Exclusive Interview With The Developers Of Knight Defense HD

Please explain how your app was originally though of and what were your thoughts behind the marketplace, specifically?

Knight Defense was conceived as a mélange of tower defense, chess, and… laser explosion glow graphics. At the time, I simply thought the idea was cool and I ran with it. I aimed to re-imagine the tower defense genre, infuse some new life into it, and perhaps come out the other side with something new and unexpected.

Explain the design, how you came up with the colors and themes.

The app was designed around glow graphics, with a blue/yellow theme for the menus. Somehow space glow chess seemed to fit nicely into the picture, and so the background was kindly provided by NASA’s Hubble space telescope. The piece colors were chosen to match each piece, so purple for the king, green for the bishop etc. One person has emailed me saying that the app is like playing chess while high on psychedelic drugs, so I hope Steve Jobs would have approved of it 😉

Who do you see as the main target market for this app in terms of age, genre and expenditure?

I see the app as mainly targeting the 15+ age group – people who are after a game that will challenge and reward their strategic thinking skills. The app is currently on sale so there is very little expenditure involved 🙂

How long did it take from the original planning to the production process of this app?

From conception to launch took about 8 months working nights and weekends. After launch much time was spent on improvements and updates, including a total sound overhaul by my friend and professional audio engineer Justin Cosgrove.

How do you predict sales to be, is there a good solid market for this style of app?

Knight Defense offers a unique experience in mobile gaming, and in that sense is treading into uncharted territory, but it is based off solid foundations, namely tower defense and chess.

What has been the hardest obstacle you have had to overcome regarding this app development?

I coded the animation engine from scratch, and in hindsight it would probably have been easier to use a premade graphics engine, but hey, I learned a lot in the process.

Would you consider developing apps for third parties?

Sure, I love making quality apps and working together with good people is enjoyable.

What have you learnt from the App Store?

That the importance of marketing is incredible. I thought that decent programming and design was enough to create a successful app, but without marketing it just doesn’t happen.

Have Apple supported you well with your App development?

I haven’t had a lot of interaction with Apple honestly. It would be nice to get the App Store editor’s attention though 🙂

What next, are you developing another app, would you go for the same genre again, if not which?

I have a number of apps in the pipeline, but the next one is a physics-based puzzle/action platformer, in which you play the role of a downtrodden boy turned hero who must save all the imprisoned children in the world, and possibly even win the heart of the cute girl who was kind to him… stay tuned for a release later this year!

Have you considered developing apps on other platforms such as Android? If so, what has the experience been like?

I’m using the cocos2d graphics engine, which is compatible with android, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

What do you think about TheAppWhisperer.com? Have we helped you? Would you recommend us?  Have we been supportive?

I think you’re a great bunch of people and I would heartily recommend you 🙂