We’re catching up with Olaf Morelewski, a Chartboost University 2013 (CBU) alum and the founder of made it app. He’s just released the game that he’s been working after his experience at CBU.
Questions:
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Olaf. What can you tell us about made it app?
My pleasure! Made it app is a one-man-shop indie game boutique that I run by myself in Warsaw, Poland. Previously I was working in the advertising industry but decided to quit my Art Director day job and focus on making mobile games. I also wanted to learn some basic programming so now I’m doing pretty much everything – from designing gameplay, drawing game art, to coding and recording sound effects. I know it’s pretty diverse stuff and I realize that nobody can master all fields at once, but I really enjoy doing all these things together and believe that my games are not only quality but fun to play as well.
Tell us about the games you make. What did you release prior to attending Chartboost University?
I made two games before attending CBU – the first one was Censored Files which was a text game where the player had to guess the blacked out words in a story to solve the crime. I was building my programming skills on that one, so wanted it keep it simple.
The second game I made was OmNomster and this was the one that I submitted to Chartboost University for consideration. It’s a casual arcade game where you have to feed a monster trash, by shaking your phone and bouncing OmNomster off the walls.
What inspired you to make OmNomster? It’s a clear departure from Censored Files…
I wanted to make a game that would take full advantage of a single unit gaming device on mobile. No desktop game can be shaken or tilt (there are movement sensors built into pad controllers but it’s never hardwired with a display). Only mobile devices possess this unique feature combination and I wanted to use it. Also, I’ve never seen a shake-based game mechanic so I thought it could add an extraordinary user experience.
What was the development cycle like compared to your prior work?
It was pretty much the same, but took me a little bit longer than Censored Files. After I came up with the general concept of the shaking mechanic I started sketching some characters and I was looking for theme inspiration. Then I made a half-page pseudo game document and started making screen mockups so that I knew what things I had to design and code. After that I started work in Photoshop to prepare the graphics assets, and once this was done I started coding screen by screen that I declared in the mockup. I crossed out the screens that were done (like I used to do on a shooting board when we were shooting a commercial) and proceeded to develop the next screen. As you would expect, some new ideas were emerging during the development process and I didn’t block them. Sometimes only when you try a solution you find out it’s wrong and iterate to something better. This happened in OmNomster many times.
This time, unlike with Censored Files, I also decided to record the music and all the sfx by myself. So I was walking with a mic like the guy from the “Lisbon Story” movie and I was recording environment sounds or hitting a wooden stick against metal materials trying to find the best monster “bouncing off” sound. I had a lot of fun doing this!
It took me three months to make the whole game–from first concept sketch, to the release.
How did the launch go? Was the second time around better?
Not so much. Like many other indie devs I put a lot of effort in making the game, but made no plan to market it. Well, I did make a trailer, and sent several emails to the reviewing sites and forums, but it wasn’t enough. On launch day I had 2K downloads, which wasn’t bad, but every day thereafter, the download number was cut in half until it stopped with around only 10-20 downloads a day.
What happened next?
I found about Chartboost University from the Chartboost newsletter email. When I read about this opportunity I immediately recorded an introductory video of myself and submitted OmNomster. I was super excited when I got a Skype call with confirmation that YES (!) – I was going to San Francisco to learn about making games and how to monetize them better.
How did attending CBU change your work going forward?
For me it was a ground-breaking experience. We were taught by industry professionals from top mobile game companies like DeNA or SuperCell and it opened my eyes to monetization mechanics that I didn’t take into consideration before.
Also, meeting other indie dev teams from around the world was equally valuable as CBU sessions themselves. I met supercool devs from Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Spain and Argentina. I’d like to reunite with them again some day.
Which CBU sessions applied directly to your work and the problems you were trying to solve?
I found the lecture about Sustainable Systems from Chelsea Howe very important for my development. She showed us various, less transparent, monetization mechanics applied in mobile gaming. Also talking to David Hom about OmNomster’s game design was super helpful as David pointed out my game’s strengths and weaknesses very clearly. I feel that all CBU lectures were chosen to be complementary to each other so as a result, we were exposed to a wide spectrum of knowledge from game design, to security aspects.
Did any of the speakers change your development or business plans?
I knew that F2P is said to be the way to go, but after the lecture from Kieran Barr from Distimo who talked about the numbers, I realised that I should choose the freemium model as well.
What new business insights were you able to put to use after attending CBU?
At Chartboost it was a pleasure to see that passionate people can work hard and have fun at the same time. If some day I expand my one-man company or I fund a new startup I’d like my employers to get a similar working experience to the one that you have at your office.
For your upcoming release, you’ve shifted to the Windows mobile platform. What lead you to that decision?
The other CBU alumni from Wayward and Headnought studios told me about Microsoft and Aalto University AppCampus funding which they already received for their games. When I came back from San Francisco I decided to give it a try and prepared a pitch of Feed OmNomster – The Hungry Monster which was actually the OmNomster sequel featuring all the changes we developed during CBU lessons: character progress, weapons and slow-motion mode. Luckily I also got accepted and I was contracted to develop the game for Windows Phone platform exclusively. The deal is extremely cool since Microsoft doesn’t possess the game IP or take any more revenue than it does with their regular app submission.
Feed OmNomster – The Hungry Monster from Made It App
In what parts of your games can a player see the influence of your CBU experience?
Quite everywhere. The game gained a lot through CBU sessions. Now it has more levels for more diversity. It has tweaked gameplay which makes it more skillful (tilt mode in addition to regular shaking mode). And it has better monetization mechanics since the player gets the real gameplay improvement for upgrading his/her character instead of just changing the character’s appearance. Overall the game is just more fun to play and that’s the key CBU factor.
What’s next for you?
I already have a list of game ideas that I’d like to develop but haven’t made any decisions yet. I hope that my next game gains more from what I learned during CBU sessions and from my previous releases. There’s still a lot I have to learn. I’m also leaning towards expanding my studio to more people as doing the game’s artwork and coding all by myself is pretty exhausting. Surely for a few following weeks I’ll focus on marketing Feed OmNomster – The Hungry Monster properly.
Would you recommend CBU to friends in the development community?
Absolutely! It was definitely one of the best professional experiences in my life.
Where can we get your games?
Feed OmNomster – The Hungry Monster has just been released on Windows Phone Store and you can get it free from HERE. Visit my website if want to find out about all its features or about my previous titles.