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!

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The developer comment:

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.

First they gave us cube, now they deliver Mahjong

When we first took a look at Cube and played it ourselves we were already impressed by how solid of a browser experience it offered.

Now Kalydo brings us Mahjong, the most boring and uninteresting game on the planet and gave it the cube finish. Not only that, but they added so much to the feel of the game it isn’t just about playing Mahjong, it’s actually about the whole package. You actually play through  some cheesy storyline packed with humorous scenes on the island which gives it a nice twist.

Have you forgotten what Kalydo is or just never knew, check out our previous articles.
You can find Cube, Mahjong mountain and more on the Kalydo web page.

NiSuTe special: Kalydo

At the Gamescom a few months ago, Kenneth and I walked humbly over the “Holland Pavillion” at the business area where all dutch gamedevelopers could have a word with each other, and have their business appointments. Chris van der Linden, Creative Director at Kalydo, approached us, and we had a great conversation. If all this went past you, click here for a refresh!  The conversation wasn’t that long, so we decided to pay them a visit. After all, Eindhoven is very close to NiSuTe’s office!

Kalydo is a young development company settled in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Starting out with a small group of friends, the company has been growing ever since. Chris is one of those founders: “We started with 4 people to develop in 2005. In the beginning we were all volunteers, we had a lot of part-timers and interns so we have seen a lot of people come and go. At this point we have 20 people working here.”

As the creative director, Chris has a busy schedule. “On mondays we usually have meetings with partners and other company’s, I’m also responsible for the marketing of our games, and bringing the product to the world. I work together with Rob, who is our gametech. The rest of the week I keep in contact with partners, do some photoshopping for the marketing, and send a lot of e-mails. My main job is to direct the whole artist department, both audio and visual aspects of the games.” The team is a very active one, and like to play their games themselves as well. If you look at the highscores, the team is very high in the leaderboards!

At this point 6 games are done, the seventh is on it’s way and the team is working hard on a new game. The first 6 games are colourfull, happy games. They can either be improvements of classic arcade games like brick breaker, or a whole new concept like ‘Cube: Gardens of Zen’; a puzzle game which requires a lot of spatial visualisation ability. At first hand all these games look like casual games for everyone to play, but games which hardcore gamers detest. But looks deceive! “All games which we make are a great compromise between casual and hardcore. The games are quick, easy to understand, but with great storylines and achievements that only die hard gamers can solve.” At this point all games are available in Dutch and English, but “more languages will be available in the future.”

As stated in the first article, Kalydo has a very special way of letting the audience play their games. You can buy credits for your account on Kalydo or a social network. With these credits, you can play the games, and when you played a certain game long enough, it becomes yours. In my opinion that’s a great system, for; when you don’t like a game, you didn’t waste too much money on it, and when you really like the game, you will never pay too much.

Kalydo isn’t just a company anymore, it has become a platform. “At this point, we have contact with some other companies who want to publish their games on the kalydo platform. This way, we aren’t just developers, but also publishers.” Netlog is the first social website which supports this platform. “If everything goes well, our full installment on the website will be this month (October 2009) and then we’re off ground on the social networks. We have 2000 players now, but we expect an upward line after this month.” Kalydo will also be available on Hyves. “The complete partnership with Netlog took us more then a year, so Hyves will take a while as well.”

So what’s new at Kalydo? “At this point, a game is opted for multiplayer as well. We try to make the game smaller, cut it into pieces, and since it’s browserbased, it will be easy to make it a multiplayer.” A new game is being made at this point and is called Haven. It’s a big shooter, which looks a lot like starfox, but darker and with a great story. It’s not yet clear when the game will be done, but expect to see it really soon!

This is a really interesting way of playing games on a new platform. Check out their websites as well!

Official Kalydo website: Click Here
Kalydo On Netlog: Click Here

Kalydo: The Dutch at Gamescom

While social network websites like  Facebook and Hyves expand and become more and more popular for any age, Some game developers see a big market; From the possibility to place bubble shooter on your website, to the large contests of guessing the score at the world championships of soccer.

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