Down the Mountain (Free) is the latest game from Umbrella, who also developed Boom Dots (Free). If you played Boom Dots, you might have found it surprisingly compelling. It’s such a simple game, and one that is kind of hard to convey the fun of. But it nails the game feel, making every hit feel satisfying, and it’s perfect for one-handed, on-the-go play. And Zig Zag Boom (Free), worked on by Sven Magnus of Umbrella, is similar in that it’s more fun than it should be. Now, Down the Mountain continues that tradition, applying a bit of a Crossy Road (Free) spin on Q-Bert, with plenty of their own touches. I chatted with Sven Magnus of Umbrella, asking him a few questions about Down the Mountain, how it was made, and about the mobile gaming market as general.

How did Down the Mountain come about? Well, according to Sven, “The original idea came from my business partner, Mikael Tyrsen. He started designing the graphics, without knowing what the mechanic would be, and it all went from there." Fascinatingly, Sven says that he and Mikael actually live on different continents entirely. He claims that “we complement each other very well. We bounce off ideas against each other, until we’re both happy with them."

One of the key aspects of Down the Mountain is the mission system that was first introduced in Boom Dots, where each playthrough gives you a task to complete, giving you more rewards for completing these missions. Sven says “In traditional, level-based games, the purpose is usually to get to the next level, which can feel rewarding. I always felt that endless games missed that aspect, and I think that the missions cure that problem. Even though you start over every time you die, you still have a larger purpose, something you’re working towards. The game itself can be very challenging, but the missions start out fairly easy, so even newcomers get a sense of achievement."

Sven says that the mission system was actually the biggest factor from Boom Dots that Umbrella took into Down the Mountain, and “We could have made another minimal game like Boom Dots – which we probably will do again in the future – but this time, we wanted to do something different, but we kept the best aspect," referring to the mission system.

One thing about Down the Mountain is that it’s a game that kind of feels like a relic of the pre-phablet era, as the game has you tapping on opposite sides of the screen to go left and right. This means if you have an iPhone 6 Plus, you’re stretching your thumb, playing the game two-handed, or holding your phone centered in your hand. Sven says that “We are considering offering two additional control schemes in an update, which should both make it easier to play with one hand on a phablet. The first will allow you swipe in the direction you want to go, and the second will be similar to the current control scheme, but will allow you to change where the screen gets split."

Another thing that Umbrella is learning is how to monetize on their games. “We try to make good games first, that’s what we love doing. But off course we have bills to pay and a business to run, so we have to add monetization. After the success of Zig Zag Boom and Boom Dots, we have a good working relationship with several ad networks, and we know what works and what doesn’t work."

There are always concerns about trying to be original while still using popular aspects of other games that work. Down the Mountain does owe a debt to Crossy Road in terms of style with its cubic characters, though it seems more inclined to keeping them cubic versus just using voxels. But especially since Umbrella has been inadvertently involved in cloning issues – Zig Zag Boom and ZigZag (Free) by Ketchapp coincidentally wound up having similar gameplay styles and nearly-identical titles. Sven says that “We try to be original ourselves. Crossy Road is a 3D game, our game is completely 2D, with a different mechanic. There are similarities, and we do draw inspiration from existing titles, but we’re trying to do our own thing. Mikael and I are creative people, we love coming up with things and seeing where it leads us."

As far as clones go? Sven says “Boom Dots got cloned. Zig Zag Boom got a template on some site that people could buy for $6 and publish on the app store. Some guy took the graphics of one of my lesser known games and made his game with that. We try to stop it when we can, but we’re not losing any sleep over it."

While many developers are scared, or at least wary of the future of mobile, Sven is actually quite optimistic. “I’ve seen a lot more success with free-to-play games than I ever have with premium games. Especially these days, I feel like people are less inclinded to spend money on mobile games, even if it’s just a dollar. With so many free options, it’s hard to convince someone to pay.

Down The Mountain might work well as a premium game, but that would be a big gamble. Free-to-play has a bad name, but we try not to overdo it. We show ads – which is our main source of income, and have two IAPs in the game. One removes the ads, and the other buys you a set of keys, which will help you unlock certain characters a bit quicker. Both cost $.99, so the game is not a money sink."

Thanks to Sven for his time. Down the Mountain is available now. Get that thumb stretched out if you have an iPhone 6 Plus.