Sumea: Can you tell us a little bit about your company?
Robert: Firemint is a premium mobile game development studio. We develop for top publishers such as EA, THQ, Disney and I-Play, as well as our own original titles. We are currently in negotiations for the publishing of our first independently developed title, Mega Monster, which is already a finalist in the International Mobile Gaming Awards.
We are based in a warehouse studio in Richmond, Melbourne with just over 20 people. Firemint has been operating since 1999, starting out in PC development and Game Boy Advance and then expanding into mobile in 2002.
Our company has received a number of accolades over the years including IGN "Best of E3", IGN "Editors Choice", AGDC "Best new Startup" and "Best Mobile Game". Recently published titles include Madden 07, Need for Speed Most Wanted and Star Trek: The Cold Enemy.
Sumea: How do you think the mobile games industry in Australia is faring at the moment?
Robert: I think, as far as independent mobile developers go, Australia is winning on a grand scale! Aussie developers are working with some of the most successful gaming brands and there is some fantastic original product in the works.
One of the things I would love to see in Australia is a really strong publishing presence. It would be great to see a mobile publisher grow here, or for one of the big players to set up locally in a significant way. That would nurture the growth of small developers here who otherwise couldn't get a leg up.
Sumea: What's the main difference between developing for mobile phones and developing for consoles or PCs?
Robert: If I was to pick the one most challenging differentiator for mobile phone development, it is the sheer range and diversity of the handsets that you need to support with your game. You have to keep that diversity in mind throughout design and development.
Other than that, you are looking at smaller team sizes with a lot more individual autonomy, much like the earlier days of the games industry. This is changing fast as the handsets grow in power.
Sumea: Console developers are obviously looking forward to the PlayStation 3 and the Wii. PC developers are looking forward to DirectX 10. What's the big "next gen" technology that mobile developers looking forward to?
Robert: Mobile phone technology is extremely exciting because of the very rapid development cycle. With consoles, you have to wait many years between each manufacturer's releases, but with mobiles there's always something fantastic just a few months away. We're lucky to be working closely with several manufacturers so we often get a sneak peek at what's around the corner - I'm particularly excited about the next round of hardware accelerated 3D mobile handsets with broadband speed network access, GPS, hard drives etc.
I think a lot of gamers over the next year or so will be surprised to learn that their innocent little mobile phone has a geometry accelerated chipset with vertex and pixel shaders; that it has the 3D grunt to plug into their HDTV and still deliver compelling high resolution 3D graphics, equivalent to their PS2. I think a lot of this tech is just going to sneak up on people, they won't even realize what their phone is capable of until there are enough people with those handsets to make them a target market.
Sumea: Why do you think the mobile games scene isn't given as much media attention as the PC and console games scenes?
Robert: I think it's just a matter of the age of the industry. There hasn't been much mainstream media coverage of games overall until recently, so in much the same way it will take some time for mobile to hit the same momentum.
The media sometimes talks about the massive potential of the games industry as though it is something that just popped up overnight. I expect the same thing to happen with mobile gaming in future years.
Sumea: Do you have any advice for people specifically looking to get into mobile games development?
Robert: I think getting into mobile games development is not really that different to getting into the games industry in general.
If you are already in the games industry with some experience then it's really quite a simple switch to get into mobile. Just to plug Firemint - we are keenly looking for 3D artists, programmers, designers, and producers! I know other companies will be looking also.
If you haven't got your start in the industry then it's going to be the same problem everywhere, you need to prove that you have the talent and skills needed for a junior position. There are two issues here, first you must develop the skills and then you must demonstrate them. Don't be shy though, most developers are more than happy to guide you, if you don't have the skills when you apply then they will certainly consider you again later when you have more to show.
Because mobile game teams are smaller, we need a higher proportion of lead capable developers in the studio than console developers. I think that makes us a little more selective.