In the beginning Alex wanted to see what I could do in terms of my own talents. When it came to creating things in my own style I thought about what sort of game Alex wanted to make, the audience he expected it to draw in, and of what he wanted to do with my artwork. So it basically came down to form, substance, and audience.

Early on I decided that Scramble Legend would feature animated avatars to represent you in-game. I wanted to give you a way to personalize the experience, create a basis for branding the game, and add something fun, quirky, and animated to the game area. Avatars gave me a way to accomplish all three goals.

Scramble Legends all started with an idea for a new user interface. After releasing Adlib I started to work on multiplier functionality for the title. At the same time, I felt that Adlib’s style was holding the game back. Its artwork was not well suited for larger screens and its theme was a bit too generic. Given I needed to create new interfaces for multiplayer I felt the time was ripe to make a break. So one weekend I powered up Photoshop and started to explore different options.

Having recently founded Spotted Zebra, an independent game studio, one of my first strategic decisions was to select a platform. Like most developers, I have read many success stories about iOS. Likewise, when discussing platforms with other entrepreneurs, the strength of Apple’s platform is oft reinforced. Despite this, I opted to start by releasing my games for Windows 8. What follows will examine the thought process behind my decision and explain why you should reconsider the platform you are targeting.

Earlier this month Microsoft Belgium invited me to present the ins and outs of porting a XNA game to Windows 8 using MonoGame. Little did I know the invitation was just a ploy to record my talk and post it to the internet! Whatever their true intentions, I’m delighted to be able to share my presentation with you via Channel 9: