We recently had the opportunity to sit down and speak with Mike Summers of Blue Bug Games, the creator of Add 'Em Up, to discuss the game's history and development over the past eight months.
GamersInfo.net: What got you started in game development? Do you have a background in computer game design, or special courses you took?
Mike Summers: I have had no formal training in anything technical. In fact, I majored in Elementary Education in college, but ended up in Web Development as I found it exciting at the time and a bit more profitable than teaching. The biggest influence that got me started with game development would have to be my passion for playing games. I started experimenting and creating simple "clone" games in Flash (slider puzzles, snake, asteroids, moon landers, etc.), just to see what I could do using my background knowledge as a Web Developer. As I discovered that I could make certain things happen, I became increasingly more excited about developing more original games. I studied education because I love to teach and help others learn and discover. Developing these games has been exhilarating for me as I'm able to combine my interests to create (what I call) "Smart Games".
GamersInfo.net: Where did the idea for Add Em Up come from?
Mike Summers: My wife and I played an old Palm game that used the basic mechanics of placing tiles that would eliminate surrounding tiles if they summed up correctly. However, that's as far as the game went, and it had some flaws in my opinion. As I played, I kept thinking of different ways to improve the game play and add features that would eliminate the flaws and make the game significantly more exciting. I started jotting down my ideas and finally thought "what the heck, I'm going to see if I can program this thing!" I built a basic prototype and implemented these "Power Moves" and knew I had a fun game on my hands. Scoring, Bonus Moves, Panic Mode, Puzzle Mode, and other features and incentives just started to come the same way: from thoughts, to paper, to prototype, then into the game.
GamersInfo.net: I know your developer’s journal began in October of 2004, and the game was available in January, but how long did it take for the game to go from a concept to a finished game?
Mike Summers:Oddly enough, I decided to start that journal after listening to GamersInfo.net's very own Kelly Heckman speak at Indie Games Con in Eugene, Oregon last October. She recommended keeping such a journal or blog, among several other tips for Indie Game Developers. I started Add 'em Up in about May or June of 2004. It was about the end of July when I decided to get serious about it. I had a goal at that point to be able to show a fairly well-polished version at IGC so I really pushed for that. I would say the entire development process took 7-8 months, with about 6 of those being quite focused.
GamersInfo.net: In your “developer’s journal” on Feb. 7, you defined happiness as “looking back and being happy with how you’ve spent your time”, and said you were happy with Add Em Up. Are you still happy with the game now that it has been in release for a while? Does the game ever stop being a “work in progress” and being a “finished” game, or do you continue to work a game past when it is released?
Mike Summers:I am absolutely happy about it. Quite a satisfying sense of accomplishment to create a game like that from scratch. It has been less than 2 months since I finished it, and I'm just now learning a few things about marketing, so obviously it hasn't made me rich by any means. But I am just thrilled that I was able to put forth efforts to accomplish a goal like that. When I look back on the past several months I could have VERY easily spent much of my free time watching TV and movies, playing video games, etc.. Time passes whether you make good use of it or not. Having struggled through the process, learning all that I did, and having created an original product is extremely gratifying.
For a couple of solid weeks after it was deemed "completed" I continued to find little bugs and such that I fixed, but I consider it pretty well complete now. There is a chance that I may add music to it, but probably won't add any other new features to it. There are people that enjoy a lot of success working on a single game that they continually update and add features to for several years (such as Thomas Warfield's "Pretty Good Solitaire). I may eventually run across an idea that I will treat that way, but for now I have several ideas for new games that I am very excited about.
GamersInfo.net: Before you started the actual programming for the game, what sorts of pre-planning did you do for the game? Did you do market research, for example?
Mike Summers:I really didn't do much pre-production market research, but perhaps should have. The game was originally developed like several other games I had created, just as experiments to see if I could make things work. During that process however, I started to realize that it was actually very fun and had some potential. That's when I got out a notebook and started writing down ideas for features, sketching out ideas, and laying out a basic story board for the various screens and instructions. As I did that, I started to examine why currently-popular casual games worked well, and tried to follow some of the patterns I saw.
GamersInfo.net: Do you have any special math training that helped in creating Add Em Up?
Mike Summers: Through my education in college I gained a basic and general sense of what helps kids learn math. Among other things, I believe it often helps to put the quizzes and homework aside for a while and just "play" with math. While Add 'em Up doesn't simulate real-world experiences involving math, it does provide the incentive of clearing boards, gaining points, beating previous times, and progressing through stages as they apply basic math skills. Feedback is immediately provided for each "problem" as well, which is important. If the surrounding numbers disappear, they got it right, if they don't, then they need look through them to see where they were off. It also helps that the game is flexible. Not only can you choose the difficulty level and Mode you're comfortable with , but you can pace yourself however you like. You can play in such a way that you have several small problems involving adding only 2 or 3 numbers, or play with fewer problems involving more numbers for each. I think effectively teaching anything requires a balance. You can't replace good old-fashioned memorization now and then, but let kids discover things as they "play" also. The key is to provide learning experiences they're passionate about.
GamersInfo.net: Are there any special formulas that you used to create the puzzles?
