Eleven years, twenty-five published titles, and eleven iPhone apps later, Coresoft, stands as an accomplished and nimble game development company that specializes in both computer and console video games. They have also achieved remarkable diversity within the gaming landscape, by developing for just about every game machine out there.

BRADLEY HEBDON: What were you doing before you started Coresoft?

DAVE CONNELLY: I was a lead programmer developing video games.

BH: Now that you’re head of Coresoft, what is your primary role?

DC: I go out and get the new business as well as make sure it gets done once we get it.

BH: What kinds of disciplines make up your team?

DC: Our development teams are mostly made up of producers, designers, artists and programmers.

BH: And what skills are important to make a successful game?

DC: The important skills for making a successful game are having a creative and reasonable design, accurate scheduling, and experienced developers to make the game.

BH: When hiring someone, what kind of qualities do you look for?

DC: We first look for developers with experience.  We develop titles very quickly so we usually need people to come on board that already know how to get things done fast and with quality.

BH: What kinds of tools do you and your team use?

DC: On the art side we primarily use 3D Studio Max and Photoshop.  On the programming side we typically code using Visual C++ and also code using objective C as well as Java.

BH: How do you come up with ideas for games?

DC: We all have a never ending amount of ideas.  We pitch dozens of ideas to publishers every year and amongst ourselves.  Publishers also come to us with their ideas and we give them our take on how we would develop them.

BH: Do you have any inspirations that you draw from?

DC: Anything that is fun inspires us, from other games to just life in general.  It’s the most fun when we find a genuine mechanic that is just natural and fun to do.

BH: Once you have an idea for a game, how do you go about kicking it off? Do you have a specific process and approach that you use for each project?

DC: It depends on the idea.  If it’s something we need funding for, we create a pitch document for it.  Then we send it out to publishers.  If they like it, then we embellish it and make it more complete and in some cases even make a prototype.  If it’s a smaller idea that we can develop ourselves, we compare it to some of our other ideas.  Then we choose which ones to make.  The process is different depending on who the title is for.

BH: What have been your biggest successes so far?

DC: We have had several big successes.  Our first big hits were hunting titles for the Playstation One which totaled over a million units.  Next we had a huge hit with a poker game for the Playstation 2 and Xbox which sold about 1.2 million units.  We next developed High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition for the PS3.  It’s available on the Playstation Network (PSN) and was the number nine best selling title last year.  Most recently we made Super Sniper for the iPhone and it made it all the way to the #2 paid app on iTunes.  We seem to have a great eye for what will sell well and continue to make titles with that in mind.

BH: Any particular games you’re proud of that weren’t necessarily the biggest sellers?

DC: Yes.  Most recently Blitz Football for the iPhone.  It has a really fun mechanic that anybody can enjoy.  I personally was very passionate about us making it. It’s a really fun game to play and I think if people just try it, they will like it.  It has not really taken off but I believe it will soon.  Currently it’s the #10 free sports app but is only the #50 paid sports app.

BH: On what platforms have you focused? Any particular reasons?

DC: We have amazingly covered almost every platform.  I say amazingly because our development team has never been very big.  We have read stories about other development houses creating for several years and not ending up with technology as good as we made within a few months.  We have developed games with our own technology on the Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playtation 3, Playstation Portable, GameCube, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360, Personal Computers, Java, and the iPhone.  We have witnessed many development houses go out of business focusing on just two or three platforms and were not even able to finish their game engines.  We not only made engines for all those platforms but developed and shipped games at the same time.  The main platforms we have been focusing on lately are the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC and the iPhone.  We are also planning to develop for other smart phones soon.

BH: What are the biggest challenges working within the gaming industry?

DC: The biggest challenge is getting the business in the first place.  We pitch dozens of titles a year and also estimate and create many proposals for the ideas that publishers present to us.  We end up only developing a small portion of the titles we pitch and bid on.  Another challenge we are facing is marketing of our own titles.  The number of titles out there is increasing at an amazing rate and to get more eyeballs on our games is a challenge.

BH: What games in the industry do you think have raised the bar in recent years?

DC: God of War 3.  I saw a lot of footage of the game at E3 and was quite impressed.  You can easily tell there is a huge budget for that title.  Games of that nature are like feature films along with the feature film budgets.

BH: Where do you see gaming going in the next 10 years?

DC: I see games going in all directions.  There are going to be the top dollar AAA titles and also the casual titles that will be successful.  The market is huge and even niche titles will find success since the distribution is global.  There is so much room for growth in all areas, casual, top of the line, educational etc.  Also, all the innovation with respect to motion devices and cameras will greatly improve the gaming experience.

BH: How do you see your profession evolving?

