Exclusive: How Cobra Command went from laserdisc to iPhone in just 25 years - part 2

Part two of an epic interview with the makers of classic laserdisc game Cobra Command. Read part one here.

No question the arcade machine was one of the harder games you'd ever play back in the day, and even with some improved level balancing and the addition of easy, medium, hard difficulties and unlockable missions, there's only so much we've been able to do to make it easier.

Having said that, we're not even sure that it should be easy. Something I've personally found frustrating in purchasing many games on the iPhone and iPod touch is the sheer number of those which offer only minutes or sometimes just seconds of entertainment - compared to the weeks and even months you came to expect on traditional gaming platforms.

One of the lifelines we've provided is the ability to unlock levels as you progress through the game, and performance-based rewards like extra lives for doing well on a mission, so that it can be played in snack-sized bites or in mammoth sessions.

There's an absurd number of really diverse environments and challenging missions and it seems only reasonable that everyone be able to see those - if they work at it.

Saving the world wasn't meant to be easy right?

As an industry I think everyone is keen to explore and push the boundaries of the medium - and at the same time the limits of a device like the iPhone. If one measure of success is whether as game creators we can bring a new and very different experience to users, then we really feel that Cobra Command crushes it!

I mentioned Dragon's Lair as it's a title most people think of when you mention laserdisc games, but where Cobra Command shines is in the freedom of movement, depth of gameplay and skill required to master the game.

The addition of 360 degree-aiming, and not being restricted to simply pressing up, down, left, or right, in conjunction with the first-person perspective that sees everything coming toward you really puts the player in the hot seat.

The addition of tilt controls - which we thought would kind of enhance the feeling of flying a helicopter - actually goes way beyond this, as it requires the gamer to think in terms of one more dimension - moving the phone to steer.

Also, as a full-time iPhone development studio and publisher, we're delighted to have been involved with a game that not only hopefully holds its own with other iPhone games but in some ways could not have been done on any other platform - and I include the X360 and PS3 in that group.

They are more than powerful enough, obviously, but lack things like the touchscreen and accelerometer which make the game what it is.

I think like most app developers we're never 100 per cent happy with the end result. Even after playing the game a thousand times you find something new to add, or see something you missed the first 1,000 times, or wake up in a cold sweat wondering if you remembered to turn something on or off.

We have a saying internally that it's done when it's done, but sometimes knowing when that is can be a real challenge. Working on such a beloved classic, we definitely feel a little bit of extra pressure to live up to players' expectations, and this certainly this pushed our deadline out a couple of times.

But in the end it meant we were able to get everything we wanted in there, and mostly we are just excited to get it out into gamers' hands and see what they think.

The terms of our agreement are such that licensing fees aside all G-mode required was a final playable copy for final approval - so we are forever indebted to them for the freedom they gave us to do as we wished - to say nothing of the degree of faith they showed in us.

Though I'm quite sure if they weren't happy with the finished results we'd be the first to know!

That they approved the game within hours of receiving it, and with no suggested changes, hopefully says something about their happiness. That and the fact that we are now working on two follow-up titles from their stable of licenses.

Hmm. One I think your readers will have a blast with down the road, and the other we are fighting to get out before Christmas.

Not sure if these are ridiculously obvious clues but safe to say we'll definitely let your readers know as soon as we have something ready to show.

Unfortunately, the closing down of Data East (absolute legends of the industry) back in 2003 meant no-one had any direct way to contact those that worked on the original arcade game. We'd have loved to talk to them and get their insights.

A big part of our obsessiveness over the game has been about imagining how they might have liked the game to look and perform if they'd had today's technology available to them. We hope that if they are out there they like it, and better yet that they get in touch as we have a few other things brewing where their input would be invaluable.

Don't fly drunk?

I don't know, It's tough. The action happens pretty thick and fast so your reflexes are key, anticipating where and when the enemy will appear from saves lives.

As for favourite parts of the game, there are too many, but without wanting to give away too much there are some insane moments you won't likely see in other iPhone games, like almost smashing into a submarine when it suddenly surfaces in front of you or chasing a chopper through stalactite (or are they stalagmites?) infested caves in the Himalayas, or maybe the classic moment where your chopper narrowly avoids colliding with the Statue of Liberty.

Good question! We wish we knew when it will be available. As is often widely reported there's a lot of variables that can conspire to affect the eventual date an app appears in iTunes, but this being our seventh app we've hopefully learnt a few things about the pitfalls and traps to avoid.

We submitted last week, and are in constant touch with our contacts at Apple, and so are reasonably confident we should see Cobra Command out November 26th - in time for Thanks Giving weekend in the US and rest of the world.

On price, we're talking $9.99 which is as little as we can charge to recover the considerable cost of licensing and building a title of this magnitude, and probably a tiny fraction of what most people would've paid trying to master it in the arcade.

However, we've been able to arrange small reprieve from our license partners to give everyone a chance to pick the game up for half price ($4.99) for the first week.

If people are looking for a game that rewards them for their efforts, with exciting edge-of-your-seat gameplay, outstanding cinematic visuals and a sense of achievement, but without the hidden cost in, oh I don't know, say a game where you have to pay again and again for 'energy' if you ever want to get anything like a 'complete' gaming experience, then I would encourage them to try it out, as we think they'll be pleasantly surprised.

Oh and I look forward to getting my butt kicked on the online leaderboard :)