Interview with Rob Scott of Unseen Studios - Developer of Monimals

Interview with Rob Scott of Unseen Studios - Developer of Monimals: Part 1​

• Tell us about yourself and your company. How long have you been in developing games, and how long have you been working on Monimals?
  
  
  
  

My name is Rob Scott, I am from Nottingham, UK. I have been developing and programming games seriously for 2 years now. Before this time I was actually heavily in to the art side of game development. Getting a job as a website designer soon changed all that however as the focus became programming orientated. Since then I have been programming games both for myself and as a freelance programmer.

Monimals development began in Feb of this year using the Cocos2d Framework.

• Tell us about Monimals! Where did the idea come from? When did you truly know you could pull this type of game off?
  

The idea for Monimals began as a prototype for a small scale RPG type game I was working on. In the prototype the player would have a certain amount of 'life points' which they would use up by completing actions on the map (such as moving, fighting, questing). One area where this prototype was lacking was in the battle scenes, I wanted to make battles more interactive, it was also kind of boring playing the same character over and over again, with the same moves. This is where the battle system started evolving into the Monimals you see today.

The development then kind of snowballed from there. The changes made to the battle system then meant we needed to change how the whole map system worked. Which then meant we needed a story to drive the player through the world. We also needed to keep the world and battles interesting so that is where the list of Monimals came from.

I knew that from a programming perspective that I could pull Monimals off. However I knew that if this was going to work and not take a lifetime to produce then I needed help in the art areas. I managed to find a good partner to work on the project with almost instantly and he has crafted, what I feel is a very unique art style for this type of game.

• What pricing model are you looking to utilize with Monimals?
  

I have not yet decided on a final price but I can assure everyone that Monimals will not be a freemium game. The released version will be a fully featured game, all the Monimals will be attainable and all areas explorable for the initial entry fee. We will also be making a number of other areas accessible in free updates.

Depending on the success of the game we will also be working on a number of new regions which may advance the story or be a new story in our universe. These new regions will be paid updates as they would represent a lot of time and money investment from everyone involved.

• I see a lot of people asking questions in the Monimals thread, but lets put a few out there for people to read. How many Monimals are there? Do they evolve? Is there an overworld to explore?
  

Version 1 will contain 110 Monimals, as mentioned previously all the Monimals will be attainable by the player. That is not to say we will be giving them out like candy, we expect that taming and levelling all 110 Monimals will take a significant amount of time, but none of them will be blocked off.

Most Monimals evolve, some have 2 stages and some have 3 stages. Each Monimal that can evolve follows a set evolution path.

There is an Overworld to explore, this was one of the main goals of Monimals, we want the player to explore and feel a part of the world. We have a number of diverse locations to explore and a number of collectables along the way to find too that will enhance the lore.

• Will there be quest and a storyline to follow?
  

There will be a main storyline to follow, this will be the driving force for players, our writer has crafted a pretty unique story with a few twists and turns along the way. I can't wait for people to play it and actually experience it first hand.

• How long have you been developing Monimals?
  

I have been working on it almost non stop since Feb 2012. Since then I have gone through many different styles, prototypes and ideas. What you see in Monimals today is finally the idea that stuck. But at one point you could have been playing a card game instead.



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This is the end of part 1.

 

Interview with Rob Scott of Unseen Studios - Developer of Monimals: Part 2​

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• There are a handful of Pokemon style games out now or coming out soon. We even did an interview recently with the developer of Zenforms and I asked a question to him I would like to present to you... What makes Monimals different from not just Pokemon, but all of those iOS games coming out soon that are in the mold of Pokemon?

There are a number of things that I can see that we are doing a little differently to all the other games out there.

The art style in Monimals, I think this is the first time that a game such as this has had high quality bitmap art. We have made sure this game takes full advantage of the new Retina iPad and it looks absolutely stunning.

We also have a pretty in depth talent system for each Monimal class, the player will be able to customise each and every Monimal they own with different skills and passive effects.

We have also implemented game recording. At any time a player can record a battle and then upload it to facebook, twitter, youtube or email it someone. I think this will open up a new competitive level where people are trying to get the best playback possible.

• Will there be a Beta test? If so, are you allowing players to Beta test?

We will be looking for a few players to beta test the game, we want to make sure the game runs as smoothly as possible on the range of devices we will be supporting (3GS and up).

Once we have more details about the beta test we will post it in the Upcoming Games thread.

• What is your favorite Monimal?
  

That's a tough one, they are all so unique and different that it is hard to decide which one I like most.

One of my favourites would have to be the unannounced Towertle:

• Has there been any major hiccups during development or any moments that caused a stir? Hidden code that breaks something that was an easy fix but took forever to find?

We haven't had any major hiccups yet, there were a number of annoying little bugs that kept cropping up on the Battle Scene when I was trying to get a sneak peak video out. It usually stemmed from one move interacting with another certain move in an odd way, so it was quite difficult to debug as the AI would frequently choose a move which I didn't want it to when trying to test if I had fixed the bug.

• Is there anything you see a lot of people asking for on the forums that you would like to add, but it just isn't currently possible?

A number of people have asked for online trading and/or online battling. While it is possible I don't feel at this point of time that it should be a priority to the game. I want to make sure we release with the best single player possible rather than trying to split my self working on two separate things. Online battling will most likely come at a later stage via an update.

• Any secrets or teasers you would like to share with our readers?

You already teased a super secret Monimal out of me but I suppose I can give a little more information away.

The Monimals story will actually be fairly interactive, you decide how you want to interact with people through a series of dialog choices, do you actually care who this person is you are talking to or do you just want to find out where he hidden something you are looking for?

• Anything you want to tell the readers or the people interested in the game?

Thank you for all the interest in the game so far, it was so much more than I was expecting. I was primarily making the game for myself and I didn't think it would have the appeal that it has had to people. We have even had someone drawing fan art of our creatures, that is quite an achievement in my book.

• Anything you want to tell people who are skeptical about your game?

While I know a lot of people are quick to dismiss something similar as a clone, I hope they at least give the game a chance first. We have tried hard to improve or create unique aspects of the genre. If we can convert at least one skeptic then I will consider that a victory.

• If our readers want to interact with you or share an idea, where can I send them?

You can contact me here via PM or by posting on our Upcoming Games thread.

You can also track me down at deviantArt where I answer a number of questions about the game.

 

First,

Thanks a ton Rob for doing this interview with me, it was a lot of awesome information.

Second,

Not sure how this looks on a computer or iPad but on the iPhone using the toucharcade app it looks great. Do, if it doesn't look right, sorry about the editing.

 

1) I haven't see you post anything that would lead me to believe you wouldn't like this game or not support it.

2) Happy 25th Birthday Neo! I turned 25 in January.

(Sorry, was snooping through your forums earlier )

 

Instabuy!