Mike Summers: The winning formula I used to create the puzzles is the following: "Hey Honey, you wanna design some puzzles for this game?" :) My wonderful and supportive wife Karen took on the challenge to design those, and I am nothing but impressed with the job she's done. I explained how I thought Puzzle Mode would work, printed up some graphs for her to pencil in her experiments, and let her do her stuff. She basically thought of several colorful iconic images, a few plays on words (such as "Planet of the Eights" and "Too Many Twos"), and some of her own original patterns and designs. She would then pass me her notes along with the solutions she thought would work well for each stage, and had me plug them into the program for her to test. She spent innumerable hours designing, testing, timing herself on the solutions, ordering the stages according to difficulty, getting feedback from testers, and working with me on game play tweaks she wanted implemented. I remember the sinking feeling when she told me she wanted an "Undo" feature added to the puzzles, knowing the time that it would require to implement. I agreed to do it, only to discover that it did indeed improve the game significantly. I will certainly be thinking of ways to bribe her into helping me with future games as well. ;)
GamersInfo.net: What was the best piece of advice you were given that helped you in developing Add Em Up?
Mike Summers: Dan MacDonald of Rainfall Studios gave me some great pointers as he looked over an early beta version of Add 'em Up. He said "...customers don't care if you are a lone programmer working all by yourself, or if this is your first game, or if you didn't have much money for art. All of that stuff is pretty much meaningless, when they download and try your game they instantly compare it with the best example of a similar game they know. If it doesn't measure up they write it off and move onto the next one." Basically, he expressed to me the importance of professionalism and polish in both the design and mechanics of the game. He also helped me understand the importance of keeping the player's attention by providing new content and incentives every few seconds as they're settling into the game. His advice influenced me to create such features as Hints, the "Surrounding Box", and Tips.
GamersInfo.net: I’ve shared your game with children in middle elementary school, to high schoolers, and even adults who are math teachers and all find the game engaging, challenging and fun to play. In fact, the independent school I work for hopes to use Add Em Up as a part of future math competitions because it does challenge even the best math students. Some of the students have asked if there is a “Multiply Em Up” or some other simple math function. Do you have plans to create a version of the game that you could change the operation within the game to let players practice multiplication skills instead?
Mike Summers: I'm thrilled to hear that your high schoolers liked it! I typically get the most positive reactions from younger kids and adults, while teenagers will sometimes contrast it with mindless action games they're currently into. I have thought through several possibilities of implementing other simple math functions (dividing, multiplying, subtracting) into the same game mechanics and always run into walls. I think that this specific game play is simply best suited for adding. However, people who play Add 'em Up have noted that it helps with multiplying as well. For example, if there are 3 sevens within the numbers they need to add together, they find it easier to think "3 x 7" rather than "7 + 7 + 7". When you apply multiplication to it, you'll notice that you suddenly become much more efficient at summing up the larger groups. Having said that, I'm sure there is great potential for new games that apply these other skills. I have a handful of ideas I've been sorting through, and hope to see some of them eventually materialize into new games.
GamersInfo.net: What can we look forward to in the future from Blue Bug Games?
Mike Summers: More Great Games! The project I'm focusing on now is a game called "Flooper Grouper." Rather than mathematics and numbers, it focuses on pattern perception and recognition. It's much more of a visual game, requiring the user to look for sequences of colors, patterns, shapes, etc.. Basically these "Floopers" are colorful little creatures with different attributes. The player will place them into groups based on those attributes. I really have high hopes for it. I am currently doing some playability and usability testing and filling out surveys with people in person. I am doing this so I can personally see their reactions and hang-ups. I figure this will give me valuable information as I move forward with the design of the game.
After that I have another game I'm also very excited about, but at this point it's just notes and sketches on paper. It will once again involve math, but focus on several math functions and applications.
I’ve played computer games since college, addicted first to story type games like Might and Magic. I have 3 children who also love computer games. My oldest son is a typical kid who loves the challenge of pressing the right combination of buttons and levers on a joystick in just the right way to make something happens, and frequently gets frustrated with mom’s slow fingers. ;) We use computers for both education and entertainment, and sometimes even bribery for good behavior.
The “glory days” of computer gaming for me were when games like Spectre Supreme, Pirate’s Gold, the Might and Magic series, the original Prince of Persia… those sorts of games were coming out on a regular basis. Back then I owned a Macintosh and was a die hard Mac fan. I was one of the first in my area to buy an iMac and on it learned the joy of playing games on the internet like daily crossword puzzle and “mind bender” type puzzles. My first online RPG was given to me for Christmas the year EQ was released, and I was hooked from day one. I played EQ for about a year. I started playing DaoC during late alpha testing, and was hooked on it.. well, to be honest I still am. I’ve tried pretty much every MMORPG I can get my hands on, from big names like EQ, to more obscure ones such as Underlight. I’ve been writing for IMGS since the first DaoC guide, and find I love the challenge of learning a game and presenting what I’ve learned (and sometimes my opinions), to other players.
I’m not a very strong player as far as learning PvE or quick reaction times, so I tend to stay away from games where I’m pitted against someone else in a way that requires physical (rather than mental) response. I still enjoy story and puzzle games, and in a way that’s how I still approach online games. I would much rather spend hours working through a quest than 5 minutes in combat against another player. I still get lost in simulation type games, obsessing over them until I’ve gotten them beaten. And I like being able to sit down at the computer when I’ve got less than half an hour and playing through a few levels of a puzzle game. I tend not to like first-person shooter type games, or anything with person to person violence, so I steer away from them unless they are fantasy based settings. All in all, I enjoy computer gaming so much that my life feels incomplete somehow when my computer is down.
