1. Game for a challenge
By JO TIMBUONG
bytz@thestar.com.my
APASSION
for videogames
brought two creative peo-
ple together and led to the
creation of a popular space-age
shooting game for iOS devices.
It all started when 32-year-old
games developer, Gerome Gan,
decided to follow his dream of
creating his own videogame.
However, he needed someone
with technical skills to comple-
ment his artistic skills.
When he met programmer,
Choong Hong Cheng, also 32, the
pair hit it off and began meeting
at cafes every week to discuss
their future game.
They developed SSI: Zero but
didn't expect that the game
would be one of the top down-
loaded games on the Apple App
Store.
The game peaked at number
six in a global list of the top free
iOS apps five days after it was
released on the App Store on
May 19.
Focusing on a dream
However, the road to develop-
ing SSI: Zero was not an entirely
smooth. In order to make sure
their game became a success,
Gan and Choong spent time on
research to find a game people
would want to play numerous
times.
"We didn't want to make it too
difficult so players could enjoy it,"
Gan said.
They also decided to give up
their well-paying jobs in order to
focus on their dream.
"We also had to take our
families into consideration.
Thankfully, our wives were very
understanding and supportive
as long as we stayed employed,"
Choong said.
Gan and Choong believed that
they were at the right place at
the right time with the right
product.
They were developing SSI: Zero
the same time the MSC Malaysia
IP Creation Challenge (IPCC)
series was calling for entries last
August.
Their entry wowed judges
and they were awarded the
RM50,000 IPCC grant last year to
further develop SS!: Zero.
Following the game's popular-
ity in the App Store, Can and
Choong said that they plan to
release a paid version of the
game, which will come with
additional levels.
However, they are very mod-
est in their expectations of the
game and think they have a very
long way to go to match the sales
of Angry Birds, the most popular
mobile game by far.
"Angry Birds is made for the
mass market and everyone can
enjoy it but I think SSI: Zero
appeals to fans of space-the med
shooting games only," he said.
ENTERPRISING DUO: Gan and Uoong showing. their creation. SR
Zero.
SS1: Zero has been downloaded
more than 60,000 times since its
release in May.
The duo also have plans to develop
more casual games that will
appeal to a bigger audience.
Can said they want to take
advantage of the lowered barrier
of entry for game developers to
produce more games and advised
budding game developers to do so
as well.
"This is thanks to business mod-
els like in the Apple App Store
where there is a 70% - 30% profit
sharing agreement between the
developer and Apple.
They can also promote their
games through online game
retailer, Steam," he said.
He said that in the past, it was
quite costly to develop for consoles
and would have cost cash-strapped
developers like themselves at least
RM200,000 to acquire developer
kits and promote the games.
Can explained that in the App
Store environment, developer kits
are free and developers only need
to fork out minimal investment for
hardware.
Choong added that game devel-
opers should strike when the iron
is hot and also believes that the
mobile game market will continue
to rise with the increased popularity
of smartphones and Tablets.
"Just be prepared to make some
sacrifices and don't skimp on the
research work." he advised.
GOOD RESPONSE: SS!: Zero has been downloaded more than 60,000 times
since its release in May.
Ref: 00107804642Provided for client's internal research purposes only. May not be further copied, distributed, sold or published in any form without the prior
consent of the copyright owner.
The Star
07/07/2011
Page: 17
By: Jo Timbuong
Section: StarTwo
Region: Malaysia Circulation: 286409
Type: Malaysia - English Newspapers
Size: 432.00 sq.cms
Frequency: MTWTFS