Interviews

SilverTree Media on developing Cordy for Xperia Play, clones on the Android Market, and working alongside siblings

Dream team

SilverTree Media on developing Cordy for Xperia Play, clones on the Android Market, and working alongside siblings

If you've been an Android gamer for the past year, you will likely have encountered SilverTree Media's PG Silver Award-winning game Cordy at some stage.

This cute and fun top five Xperia Play platformer was rather refreshingly available on Android before it got transferred over to iOS.

A couple of days ago, the SilverTree Media team launched its second game, Sleepy Jack, this time exclusively on the Xperia Play.

We caught up with brothers and founders Nate, Ben, and Tom Smith to find out what they look for when designing their games, why they chose the Xperia Play for Sleepy Jack, and how Cordy has performed across the two major mobile OSs.

Pocket Gamer: Were you pleased with how Cordy was received?

Nate Smith: Definitely. We put Cordy out as a pre-install on the Xoom tablet back in the day. That was back in February. It definitely showed up on that tablet pretty well.

Google is only ten minutes away from us, so it was nice to have that relationship with Android's platform-holder. Google was pretty sure, at least at the time, that Cordy was the closest thing to a console-quality game on the Android Market.

That led to Cordy being released on the Android Market proper. Since then, we’ve been getting a lot of good press, and most of the reviews have been pretty solid, so we’re really excited about that.

How did Cordy fare on iOS?

NS: It went to number one on iPad within a couple of days, I believe. I also think it featured on the Top Paid games chart for the iPhone.

I think the only issue we’ve got is trying to reduce that download size, at least on iOS - it’s not that much of a problem on Android. Because of iOS's 20MB 3G download limit, anyone with an iPhone’s got to be on wi-fi to install Cordy, right?

So, I imagine that if we could’ve got it under 20MB, it probably would have gone higher in the charts.

With Sleepy Jack, though, you’re going down quite a different route from Cordy.

NS: Yeah, we always looked at it as doing different types of stuff and making each as unique as possible. Going from a platformer to a racer-shooter is a different direction, but it’s something the team was pretty excited about. We made a couple of prototypes, and we were like, "Yeah, that’s really cool, actually, really fun".

And then the character of Sleepy Jack really was just a good match. We like the concept of a little kid with super powers. The idea that he’s got all these powerful little weapons, yet the game doesn't feature any blood and guts.

It’s similar to Cordy in the way that the main character is child-like and the game is very child-friendly. Do you feel like that’s you guys creating your own space in the market? Your own style of game?

NS: Yeah, we understand that obviously the game has to be fun, but building experiences around strong characters is what we’re good at.

We know that having worked with big companies like Disney and watched them mould and develop characters. We know that if you can create a character with whom players will resonate, you can build some fun mechanics around it. All of a sudden, you’ve got something or someone that’s compelling.

We kind of consider ourselves appealing to the Harry Potter crowd. We’re not trying to attract the super-young gamers: instead, we’re probably appealing, for example, to the forty-year-olds who’ll pick up a Harry Potter book on their lunch break and sit down to enjoy it.

Development for the Android Market is kind of a minefield, with clones proving to be a problem. Are they something you’re worried about or something that bothers you?

NS: I guess the Android Market is an interesting place. I kind of look back at the early days - when id Software launched its early titles (as shareware on PC), it'd basically just put them out there and say, "Hey, if you like our game, give us money."

Maybe a small percentage of people who played the game would send something in, but at the same time that got id a lot of people coming in and consuming the content and entertainment.

In general, our view of people seeing something of ours and copying it a bit - it’s a nice problem to have, I guess. Like, if you’re trying to expand the market for SilverTree-type product, it’s good. I’d like to have as many eyeballs on us as possible.

Ben Smith: We find that we spend a lot of time making sure that every part of the game feels great, and that’s the hardest part to duplicate. So, there can be clones out there, but usually they don’t reach either the artistic quality level or gameplay quality level.

If people are copying you, it’s a compliment in some ways. And it’s just nice to know that your stuff is out there and people are seeing it.

Your studio is a family arrangement, then, with three brothers working together. Any sibling rivalries?

BS: Yeah, the three of us started SilverTree Media up, and we kind of grew it from there.

A lot of people imagine that working with their siblings would be difficult, but we get along pretty well.

How did you start the company?

NS: I was working for Warner Brothers on business development for specific products, such as The Matrix, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings.

Ben and Tom, meanwhile, were in the Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University, working on some really cool stuff. So, at that point, my wife and I were like, "Hey, let’s get everybody together."

We founded SilverTree Media in 2004 after moving from Sydney, Australia, to Pittsburgh (home to Carnegie Mellon) to start the company there.

We then hired a bunch of Carnegie Mellon grads, who are all great programmers, designers, and artists.

As far as the family's roles are concerned, Tom is now the art director, Ben is the creative director, and my wife takes care of the management side of things.

What about the Xperia Play - is that a device you prefer to work on? Or do you prefer touchscreen handsets?

NS: From our perspective, Cordy plays great on the Xperia Play. Therefore, it’s our preferred - and we’re not just saying this - way to play Cordy, and Sleepy Jack as well.

You have a bit more screen real estate on the Play, because your fingers aren’t over the screen. In addition, you're equipped with a classic PlayStation-esque controller, which is pretty awesome.

Saying that, because of the proliferation of touchscreeen devices on the market, we obviously put a lot of effort into making sure our games play well on touchscreens, too.

Thanks to Ben, Nate, and Tom Smith for their time.


Sleepy Jack is out now exclusively on Xperia Play. Cordy is available on Android, Xperia Play, and iOS.
Brendan Caldwell
Brendan Caldwell
Brendan is a boy. Specifically, a boy who plays games. More specifically, a nice boy who plays many games. He often feels he should be doing something else. That's when the siren call of an indie gem haunts him. Who shall win this battle of wills? Answer: not Brendan.