This interview is the result of a conversation with Alvaro Castaneda. He is the creator, with his brother, of infeKted, a puzzle game inspired in the living dead.

Can you tell us something about yourself?

We are MIX Studio, a small company run by 2 brothers. We started doing VFX for film and TV and we also do training for the VFX industry. Now we’re starting to take on game development, a dream we had since we had our first Atari 2600.

Describe your game

infeKted is puzzle domination game, simple to learn, so hard to master. The goal is to spread the sickness until everyone is infeKted, but smart because you have a limited amount of bites. But don’t think too hard cause time is ticking. Why would you do this? Because zombies are awesome. infeKted is not a game you can master by repeating. Every level is generated at random every time you play, so everyone gets a NEW game every time, it might seem simple at first, but we dare you to finish all 200+ plus levels, we are sure is going to take time.

What are you waiting for? get infeKted!!

Where did the game idea come from?

From a Blackberry game called flood-it

What can you tell us about the development of the game?

The game was developed in the span of about a year, from which the last 6 months was real constant development. It was made by Varomix who had the initial idea an prototype and then his brother Anglish got involved and then we manage to get it done.

What is the most important thing you learned when making this game?

Making the game is the easy part. 

What advice would you tell people who are beginning with game development?

Don’t quit, you’ll get there. The first part of making a game is actually really easy, you get a prototype working really quick and you’re really proud of it, but there’s still lots to do: art, points, scores, menus, etc. Seems like it never ends at some point, but it’s really rewarding when you finally push that build and people start playing it. Also, pick a programming language and stick to it, our game was made in about 3 or 4 languages before the final game was done.

Anything else you would like to share with the audience?

It’s great to have an idea and after long days working on it see it done. I’m very proud of me and my brother for doing this and who better than my brother to do this with. Thank you for giving us a little of your time and please enjoy the game.

Thanks for talking to us Alvaro! Best of luck with infeKted!

[button link=”http://www.infekt.me” target=”_blank” style=”none, small, large, biglarge” title=”Download infeKted: Zombies Revenge for Android”][/button]

Update! infeKted is now available on PC, Mac and Linux.

[button link=”http://www.desura.com/games/infekted-zombies-revenge” target=”_blank” style=”none, small, large, biglarge” title=”Download infeKted: Zombies Revenge for Windows, Mac or Linux”][/button]

Magicite was created solely by Sean Young. This young developer shared with us his quest of making this game.

Can you tell us something about yourself?

I’m a one man team. I am a junior at the University of Central Florida and have been making games since freshman year. Magicite will be my 9th game, but my first non-mobile game.

Could you describe us your game?

Magicite is a 2D rpg game that focuses on randomization, customization, epic loot, giant monsters, questing, and perma-death. Players will embark on dangerous quests with or without friends to slay challenging enemies while acquiring rare yet essential loot for crafting gear. Perma-death only occurs when the entire party has been defeated, so if all of your friends die it is up to you to deliver the final blow to the boss and finish the quest or return to town to save your party. Once in town players can store their hard earned loot or sell it. These stored items will be accessible to future characters even when your character dies permanently.

Where did the game idea come from?

Playing other games.

What can you tell us about the development of the game?

I’m the only person working on it, but I plan on hiring someone to do the music. I imagine this game will take no more than 4 to 5 months to make. There will be a Steam greenlight and a Kickstarter page up in the coming weeks.

What is the most important thing you learned when making this game?

PC games are harder to make than mobile games LOL

What advice would you tell people who are beginning with game development?

Start small. Finish your games. Ideas don’t mean anything unless the game is finished.

Anything else you would like to share with the audience?

Happy developing :)

Thanks Sean! Great work with Magicite!

[button link=”http://www.indiedb.com/games/magicite” target=”_blank” style=”none, small, large, biglarge” title=”Download Magicite for PC and Mac”][/button]

Ricardo Silva was kind to talk to us in the GameDev Academy about LoadingPlay and his new game for Andrioid devices: Oh my Cat.

Tell us something about LoadingPlay

At loadingplay, we aim to be a platform for the collaborative creation of video games, by involving the community in the whole process, from idea to initial investment.

Describe Oh my Cat

It is a runner type game, where the user must accompany a friendly stray cat in his adventures collecting enough money to visit a stripper kitten that drives he crazy. This dance only if enough money is collected.

Where did the game idea come from?

Stray cats.

What can you tell us about the development of the game?

The team that worked is compound for five developers, marketing and art,
    Julian Larrea: Marketing
    Carlos Hinostroza: Programming – level designer
    Ricardo Silva: Engine Programming
    Yi-Chun Lin: Programming
    Mauricio Galvez: Animation and Design (primitiva3d.com)

     We worked for two months to get a demo and are currently working to launch the full version, completed with the feedback we have received from the demo version.

