Sticky Studios is a games development company which have produced several Unity webgames for clients as well as their own productions. Sticky Studios recently released the 3D platformer Dukateers - The Treacherous Treasure on Shockwave.com.
Who Are You And What Do You Do?
I'm Jeroen De Cloe, co-founder and game designer at Sticky Studios. Our team consists of 6 creative people, specialised in graphics, programming, concept design and film (directing & producing). Besides being the CEO, I'm mainly responsible for concept and programming. As a team, we are usually involved in all aspects of game creation. We've done several types of games in the past years. We've started with a classic point 'n click adventure game called "Scumbag Joe". Then we moved on to a serious games and fast-paced virals. I have a M.A degree in Interaction Design. I studied at the Utrecht School of Arts.
What Games Are You Working On?
We're currently working on two new "Dukateers" branded games (both in prototype stage) as well as games for several clients. At the moment, a lot of games we create are Flash based, but we see a shift towards Unity lately.
A Unity game we're prototyping right now is much more "casualish" compared to "Treacherous Treasure" (our first larger Unity title). Our goal is to attract more women with this title since they represent 70% of the casual gamers nowadays.
Another game in progress is a Flash based puzzler with a very nice editor.
In the long run, our goal is on producing Unity content. We think that Unity makes it possible for small teams to produce high quality content. Unity 2 made the engine mature. Networking, physics, terrain engine.... everything is possible!
For me, Unity is fun to develop in - I do not experience the same joy with Flash based games. That's because the pipeline & the interface just works. Secondly, Unity developers really care about their customers. They're really great people!
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What's The Production Plan?
First we brainstorm a lot, usually somewhere out of office (the pub is my favourite). Lotsa wacky ideas come up. Then we think about the target audience and if these ideas are actually do-able and practical.
The next step is that I start writing down the general concept, while Mikel (our lead GFX artist) starts doing his magic on paper. Storyboards, character and levels are sketched. The next phase is coloring in Photoshop, finding music for inspiration. Then, Unity prototyping starts and 3D content is created in 3ds Max. From there, it's just a matter of improving until we're satisfied.
What Obstacles Did You Run Into?
Camera control. It is quite hard to create a camera that works throughout the game. Another issue for us was optimisation. Luckily the Unite Conference I attended and some hands-on time with the developers taught us a lot.
Which Was the Best Part of The Unity Experience?
Prototyping! Its relatively easy to get a proof of concept working in Unity. Secondly, I like being able to truly write re-usable code. How you can expose variables and objects from scripts to the editor is unique. Unity brings programming and designing together. Also, I love how you can actually see or change what is happening while the game is running. Amazing.