I think the level of graphic and interactive quality of the games are going to greatly increase.  The power of the new computers, consoles, and motion devices are just going to improve and make the experience more and more realistic and immersive for the consumers.

BH: What titles are you currently working on now?

DC: We just shipped 3D Super Sniper 2.  Super Sniper was a huge hit becoming the #2 paid app on iTunes and we have taken the game to a new level making it in 3D and adding a lot of content.  We have a few other titles on the fire but are keeping our cards close to the chest with respect to them.

BH: Any advice to folks wanting to get into this industry?

DC: Yes, go for it if you are passionate about it.  I got into the industry because I loved games and loved the idea of making games.  The best ideas and work come from really being into it.  I do however have to say that this can be a tough industry to be in, and it’s not easy to get into.  People always say you have to work in the industry to get in the industry.  Many companies demand you work very long hours fairly regularly because the ship dates are so important.  There are not many companies such as ours that make it a point to not work crazy hours and try to keep family hours.  There are definitely upsides to the industry such as flexible hours, casual dress, and it can be quite fun developing games especially since the industry is filled with very interesting and creative people.

BH: Thanks for the great insights Dave! Good luck with the latest installment of Super Sniper.

As Dave pointed out, Super Sniper 2 is live and ready to be played on your iPhone or iPod touch. Already, rave reviews are coming in from the fans and the game currently has a 5 star rating.

A bit about the game
The sequel to the SMASH HIT Super Sniper is finally here and it’s incredible.

We listened to our thousands of Super Sniper: War on Terror fans and have made this sequel knowing exactly what Sniper game fans want in the ultimate Sniper Game.

The action now takes place in glorious 3D and features the latest version of our groundbreaking Touch ‘n’ Tilt controls, allowing players to play EXACTLY as they like!

Back from your last mission to take out the Somali pirates, you find your city once again under seige by crazed terrorists. This time however it isn’t a small sleeper cell, but an entire army of AK wielding madmen.

Their M.O. is take over buildings forcing the inhabitants to flee onto the streets, they then pick them off one by one from their vantage points. These guys are pure evil.

You are the Super Sniper. The best there is, and you have been flown into the city with one goal. Take out these bastards and save as many civilians as you can.

Doesn’t sound too hard right? WRONG, these terrorists mean business and have acquired military grade armored helicopters, vast amounts of C4 explosive, and have highly trained bomb makers and operatives. They also have an almost unlimited supply of suicide bombers willing to die for “the cause”.

Good luck soldier. You’re gonna need it……

Screenshots: Features:

• WORLDWIDE All Time and Monthly Leaderboards for all control modes.
• Story Mode that ups the ante with each new mission.
• Incredible 3D City Zones
• Amazing Movie Quality sound effects and music.
• Realistic Blood splatter bullet effects
• Building destruction on a MASSIVE scale.
• Window snipers
• Rooftop snipers
• Bomb planters
• Bombs
• Choppers
• Repelling Terrorists re-taking cleared buildings
• Civilians running for their lives on the street as snipers pick them off one by one…

Download it now!

Want to download it for FREE?
Dave has generously allocated me 10 FREE download promos, which I’ll be handing out to the readers of UXbyDesign.  Leave your comments, and you might get lucky!

Related posts:

1. Designing the Palm Pre: An interview with Michelle Koh
2. Interview: Amy Buckner on Mobile Usability
3. Skype for iPhone: An official App

To better understand the Pre’s design and differentiators, I caught up with user experience colleague Michelle Koh, a member of the human interface team at Palm. She played a large part in designing the user experience for Palm’s new WebOS platform and the core Person Information Management (PIM) applications that Palm is legendary for. Specifically, she designed the global device search, phone, and contact applications, as well as contributing to the overall device navigation and system UI design.

BRADLEY HEBDON: You haven’t always designed mobile experiences. Why did you make the transition from web to mobile?

MICHELLE KOH: There are probably several reasons why I made the move to mobile. Firstly, there is something magical in canonizing all the design thought and work into an actual physical product that people can touch and I wanted to get close to that process.

Then there’s the impact a mobile experience has. It’s frequent and daily, and therefore makes an impact to people in their everyday life.

Curiosity is another reason. Why is my phone like this? How come it’s so hard to use? Wouldn’t it be better if it could……

BH: I think most users have been used to a very poor mobile user experience until the iPhone came along. Perhaps your frustration drove you?

MK: I’ve always had a healthy dose of “dissatisfaction”, so yes.

BH: What else pulled you into the mobile space?

MK: I had a desire to get out of my comfort-zone and design in an industry, medium, and technology where I would have to learn from others and also contribute from my own experiences.

Also, I recognized the social and technology blips on the radar and had a wishy-washy feeling that the Smartphone was the next milestone in this information age. So I wanted to adopt it and adapt my design thinking and skills.

