Having the opportunity to develop for a leading publishing company is a huge deal, especially for developers who are struggling in the App Store. Christopher Kalanderopoulos, Founder and CEO of Movile Inc. has developed an app called BoardBox for the iPad, under one of the leading gaming publishers, Chillingo. We had the unique chance to interview Christopher this week and received some great feedback regarding developing for mobile apps.

Company Name: Movile Inc.
Name: Christopher Kalanderopoulos
Title: Founder & CEO
Company URL: www.moviletap.com/blog

Q: How do you think the iPhone and iPad have revolutionized the mobile phone industry?

iPad aside, because we don’t know about its effect on the industry yet, the iPhone did as Steve Jobs predicted at launch: it revolutionized the entire mobile phone industry. Seldom had we seen a touchscreen phone, no one was doing multi-touch, (good) location aware services were a pipe-dream, and WiFi simply wasn’t built into anything that tiny. iPhone changed all that. And then Apple did it again with the 3G! Perhaps biggest of all, the App Store, which wasn’t launched until the iPhone’s first birthday was the first unified platform for distribution. Can you believe that, in the decade-plus time before iPhone, with Palm talking about their 20,000 application legacy, and Windows Mobile having a pretty large user base for PDAs, that no one even thought to create a unified distribution system? It’s not that they tried and failed, no one even had the idea.

Q: How do you think the iPhone or iPad have revolutionized the portable gaming industry with contenders such as Sony and Nintendo?

I’m not sure iPhone had a huge effect on Nintendo. They were doing the touchscreen thing with the DS, and it took off like wildfire. The DSi only helped to solidify their lead as portable gaming powerhouse. I think Sony took some hints from Apple with their “minis” which are downloadable games, but I think they missed the mark given that they don’t have a dead-simple way for everyone to get in on the action such as smaller developers. In fact, I feel like it would be easier for developers to make games for PSP because there are a limited set of controls, no accelerometer, and no pesky touch-coordinates to deal with. In short, I think every platform has their major strengths. iPhone has constant connectivity and amazing distribution, Nintendo builds great devices with tried and tested legacy support that keep people coming back, and Sony has great higher end stuff, although I do think their catalog is lacking..

Q: What separates your company from your competitors with mobile phone applications?

Within the App Store, I don’t think any developer worth their salt can do anything truly revolutionary over the next without reinventing the wheel. We have passion and want to create games that we want to play. The bottom line is that the good developers all have this; I’m not going to say that we’re better at what we do, because it is so subjective. Everyone is different and we are another player. Equal playing field, different ideas, different ways to tackle problems.

Q: What is your company background, size (employees, developers, etc), and company inspirations?

I started taking things apart before I could talk, or so my parents would say. I’ve always been interested in technology, and I love business. This is a perfect way to bring the two things together. The company is made up of three developers, an artist, and an audio engineer; they all do great work and I couldn’t do any of this without them. Movile Inc. was founded in August of 2008, although we’d been tinkering around with the App Store since the SDK was made public in February. Our first title, Theme Park Madness, was launched in February 2009 and just had its one year anniversary. Here’s an exclusive for this interview: we’re working on Theme Park Madness 2 and it’s going to be goooood!

Q: Do you outsource any projects or development, if so, how much?

We tried out the outsourcing thing for a concept project and it just wasn’t for me, personally. I like working closely with developers and putting out a great project. Plus, hiring within the province makes you feel better about what you’re doing, turnaround time is better, productivity is increased, and you don’t have to worry about pesky timezone differences!

Q: Advancements in graphics and animations in the mobile phone industry have astronomically grown within the past couple of years. How much time does your company devote to graphical, animation, and sound production for mobile applications? Are there areas that you focus on?

