花费5秒钟，打开电脑，便可以进行编程了（因为这些编程的语言已经被内置于电脑中了）。

在20岁的时候我度过了极其短暂的大学生活，因为我发现大学生活不仅极度枯燥，而且都与我想做的事情相违背。而如今，在很多大学里都开设了与游戏开发相关的课程，所以我想，如果能够从新选择，我想重新进入大学，并学习那些我所缺少的必要技能。

你在游戏开发过程中使用了什么软件？

在实际编程中我使用了苹果的XCode开发环境。而当我需要修改游戏图形时，我便会使用Photoshop软件工具，同时《TrapIt》主要使用Cocos2d引擎进行图形编辑。为了进入更大的游戏平台，我将在下一款游戏中采用诸如Unity3d等开发工具。这些开发工具的潜力巨大，而且也是帮助我们这些小型公司快速推动游戏转型的有利武器。

为什么想制作iPhone或者iPod游戏？

因为我对iOS的开发充满着好奇，而且进行这种尝试也不需要耗费多大的成本（苹果会免费提供给你开发工具）。而在任天堂DS，微软的XBox，Wii或者其它掌机平台中我们却得不到这种“待遇”，它们不仅要价太高，而且还要求开发者严格服从于平台持有人。所以我们便决定在个人电脑/Mac或者iOS平台中做出选择，而因为我想要学习更多iOS开发的相关内容，并且也拥有了一台属于自己的iPhone设备，所以我最终选择了iOS。

你是如何通过游戏创造收益？

《TrapIt》现在是iTunes store中的一个付费应用，但是我们计划下一款游戏将采用新的方法，例如付费下载额外内容等模式，以获取更大的收益。

能否和我们说说，你认为LittleGeek的未来发展方向是怎样的？

在未来，我们将制作出更多优秀的游戏。鉴于iOS市场已趋向饱和，游戏在该平台上的曝光率将大大降低，所以我们将不再留恋于这个平台，而是面向更广大的平台进行扩展。

你能否给予那些想要进入游戏开发领域的新手一些建议？

首先，你必须充满激情，想做就做。尽可能地学习相关知识，并在遇到难题时请教那些专业人士（游戏邦注：如图形，音效或编程等方面的内容），解决难题后努力创作出你心目中理想的游戏。刚开始不要一心想着什么样的游戏最赚钱，这对没有多大重任在身的新手来说更是如此。你必须发挥想象，创造出属于自己的独特游戏类型。而如果你只是想通过游戏赚钱的话，那么你的想象和灵感将会被牢牢禁锢于这种思想中，且不能得到最大发挥。所以，你需要做的只是想着创造一款游戏后，继续创造出更多更好的游戏即可。我是一名业余的摄影爱好者，座右铭是“尝试，尝试再尝试！”，而这也同样适用于游戏开发，并且能够帮助我做出更好的游戏。

而一旦你觉得自己的责任感和游戏开发技能已经足够成熟，并且能够开始赚取利益了，那么我建议你可以先熟悉游戏市场。你必须知道“谁会购买你的游戏？”以及“如何做才能吸引这些人的注意”（这点更重要）。而这也是我们在《TrapIt》中所面临的最大难题。即使你的游戏吸引了一些忠实玩家，但除非你能够吸引到更多玩家，并让他们忠实于这款游戏，你才能从中获取更大的利益。当你完成了一款游戏的制作时，你应该着手安排一些更难的工作（也就是游戏的市场营销）了。而如果你有幸遇到一些擅长于市场营销的专业人士，那么就赶紧抓住这些人才吧！

最后你必须记住的一点是，绝不轻言放弃。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

LittleGeek- How To Create An iPhone Game, TrapIt [Interview]

This interview is written by Gabe and originally appeared on GamerPress.org

Little Geek is a one-man company that develops video games currently for iOS platforms. I was originally a programmer in the games industry back in early to mid 90′s and worked with some guys from a company called Vision Software. The biggest project I worked on back then was a shooter called Seek and Destroy for the PC that was published by Epic’s (Then Epic Megagames) label Safari Software.