BH: Now that you’ve immersed yourself in designing for the mobile experience, do you have anything in mind going forward?

MK: My next area of focus might be to try and find meaningful and useful ways to breed the web and mobile experiences together … it’s vague … but vagueness is typically the starting point for further discovery and viability. I think we are seeing really good glimpses of this with the web version of Facebook and the iPhone version of Facebook.

BH: What were the biggest challenges in moving from web to mobile?

MK: My biggest challenge in making this transition was honestly a personal one filled with excitement, doubt, and uncertainty. When I started my career in web, it fortunately coincided with the birth of the “web designer” and so as this field was maturing, I was as well. I couldn’t get a degree in this so I taught myself and learned from others in the same position. I learned everything as it was being invented, ingested the innovations, and practiced them. I hope I can say this without sounding prideful and self-proclaimed, but I became pretty good at it.

BH: So you were in a comfortable place then?

MK: Yes. At that point, it was easy to stay where I was comfortable. But I was once told that your biggest challenge as a designer is when you take a leap. So I jumped! And so transitioning to mobile was a challenge in that I did not mature in this industry, relatively, there was more that I did not know, it’s very technical in nature, and I doubted myself. The challenge was more personal. Right now, it’s so exciting to be in this chaos of change but it is challenging.

BH: Speaking of exciting, the upcoming release of Palm’s Pre must represent a climax to what must have been a thrilling time for you and the design team.  And it seems the pundits are matching up the Pre against the iPhone, how do you think the Pre differs from the iPhone?

MK: I remember when i saw the first mock-up of this over a year ago. The inner industrial designer in me screamed “brilliant”! The slight curve felt comfortable in my hand and when I slid open the device, the curve line was further emphasized so that I could cradle it against my ear. And the keyboard is hidden away when I don’t need it. You don’t expect curves on devices so this was a delightful design decision that I appreciate a great deal. The curves are reinforced in the overall footprint down to the keyboard, which gives it a sense of harmony.

BH: One of the first things people will notice is the Pre’s keyboard. Do you see it as an advantage over the iPhone?

MK: Having used a virtual keyboard on the iPhone for over a year now, I think that the physical vs. virtual keyboard battle is actually a preference issue. I’ve become very good at using my screen keyboard and can type very fast. I also like using the Pre’s keyboard because I make fewer errors. Both benefits are on par but there is an advantage to a physical keyboard … screen real estate! What could be used for valuable information is taken up by the virtual keyboard on my iPhone, which in my experience is a poor one.

BH: Can you tell me about the Touchstone wireless charger?

MK: This is just so cool because what was only possible in movies, is now possible in real-life for a mass consumer product. It’s always exciting when something considered “geek” becomes “chic”. Not only does this matter in the way a device is charged, but also for human behavior and cognition. I actually don’t like to charge my iPhone because I don’t like the weird stress I feel in jamming my phone into a charger. I can’t explain it, it’s just visceral. But how fluid and stress-free it is to simply place the device on the Touchstone … this is natural movement … back to being human.

BH: The Touchstone is definitely a differentiator. I’d like to see something like this re-charge a few devices at a time.  What else do you think separates the Pre from the iPhone?

MK: I’m not an operating system expert, but in my last two jobs in the mobile industry, I’ve learned that the platform matters BIG time. I learned early that an out-dated platform was the bane of so many phones for too long and helped me understand why my cell phone experience was so poor. From a user experience standpoint, the platform is what enables single-tasking to multi-tasking … the biggest elephant probably in iPhone meetings these days. And if I’m not wrong, what makes the hybrid of RIMs Blackberry Storm plus “touch” interface so horribly wrong. A killer OS is key, and in the Pre’s case it’s WebOS.

BH: I’ve seen the term “Synergy” being mentioned quite a bit. What is this?

MK: When I started designing around integration with Facebook and web PIM data, I just wanted to solve a reoccurring problem I had, especially when it came to personal information management (PIM) data. I wanted to work with content that I had already created … and not recreate it. I didn’t want to care about where the data was as long as I could get it. I didn’t want to manage my contacts and spend needless hours configuring an application especially when everyone is doing this already with their own personal data anyways (i.e. Facebook profiles). Palm has been calling this “Synergy” and this will be key for future technology. Not only for mobile but for devices like netbooks which will have limited hardware bandwidth.

BH: Personally, I think the browser is one of the most important ingredients in a mobile experience – how does the Pre perform in this area?

MK: I’ve seen internal side-by-side comparisons of the Palm Pre browser vs. iPhone Safari browser and let me say that the new browser is simply awesome. Navigating pages is a breeze thanks to the WebOS card environment. Flash is going to be really exciting as this has been long anticipated. With so many websites built in or with components of flash, the need to browse them on my device is be even more critical.

