With Pocket God becoming the first paid app to reach two million downloads and Doodle Jump being close to being the first paid app to reach one million downloads in a single month, it's no surprise that developers are eyeing the casual games market. With the right hit, a small, independent games publisher could rake in a fair bit of loose change.
Developers in Singapore are also jumping on the casual games bandwagon, the latest being the quirkily named The Dumpling Dimension, who have released a cute game that tests your spelling called Bee Spelled (US$0.99), featuring a benign looking bee with a big bite.
The Dumpling Dimension, which was formed in June last year, may be a small company (three full-time employees) but it's got big plans. iMerlion speaks to Fu Huali, artist and marketing Dumpling about the company and its plans.
Can you tell us more about Bee Spelled?
Bee Spelled is very much inspired by Bookworm Adventures. We realize we wanted to play a spelling game on the go, and given our dissatisfaction with the available word games on the iPhone, decided to produce one of our own.
The initial game design was an ambitious romp through the world of Internet bad spelling memes, with a lone hero out to save the English Language. As with the nature of all creative projects, many ideas were bounced around until we came up with the concept of a Spelling Bee out to save his Queen. (i.e. the Queen's English.)
As we began work, the disconnect between the scope of our vision and the resources and experience we had at our disposal became more apparent. We pared down the game to its current iteration and in the process, learnt valuable lessons in the game design and production process. Bee Spelled is as much a product of our growing experience, our personalities and our passions. Just as much as it represents the first step in making better and better games for the iPhone.
Can you tell us about the company. Who's behind it?
We were all former colleagues at a local games development firm and we decided we should strike off on our own. Our team is quite varied, having a couple of programmers, an artist, a writer and even our very own coffee boy/programmer/tester! But due our size, we wear different hats depending on the nature of the task.
The iPhone platform was a natural choice as we were all iPhone users ourselves. We could all see its potential for growth, as well as being a very capable mobile device for gaming.
The Dumpling Dimension is a cute name. What's the story behind it?
It was a long and protracted process. We wanted a whimsical name. Our first effort Zombie Ninja Squad was cool and distinctive. But confusing when we kept mixing up Zombie Ninja Squad and Ninja Zombie Squad. So we had the great Re-Naming Effort. And after much discussion and slapping matches, we decided on The Dumpling Dimension because it is cute and distinctive. And most of all non-offensive. :P
What else is the company involved in?
We are currently collaborating with another firm to produce an iPhone restaurant guide. I'll be sure to drop you a line when that app is in the bag. :)
What are the company's plans for the future? More games? More platforms?
Our main interest lies in developing games, so yes we definitely plan to make more games. While we'd like to eventually spread out into more platforms (like the PC and consoles), for now we will remain focused on the iPhone platform.
Note: Bee Spelled is available on the App Store for US$0.99. Click here to buy it.
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