Q. Your game Trapit is a lot of fun, how did you come up with the idea?

I was having coffee with a friend and said to him “You know, I need to write a game again.”. So we started brainstorming and I began to remember all the old free games my wife had played in the past like Jezzball, Minesweeper , Solitaire etc. They were all simple games with simple, repetitive mechanics that were easy to pick up. I thought something with the mechanics of Jezzball would be ideal for iOS but being an old-school gamer I wanted to make sure it was jazzed up a bit and more of an arcade game.

Q. You are relatively small for a games company, how is this advantage?

Being essentially a one-man programming team means I don’t have to answer to anyone – haha! I can take my time, try different things and get to make all the decisions about what goes into a game or not.

Q. Trapit is different to anything I have ever played, it is simple but almost addictive. What do you personally think you have brought to the gaming market?

I think with TrapIt, what I hoped to bring to iOS games was a melding of simple, addictive games with an arcade feel to them. With the old arcade games it’s all about the lure of wanting to do “just one more level” or “get just a little bit better score”. Essentially you’re competing against yourself and your physical skills and reflexes. I think that is what made those games great in the past.

Q. Where did you learn your game development skills?

I’m completely self taught. I’ve been programming since I was 10 (I’m now 40) and started on a Vic 20, then a SpectraVideo back in the early 80′s. I just read books, tried things and learned all I could. Computers were setup for programming back then. You turned them on and within 5 seconds you could start programming because the languages were built in.

I did go to University for a short while when I was in my 20′s but found it extremely boring and not relevant to what I wanted to do. Nowadays I there’s a lot more options in tertiary education for game development so if I was doing it again I’d probably do a course or two to get skills in areas I lack.

Q. What software do you use to develop your games?

I use Apple’s XCode development environment for the actual coding. Photoshop is used for graphics if I need to do anything that the artist hasn’t done, and TrapIt used the Cocos2d graphics engine. For my next title I am probably going to go cross platform so may end up using something like Unity3d, which from what I have seen of it so far, is great for small companies that need faster turnaround of their games.

Q. Why did you decide to make games for the iphone/ipod?

Essentially it was because I was curious about learning iOS development and it doesn’t cost anything to develop for (Apple gives you the tools for free). No way could I have afforded, or been approved to have a license for Nintendo DS, XBox, Wii or any other console platform. They are just too expensive and strictly controlled by the platform holders. My choices really were between PC/Mac or iOS (Android wasn’t really around when I started TrapIt) and I wanted to learn iOS development and had an iPhone already.

Q. How do you create revenue with your game?

At the moment TrapIt is simply a paid application that you purchase from the iTunes store. However, for my next game I will look at other methods for generating revenue from the start. Maybe with some form of downloadable content.

Q. Where do you see LittleGeek heading in the future?

I just want to release more games. We will also likely expand to more platforms because the market on iOS is so saturated and it’s nigh impossible to get any exposure.

Q.  What would you say others that want to get into game development industry?

First and foremost, as with all passions, just do it. Learn everything you can and get others to help you with things you can’t do (art, sound, programming etc) and go out there and create. At first don’t worry about making money especially if you’re a young person with no responsibilities. That will free you up to find your own style and get the creative juices flowing. It’s hard to be completely free and experimental if you are really just trying to make money. So just create a game, then another, and another. I am a hobbyist photographer and the motto there is to “shoot shoot shoot”. It holds for game development too; that’s how you get better.

Once you’re feeling comfortable about yourself and your skills and want to make some money, the biggest thing I could suggest is to understand the market. You need to ask yourself “Who’s going to buy it?” and more importantly “How do I get people to see it?”. This is the biggest hurdle I have faced with TrapIt. While people who play it seem to really like it, unless lots and lots of people can find it and have the same experience it’s hard to make any decent revenue from it. Be prepared for some real hard work once you’ve actually finished the game, and if you can find someone who LOVES marketing – try and get them on board!

Lastly, NEVER give up.（source:teenbusinessforum）