BH: What do you mean by “WebOS card environment”?

MK: Oh, that’s a feature that enables a user to quickly flick through applications, as you would with a deck of cards.

BH: So that’s part of the multitasking capabilities?

MK: Yes, that’s right.

BH: That sounds like a great example of how a real-life metaphor was brought into the experience.  How is Palm encouraging the development of applications for the Pre?

MK: How good and fast can a designer build something with a new set of tools never used before? Now … how good and fast can a designer build something, with tools they have experience with, their friends have experience with, and the community is drenched in? As the age old saying goes, Palm didn’t “reinvent the wheel”, we just rolled the wheel in a different direction creating new pathways with familiar tools like HTML, CSS, and Javascript to leverage a web-centric technology.

BH: From what I’ve seen so far, the user interface looks fantastic; even better than the iPhone’s! What were the guiding principles that ultimately drove the architecture and aesthetic?

MK: We always wanted to make sure that we loved the product, the interface, and the experience. As a designer, you have to be invested in the product experience and to also consider it a major driving force in certain situations. The design shouldn’t be totally self-referential but there is a place for it when it’s defining an original archetype and setting a new bar. I think that is the situation we were in.

BH: Now that the release of the Pre is imminent, will you be working on any future Palm devices?

MK: It would have been nice to continue my stay with Palm because of my great colleagues and the rare break-through opportunities.  However since the company is in Silicon Valley and my home and family are in Los Angeles, it was not personally and logistically sensible in the long run.

I feel grateful to have had the support and opportunity to contribute to Palm for almost a year and a half and I hope to have contributed to the “Zen of Palm” come-back (Google this) while elevating the mobile experience for Palm users. I really do hope the users will be happy.  That really was my main goal.

BH: So what’s next then?

MK: What’s next? I guess I can answer that question with another question.  What’s next in this information and technology driven age?

Along with mobility, social networking seems like it’s here to stay.  I mentioned earlier in our conversation that I found the intersection of web, mobile, and social networking a land with more to discover.  That intersection is small right now, but the trends seem to be saying that it’ll get even bigger … and since we’re in LA, what if we throw music into the mix?

BH: You’re intersecting social networking with mobile?

MK: Actually, my next opportunity is to contribute at MySpace Music in the area of user experience. This is a relatively new joint venture with a handful of major music labels seeking to create an empowering economy for fans, artists and labels.  In this industry and company, the aspirations are big, the challenges great, and the competition fierce.  With this, MySpace Music needed someone dedicated to UX so I am the first in the group to solely make it my job to do so and contribute to the evolution for MySpace Music.  Wish me luck!

BH: This sounds like an incredible opportunity Michelle. Congrats!

MK: It’s been great chatting with you Brad. Thanks for giving me this forum to reflect and share my design work experiences with others.

BH: Absolutely, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule, and all the best with your move.

I think it’s fair to say that, there hasn’t been this kind of anticipatory buzz in the market, since the iPhone’s launch two years ago. And while the iPhone raised the user experience bar significantly, it’s devices like the Palm Pre that will continue to keep the bar elevated and the competition fierce. That kind of healthy rivalry results in a win-win for consumers and user experience professionals alike.

Finally, let us not forget that when Palm re-enters the fray as its second coming, the true saviors are the designers behind the Pre, and not merely the device itself.

You can find Michelle on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekoh

Related posts:

1. Palm Pre arrives June 6 for $200
2. Palm Pre: on the heals of the iPhone
3. Palm Pre Video Capture Test

The Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract on Sprint’s Everything Data plan or Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plan. In addition to Sprint stores, the Pre will be sold online and at Best Buy, RadioShack, and some Wal-mart stores.

Accessories for Palm’s Web OS-based smartphone will also be available on June 6, including the Touchstone Charging Kit (Touchstone dock and Touchstone back cover), which will retail for $69.99. Alternatively, you can buy the dock and back cover separately for $49.99 and $19.99, respectively. The Pre will provide access to such Sprint content as Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile Live and NFL Mobile Live.

Interestingly, the release date is a Saturday, which in some ways is a good move since it allows for weekend sales. Making the Pre available at other retailers is also a nice move. However, June 6 is two days before the start of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where we’ll most likely see a new iPhone announcement.

I have to say, this price point was a smart move by Sprint and Palm. That said, I’m curious: will you wait to hear about the new iPhone before making a purchase? What do you think about the Pre’s pricing? Please share your thoughts.

Related posts:

1. Designing the Palm Pre: An interview with Michelle Koh
2. Palm Pre: on the heals of the iPhone
3. Palm Pre Video Capture Test