With our latest release, BoardBox for iPad, the graphics are the be-all and end- all of the application. We focus on everything we need to make the user experience better. Whether it means designing new board games or variants thereof, right down to rearranging buttons so that the “New Game” button is in the centre as opposed to three buttons from the left, we try to make everything as cohesive and fluid as possible. Our designer, Steven Cantor, has made the materials that are in the game look real. And I say that with authority. The wood doesn’t just look like wood, it looks like rich mahogany. The granite has a smooth gloss to it as if it was just finished on a proper wax polisher. It costs nothing in variable costs to create these materials virtually but it makes the application worth that much more. With that said, there is a lot of backend to BoardBox and our developer Bo Wood is entirely responsible for the great work that went into it.

Q: How many applications has your company planned, developed, or created at any given time?

We’re in development of three titles at the moment. That may or may not answer your question!

Q:What do you think of the iPhone or iPad Operating System in comparison to other mobile platforms? Are Apple’s competitors finally producing a comparable product or has the iPhone or iPad already monopolized the niche market?

To be completely honest, I haven’t taken a look at the competition in a while. Here is what I know that still makes it very difficult to even want to take a look at the other platforms:
1) Resolution variance – the fact that there are dozens of Android devices, for example, means that our apps would not look the same on every single device. When trying to create rich, immersive experiences, this is a no-go.
2) Distribution – 150,000 apps may be a lot to compete with, but the distribution system makes so much sense. You can buy most apps on the fly with one touch purchasing, download direct to device or from the computer, they’re organized easily, effectively, and it’s what most people prefer because it’s got the greatest variety.
3) Community – Apple has sold nearly 43 million iPhones so far, about 25 million iPod touches, and they’re likely going to sell another 5-10 million of each by the end of 2010, according to analyst numbers. That’s a market of nearly 100 million, not including iPads which run all the software for iPhone as well. How many Palm Pres are there out there?

Q: Marketing an application can be a very difficult task. With so many applications being developed and released on a daily basis, capturing user attention in an App Store is challenging. What have you found to be an effective way to market your products to users?

Chillingo is publishing BoardBox because we are confident with their abilities in elevating our marketing to the next level and getting BoardBox in front of as many people as possible. We strongly feel that People, People, People are by far the most influential. Forum postings, press releases, some banner advertising (although minimally so), blogs, contacting review sites. And the following up with every single one of these things. There is no way to beat out someone like Grand Theft Auto coming to iPhone because a company like Rockstar can announce that at E3, where companies like Movile Inc. don’t have the forum to do so. But relying on word of mouth, and hoping we get another goldrush with the iPad, we think we’re doing okay.

Q: What do you think about other application review websites? Are they effective at providing in-depth reviews of applications and helping market your products? Or is your company experiencing challenges of trying to find quality application websites? What do you think of Appmodo?

The basis of what we try to do is get the app in front of as many people as possible, regardless of how big their review site is. Review sites don’t necessarily make or break you, but they make a difference. Appmodo makes sense for news about portable devices overall. The only judgement I use when buying applications is what I see in the App Store and my intuition about it. I tend to not enjoy big sellers like Pocket God or Zen Bound (although Koi Pond entertained me for a while!), so I buy based on what I like. I tend to frequent review sites for marketing more than personal use.

Q: What are your thoughts on the App Store user reviews and the ability to monitor them?

It’s perfect for those who want a new application but isn’t interested in going around to websites to look up reviews for it. Even more so, it functions perfectly when you are on an iPhone or iPod and don’t want to exit to browse Safari just so you can look up an app. It just doesn’t make sense to do that, so reviews fit in perfectly. If you want to read the whole thing, go for it, or if you just want a quick idea of the quality of the app, everyone understand what 4/5 stars means.

Q: What is your favorite application?

Just one? Are you kidding me? If I had to pick, I would say Mail. Oh, you mean from the App Store. Bankshot is great for killing time. Cube Runner was the first game I ever bought and I still go back to it every once in a while. Wikipanion is fantastic for disproving people wrong about Friends episodes (I’ve seen that show way too many times).

Thank you Christopher Kalanderopoulos of Movile and Chillingo for your time!

Please post your comments, tips, and your own reviews below in the comments area!

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