While Rovio's Angry Birds demonstrates the ultimate potential of mobile when an experienced developer is behind the hit, Lima Sky's Doodle Jump remains an equally viable, if more homespun, model.
After all, the game was developed by two brothers, and like Angry Birds a bit of a flop at launch.
It was only through regularly updates - a decision co-founder and artist Igor Pusenjak says came from seeing the success of Bolt Creative's oft updated Pocket God - that the game slowly clawed its way back up the App Store's iPhone chart in the summer of 2009.
It's since become one of the most downloaded apps on iPhone, despite never having a free version.
Jump up and up
Two years on from release, Lima Sky says the game has been sold ten millions copies.
This includes iPhone and other mobile platforms such as Android, Symbian, Java and Brew. These releases were handled by mobile publisher GameHouse, which is also bringing the game to Windows Phone 7.
"If things are done right, anything can happen," Pusenjak says.
However he also notes the limitations of being a two-man team. "It's a personal product but the demand is such it's hard to satisfy. We've struggled as a small shop."
Gotta do more
This isn't to say Lima Sky has been sitting on its hands. There's a tie-in themed update to coincide with Universal's forthcoming animated film Hop, while plush toys, comic books and stationery are on the way.
Still, Pusenjak confesses, "It's inexcusable that we don't have the iPad version of Doodle Jump out yet."
He's been working on the design, off and on, for 12 months. It's finally due soon, as is multiplayer gameplay, and a version of Doodle Jump for Xbox 360's Kinetic motion controller. And there's the promise of more.
"I think we're at the same level as Angry Birds in terms of the potential to promote Doodle Jump," Pusenjak adds. "The Doodler is a character we can build out."
In the meantime however, another long gestated Lima Sky project is about to be released in the shape of a three part iOS childrens' book about Puerto Rican monster myth Chupacabra.
If nothing else, one advantage of being a small shop is you can do the projects you really care about.
Feature
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Top Stories
News
11 hours, 41 minutes ago
Mobile legend Stumble Guys is now on PlayStation 4 and 5 with cross-progression
Feature
May 14th, 2024
Matej Lančarič's Squad Busters deep dive: Under the skin of 2024's biggest launch yet
Feature
May 14th, 2024
53 top mobile games in soft launch: Squad Busters, Battle Guys: Royale, Plants vs. Zombies 3, LEGO Hill Climb Adventures, and more
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
GamesBeat Summit 2024 | North America | May 20th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |
Popular Stories
News
May 9th, 2024
A third of developers implementing new payment options in face of Digital Markets Act’s $18 billion opportunity
Feature
May 7th, 2024