I’ve recently been playing Uniwar [App Store], an exciting new turn-based strategy game for the iPhone. I must admit that I haven’t played such a game since Capture the Flag by Carr Software on DOS. In this game genre, you get different units which you can move around the board until they run out of moves and then you end your turn and wait for your opponent to move their units. Today I have Alex Kral with me to answer a few questions about their game.
Why did you decide to make Uniwar and what other games were your inspiration?
We decided to make UniWar originally to promote our online mobile portal called Xpressed. The game turned out to be so good that we decided to make it its own product.
How large is your team and how long did it take to develop?
It took about 1.5 years to develop. About 8 people have worked on it.
That’s a lot of time! Are you also considering porting it to other platforms?
Yes. In the next two to three months, it should get released for most other phones on the major operator decks.
What were your biggest challenges creating such a game and how did you overcome then?
The biggest challenge is the sheer complexity of this game. Having the best suite of tools in the industry (the Xpress Suite) and some very talented programmers was key to succeeding.
How does the online multiplayer game work? Do you need to keep the app running while you wait for your opponents to make their moves? Also, is it possible to invite a friend to play against you, so that you don’t get worried about being the n00b to get pounced by the wizards on the server?
You can invite your friends to play online with (team matches) or against you. Each game is setup with a certain duration per turn that varies between 10 minutes and 3 days. You do not need to keep the app running but simply log in and check out whether it is your turn in any of the matches.
What are your plans for future projects?
Make UniWar even better and add a lot of really cool new features.
To my readers, I’ll give a tip that If you get this game, be sure to start with the campaign mode, so that you can have an easy introduction to the play mechanism. Thank you very much for the interview and I wish you success with your game!