Totem Games MD Matt Cavanagh - formerly a designer at Bizarre Creations - has revealed he's finding life as a mobile developer more difficult than he'd anticipated.

Speaking via email, Cavanagh said finding an audience on mobile marketplaces is trickier than many console devs believe, claiming Totem's retro shooter SpaceOff's positive user reviews are yet to equate to downloads.

Different strokes

"After leaving Bizarre Creations and setting up Totem I had the indulgence of total creative freedom and I made a game that I love to play," Cavanagh explained.

"I have learned the hard way that designing a game for iOS users is a world away from my previous role, designing for the console gamer."

Cavanagh seems certain that the game's failure to connect with a larger audience can be attributed to its challenging difficulty level, leading him to question whether SpaceOff is "too much a gamer's game?"

The single-player mode's difficulty is "too extreme for many casual gamers," Cavanagh says, and that's why he believes the game hasn't appeal to mobile users.

Take two

Since its February 2012 launch, SpaceOff has failed to break into the top 1000 grossing games chart for the US App Store, and it peaked at #257 in the top paid game downloads chart.

Cavanagh hopes that an iPad version of SpaceOff – which gives the game's multiplayer modes some extra space – will fare better, and he's also taking the opportunity to tweak the game's difficulty curve.

Other developers look to make the move from console to mobile might like to check out Tag Games MD Paul Farley's PocketGamer.biz guest column, in which he outlines the opportunities and pitfalls for those looking to attempt the transition.