Cinnamon Beats

Jani: My name is Jani Kahrama, I'm head of studio at Secret Exit, and mostly involved with the game design of Cinnamon Beats.

Jetro: I'm Jetro Lauha, technical lead at Secret Exit. I'm programming the game and I'm also behind the concept of the game

Jetro: I have been doing some small games since I was a kid and sold some of them as shareware in the 90's. It was somehow quite natural to continue and eventually enter the industry professionally as well.

Jani: To be honest, an accident: I met a friend at a party who said the company he was working for was looking for a game designer. I wasn't really serious about getting the job, and even told them at the job interview that I was lazy, incompetent and always late. They hired me half an hour later (must've thought I was lying), and ever since I figured there's no way I could leave an industry that welcomes such a person.

Jani: It was the only option that made sense; I was always interested in the big picture and became very disappointed after seeing how VC money drives companies to maximize their perceived value at the expense of sustainable growth or even a sane strategy. I wanted to work in a company that believed in organic growth through humble work, run by a management who could be whipped and publicly humiliated if necessary, so starting a business of our own was the most tempting option.

Jetro: I'm mostly on the same lines with Jani. I have also suffered from having too many projects cancelled, or worse, not published after finishing them. That's one of the worst things a company can do to the people who actually work on the projects. I have also had some widespread recognition for some of my hobby game projects, such as Dismount™ series. That has been very encouraging.

Jani: A tragic hero willing to eat noodles and make sacrifices to fulfill a childish goal of enjoying one's work. I see one in the mirror and doubt my sanity up until I ask myself if I'd rather be doing account management for an IT consultant company specializing in custom solutions for enterprises. Then I smile and enjoy my noodles.

Jetro: By following the community, many have noticed there are different types. First, there's just lone indies, and then there's independent developers which can fit even to some bigger companies. I think we're now talking about indies or small independent developers. Those come in two flavors: The ones who are doing it trying to enter the industry, trying to land a job at some big company; and then there are the ones who are doing it because they wanted to get out from the big companies.

Jani: I simply disagree with the above. Anyone can point and shoot with a camera, but that doesn't make them photographers. There's more to game development than throwing assets into an open source engine.

Jetro: It's true that the technical barrier lowers, as more and more different kind of frameworks or even game authoring software is available, be it commercial or free. However, games are like other entertainment and art – making something good usually requires skill. It's a good thing that it is easier for people to make simple games. The easy tools can sometimes double as prototyping platforms. And sometimes a rare gem appears.

Jani: The remote glimmer of hope for indie success through digital distribution.

Jetro: Exactly.

Jani: While we lack the Radioheads that can publish albums and attract people to their own websites, I think we're better off with the channels available to Joe Developer for distribution. Although I must say I have no idea how difficult it may be for an indie band to get their songs on iTunes. PC portals for downloadable games are pretty fragmented, and consoles involve steep QA costs. But in the end our choice is made out for us - we're not handsome and we can't sing, so we make games.

Jani: This question is best answered by Jetro Lauha, the co-founder of Secret Exit and the one who I arm wrestle every week for the Crackpot Idea award.

Jetro: It's one of these things which have just popped into my mind at some point. Maybe when taking a shower, or right after waking up, or... I had thought of the concept already in early 2006, but at that time I was already making the experimental Racing Pitch, so I had to wait to another time to try out the concept.

Jani: Don't look at me, it was his idea! A year back it was Racing Pitch, now this... Seriously though, the one thing that has gone right so far with Cinnamon Beats is that we weren't overprotective about the idea before coming out with it. From the Assembly event in Finland we were already able to get much feedback from the audience, and being recognized by IGF is another strong indication that the idea has merit.

Big publishers have their greenlight meetings where a dozen guys sit at a table deciding which pitches to go with. Going public with our prototype was our version of it, and it's given us confidence to put our limited resources into developing the project.

Jetro: As Jani pointed out, being more open about ideas and protos has been beneficial. As long as one can get past the sort of embarrassment for showing stuff which isn't yet finished. We feel the game-play has still much to improve on. But the idea is still fresh enough I thought it wouldn't hurt us to show it around!

Jetro: Playing the game is a bit harder than originally anticipated, which is why we're still iterating it and making more prototype work.

Jani: Please ask this again when the game itself is finished. We're still at an early phase of development, and while we're excited with the response the submitted version has received, it's a far cry from our intentions with the final product.

Jani: I prefer to keep my skeletons in the closet, thank you.

Jetro: I can probably pin-point one of these issues better when the game is actually finished and not just in the current early shape.

Jani: We argue a lot. In a good way.

Jetro: We also try to identify our strengths and do things we're good at. Or at least that's what I like to think we're doing!

Jani: Cinnamon Beats should be available in Q4 2008.

Jani: The tools we use are not of great significance as the technology is quite straightforward and the game relies heavily on the design and content as opposed to elegant tools or technology. The big secret is simply iteration and persistence.

Jani: "If we can do it, you have no excuse."

Jani: Those little moments where rhythm patterns emerge from the simulation, and the relationship of tweaking little things and noticing how it affects the beat loop.

Jetro: For now I think it's a bit more fun to find some unexpected rhythms appear from the game mechanics, and also get the feeling of "I made this!" We're on the right track now and just need to refine it a bit more.

Jani: A cup of noodles, the daily argument, and arm wrestling a few more features into the new Dismount game.

Jetro: Excuse me for stopping short, I need to go and wrestle away a few features from this project I'm doing...