Inside Mahjong Mountain

Dennis chafiâ met Chris van der Linden at the gamescom 2009 and reviewed one of their games. Then we visited Kalydo and did a behind the scenes feature. A while ago they released Mahjong Mountain which we reported about and now we will give you an insider on that very game. So sit back and relax as you read through the interview and as a bonus; developer comment!

The interview:

Nisute: Mahjong is one of the most common flash games on the internet. Why did you choose mahjong to build upon?

Chris : It indeed is a common game that’s freely available on the web. We thought it was a nice challenge to re-make a classic like that but with a Kalydo twist.
The world of cube offered a good backdrop for this game because of the eastern theme and because it looks very colourful. To compete with free mahjong games we put alot of time and effort into making the game world a pretty one. Hence the number of scripted 3D camera angles, beautiful locations and more. Just to give you an example; have you ever played mahjong at the bottom of a waterfall? (as Chris finishes he smiles)

NiSuTe: We know that Mahjong mountain uses the same asian theme as Cube, but how did the style of Cube come to life?

Chris: The visual style of Cube is something we’ve made with the help of the art team. At that time we mainly were using the theme of our underwater game Nauticz. When the puzzleconcept of Cube proved to work out, i went back to brainstorming about what we could do with what we had. Together with Kirtsten Nuyts (concept artist) we came up with an eastern world in which everything is square. This worked so well that we soon had a working world with surprisingly humorous characters.

NiSuTe: Why would a casual gamer pay for your version of Mahjong while there’s a thousand and one free versions of mahjong to play on the internet?

Chris: Mahjong Mountain is the difference between a cartoon on tv and a Pixar animation film in the cinema. Directly after you start the game you’re sucked into the amazing world that is Mahjong Mountain. In the temple you choose your favourite character to play with. On your trip to the of the mountain you visit incredible locations with stylish seasons. This experience you don’t get in some random free version of Mahjong which also usually are 2D. Hopefully there are a decent number of people that see the potential of a game like this.

NiSuTe: Mahjong Mountain obviously revolves around playing mahjong on an island. Why didn’t you choose to name the game Mahjong Island instead of Mahjong Mountain?

Chris:  lol
Good question, you sound like one of our programmers. (Chris blinks)
The reason we give it the name it has is because it clearly also revolves about a mountain on the island.

NiSuTe: The game is made for the casual audience, but what about you, the developers? Which part of the game do you like the best, or what part did you enjoy the most while developing?

Chris: Personally i thing the environment is an fantastic element. It’s simply pleasant to look at while someone is playing the game. The leafs falling, the water rushing from the waterfall or the lights that turn on as the day turns to night, all of those fine details nicely executed. This i personally think is the strength of the game, because let’s face it, to mahjong we cannot change that much. Then it was quite the challenge to clearly illustrate the different levels of depth into 3D. We had not expected this would turn out to be a challenge at all!

Figure above shows some steps in the production process of the game. From sketch to Final in-game model. During the design of the characters we always kept in mind that we are working in a cubical universe. That is why some assets of the Sensei (his ponytail) changed a few times during the production process. I never thought making cubes would be so difficult.
Our main focus was to create very obvious cubical characters, wich would bring a smile on the face of our gamers.

Cube Mahjong takes place on a big mountain. We were quite fond of the idea to bring rising in level, to the player in a litteral and visual way. The better you get the higher you go.
Each stage represents one of the four season. You start in the pleasant, warm spring season and ends in cold winter. At the end we have a little suprise for our gamers, a warm greet from a very unusual character.

We tried to make our Mahjong stand out from all the others. For one, by actively integrating 3D elements and also by rewarding the gamer visually and in game play for the progress he makes.

The sound in Mahjong is focused on achievements and ambiance. They really add to the pleasure of playing in the cubical universe surrounded by colorful creatures and characters.