What is the most important thing you learned when making this game?

Perseverance, the most important thing to reach the goal is perseverance.

What advice would you tell people who are beginning with game development?

Above all, be persistent, the process of developing a video game is not easy and finishing the game is only half of the process. Then comes the spread, which is where many give up.

Anything else you would like to share with the audience?

We invite you to participate in our next videogame, you can visit our website and join us with your ideas and feedback. Don’t be afraid to contact us at loadingplay.com

Thank you Ricardo! Best of luck with this game and future projects.

[button link=”http://bit.ly/10odfIF” target=”_blank” style=”none, small, large, biglarge” title=”Download Oh my Cat for Android”]http://bit.ly/10odfIF[/button]

At the Game Dev Academy we believe it’s easier to achieve your goals when you get to know people who are currently doing and are passionate about the topic you are interested in, and for that I would like to present our interview to Maura Sparks, founder of Kissappgames, startup based in California that publishes casual Apple iOS games for women and girls.

Maura and Wendy created a game called Glass Ceiling, which is not only fun to play but it also offers a sharp satirical view of today’s society.

Thanks Maura for joining us today.

What can you tell us about your game Glass Ceiling?

Glass Ceiling features the heroine, Moxie, fighting her way up the corporate ladder as she tries to break through the glass ceiling. It’s no easy feat as she battles fresh men, backstabbing co-workers, asinine accountants, bad bosses and other office stereotypes in her quest to reach the top.

Glass Ceiling is a side-scroller action adventure game. It’s an interactive cartoon with beat’em up mechanics. Each level represents a floor in an office building. Moxie, a smart-minded career gal, starts out in the basement and works her way up the corporate ladder encountering multiple foes on her way to the top. Each floor is filled with floating objects for points, life-force battles and tricky obstacles. On mobile devices, the game features a touchscreen control system. You simply tap and hold in a direction to walk, tap enemies to attack and defend and tap to grab items. Easy to play, fun to explore, Moxie will ultimately discover what lies on the other side of the Glass Ceiling.

Glass Ceiling will appeal to anyone who has worked in an office environment, although it will resonate more loudly for women. This is the first mobile game to tackle this topic. The app takes a satirical approach and sheds light on a serious topic in a fun way.

What was the hardest part when making this game and how did you overcome it? 

The hardest part about making this game was the timeline. We’re not young kids and so we were all dealing with other life responsibilities (families, mortgages, work). We all had to take on other jobs during Glass Ceiling’s production. Also, during period the market went through several changes. The freemium market arrived, in-app purchases grew and the monetization players and issues evolved. With Glass Ceiling, we released the app for $0.99, but we may offer it for free for a weekend and play around with the pricing structure.

After making this game, what would you recommend to people who want to create games?

Go for it! Choose an idea that resonates with you. When Wendy approached me with this idea, I loved it immediately. However, my decision to do this app and start Kissappgames was probably different than Wendy.

Wendy says, “It was clear that there is a market for games for women/girls. We didn’t want to exclude anyone but thought it was a good idea to make a games for ourselves – you know, games that we would like. The issue of women being treated equally in the workplace, and commanding top positions does seem to be in the social conversation. I’ve worked in the games industry long enough to remember a time when you couldn’t have a woman protaganist in a game, so to me a prim woman, styled in the 50’s UPA style, punching people was funny.”

I wanted to take control of my career and starting a company is one way to do that. Starting Kissappgames gives us the opportunity to create our own unlimited future. Having your own company removes the glass ceiling. It allows me to interact with amazing, smart people, take ideas and run with it, address things in a creative way and be part of a very dynamic space that is constantly moving. It’s clearly not for the faint of heart. I just hope we can build our brand and Kissappgames becomes a company that continues to build cool apps for girls and women.

I had a game company before and we made CD rom games–I rode that arc. I loved the mobile space the minute it arrived because now small teams, with low overhead could release a game without having to create packaging, work with expensive distribution channels, and spend tons of money marketing. If there was a bug in the software back then you were doomed. Now we can release an app, iterate as needed, use social media to create a viral marketing buzz, have direct contact with our community and compete with companies 30x our size!

Thanks Maura for giving this interview, we wish you the best of success with your company and projects!

[button link=”https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glass-ceiling/id641637241?mt=8″ target=”_blank” style=”none, small, large, biglarge” title=”Download Glass Ceiling for iOS”]https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glass-ceiling/id641637241?mt=8[/button]