Appmodo Interviews zgames, Developers of zGhost

While anyone can enter the iPhone market with some experience in XCode, it takes years of background experience to make a stance in the App Store. With over 15 years of experience under their belts in software development, zgames is hoping to make their mark by offering unique applications that combine OpenGL for an awesome 3D experience. We sat down with Chris Howard, CEO of zgames, a division of Softeq Development Corporation, to discuss the power of the iPhone, the background that zgames is bringing to the platform, and their thoughts on the current mobile applications market including future markets such as Android.

Company Name: zGames (division of Softeq Development Corporation)
Name: Chris Howard
Title: CEO
Company URL: www.zgames.com

Q: How do you think the iPhone has revolutionized the mobile phone industry?

It’s definitely opened up access to the mobile market for every developer. I’ve wanted to create mobile applications for the last five years or more. We did a lot of work for HP on Windows Mobile (running the iPAQ Developer Program for them) but weren’t able to crack into the carrier software decks controlled by Verizon, Sprint, etc… It was a very closed system and you had no control over what they charged, whether they carried your app, or how it was promoted.

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

Same thing here…Sony and Nintendo are closed systems. For a developer, it is a chicken and egg problem. You can’t get in because you haven’t written a game for their platform — but you can’t write a game without getting in. Fifteen years ago we designed a game and got the attention of Atari for their Jaguar system. Along with 3DO, Atari was shaking up the business for Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. The difference here is Apple has had a tremendous amount of success with iPhone, and the fact the platform is open and developer friendly has contributed to that success.

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

We have a tremendous amount of technical development experience. Our teams have years of mobile and embedded experience, whereas many companies are just now getting into the market. We like to focus on the hard stuff. For example, our zGhost iPhone app explores the use of augmented reality and targets an iPhone 3GS with the latest OS…we make use of the compass, accelerometer, camera, live video, 3D graphics, 3D audio…and really exercises the hardware capabilities of the device.

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

Zgames is a division of Softeq Development Corporation, which is 15 years old… Softeq was founded to develop technical software, and we target Fortune 100 companies for long term development partnerships. Our company headquarters is located in Houston, Texas and we have an offshore development division in Minsk, Belarus. We develop software tools, firmware for embedded devices, and mobile applications.

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

Actually, outsourcing is what Softeq does for other companies. Our Minsk office will exceed over 100 developers this year. So we make use of our own teams.

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?

Graphics, animation, and sound is a large part of application and game development. Those are also areas that I have a personal interest in. Our zGhost app uses OpenGL ES and requires a lot of math to locate the ghosts in 3D space around you. The artwork was generated primarily by one artist, except for a couple of the characters, but he worked non stop. We pulled sound from some sound effect collections we have, or online companies like SoundSnap, with editing by one audio engineer. The artist worked full time on the app while sound took a lot less time.

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

Softeq has twenty or more projects going at any given moment, some of which are large multi-year development efforts. For zgames, we have zGhost for iPhone and Android, plus 5-6 other mobile projects in development for release over the next few months.

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

The iPhone OS is several years ahead of the competition. I expect they’ll hold that lead and monopolize the market for many more years.

Q: Is your company currently developing for other mobile platforms, if so, which ones and why?

Yes, we’re developing for Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. We see a lot of interest in Android so decided to explore that market. We’re big fans of Blackberry and are a RIM development partner, but haven’t released a product yet. And we have a lot of Windows Mobile work from our work with HP and iPAQ.

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?

Social networking is one key, so we have Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube pages, channels, and sites. We’ve also looked for cross promotion opportunities. For example, we’re working with Jinx.com, because they have an audience of gamers and it is a good fit for both of us. We put one of their characters in the app as a cheat code. It definitely takes a lot of work to get the word out. We’re also excited that Apple is allowing in-app purchase for Free apps now.

Q: Following the response above, what do you think of the store review process? Is it helping or hurting your business? What are some recommendations in order to speed up this process?

Our store review process experience has been positive, although it does make it hard to plan when you’re not sure when the app will be approved and available for sale. I recommend that developers perform as much QA as possible instead of throwing it over to Apple and praying. There are a lot of sites with tips for avoiding review traps. Google is your friend.

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?

We’ve had the most response from Appmodo, and we contacted almost everyone. I know all the sites get inundated for review requests…there are so many apps out there. Many sites seem to focus exclusively on games, which can be frustrating with a product like zGhost, which is more of an entertainment app than a game (although it has some game features). We’re considering some experimentation with banner ads.

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

The drive-by rating with no comment feels wrong. There’s no accountability. I’ve heard of companies spamming competitors with bad ratings. I feel you should have to leave a review to rate an app. Developers want to know reasons for the good and the bad. If you’re going to rate an app, leave a comment.

Q: What is your favorite application?

Ocarina, Flight Control, Spider, and Doodle Jump are all fun and innovative. Lately I like geoDefense, Quordy, Tap Tap Coldplay, Eliss (also very innovative for multi-touch), Peggle, and play Rope ‘n’ Fly when I have a few minutes.

Q: What is your most popular application? Have you received any awards or achievements for that application?

Our zGhost application is our most popular, because it is the only one out so far. No awards yet but the reviews have been positive. We think it is an innovative application for the iPhone and Android platforms. You’re going to see more augmented reality style apps and games over the next year. Some of those will be from zgames.

Thank you Chris Howard of zGames for your time!

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

Related Posts

1. Appmodo Interviews Fullpower Technologies, Developers of MotionX GPS
2. Appmodo Interviews Blue Fang Games, Developers of Lion Pride
3. Appmodo Interviews Moblyng Games, Developers of m:Mafia
4. Appmodo Interviews StormBASIC, Developers of ZombieHunter and Ankagua3D
5. Appmodo Interviews Broken Kings, Developers of Castle Conflict