Interview By Ninichi | Contact | Follow
Are you an indie game developer working on a game? If so, do please keep on reading because, today we will be getting to know the creator of TimberTales, a turn-based strategy game brought to you by indie game studio Rainware.
I’m Ninichi, a freelance game music composer and I run this blog! This is meant to be a place for you, the game development and film making communities to come together, learn, find resources and to be inspired as you work on your creative projects. I’m delighted to share this interview with you and hope that you will find Thorben’s thoughts and insights useful…
Please tell us who you are and how long you’ve been in game development…
‘My Name is Thorben and I am working at my self founded Indie Studio Rainware, since 1st of January 2016 as full time indie game developer. I was able to develop and publish three games in this time already. Before I worked for the gaming company Innogames in Hamburg for 10 years. I am currently working on my next project. I have a strong gaming background and I still play a lot of games.’
What games have you created & what are you currently working on?
‘My First game was TimberTales a turn based hex field Strategy game. I was inspired by old classic games like Battle Isle or Jagged Alliance. I have the vision to revive games from my past to a new modern era. The theme is what makes Timbertales unique. Unlike other TBS games with world war II settings, I have created a game in a nature theme. It was published on iOS, Android and Steam.’
Then, I developed and published FlatFatCat an physic puzzle game with cats for mobile devices. It’s like billiards but with cats and very fast paced. I wanted to try out the mobile market and thought I could earn some easy money. Unfortunately it didn’t worked out as I expected. Space Unicorns is a re-theme of FlatFatCat and was another attempt at the mobile market.
My current project is a "Mega lo Mania” - Remake. Mega lo mania was the first RTS game I ever played. I started with the development 8 weeks ago and I also do video logging about my progress. This game is targeted at PC and consoles. I also applied for Nintendo Switch development. You can find more information on my YouTube Channel about the project.
What top tips can you share with us and the indie game development community?
- ‘Don’t try your luck on mobile market, if you have no clue about it
- Be passionate about gaming otherwise consider developing for eCommerce or whatever, since the paying is much better
- Find an Engine you like to work with instead of picking the most popular one
- Always create games you would like to play as well. Be your biggest fan
- Keep projects as small and simple as possible
- To finish projects you will need lots of passion, discipline and a reachable goal’
What final tip can you offer that you think will really help a fellow indie game developer?
‘Try to find a partner. Best combination is something like developer & artist. If you need to outsource arts/code and you need to pay for them it will get expensive easily.’
Thank you Thorben for sharing your wonderful thoughts and experiences with us. This is all super useful advice for the indie game community. For those wanting more support with their game development, check out these next:
About the author: Ninichi is a game music composer and film music composer. She has worked on a number of games and is a great supporter of indie developers and indie games. If you're looking for music that will help your game to stand out contact her now to discuss your game music needs.
Follow her @ninichimusic
