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Interview: Handy Entertainment
January 13, 2004
I was very fortunate to be able to get an exclusive interview with CEO of Handy Entertainment, Alexey Tselykh. Most of the questions were actually submitted by PocketGoddess readers, and as part of a special contest, Alexey selected the best question as the winner. Dan Royea is our winner, and he will be receiving a free license for Dreamway, the Palm OS racing game that also happens to be the newest member of the PocketGoddess Hall of Fame with a Perfect 10 rating. Congratulations, Dan!
Thank you for agreeing to this interview! Let’s get started with an easy question. How did you get started developing games for the Palm OS platform?
Actually, it was a rather crazy idea to place an experiment and measure the possible explosion of bringing big fun to the small screen. Isn’t that a pleasure to realize that someone treasures your fantasy in the pocket to take it out and just smile?
What are the top game genres for the pda (racing? word games? puzzles?) Are they capitalizing on the popular genres or do they seek to revitalize a dying one? For example, is racing REALLY that popular or are you trying to breathe new life in a dying breed?
It is no secret that puzzles and word games are decent time killers, and this fact makes really hard to vie with them. However, the power of leading-edge technologies brings epic world battles and true-to-life simulations to handhelds. They boast an army of fans "dying" to get a new taste of lovely game genres. You are keen on quests, he’s mad on good old arcades, and that is topsy-turned tomorrow. With the release of a first-class quality title its genre will be in the lead till the next success story. The racing genre never was and never could become a dying one. Probably it never was that hugely popular, but always found its audience. Actually, we felt the lack of good top-view arcade racing game on Palm OS and… rectified the situation.
What would be the ultimate game that uses the Palm touch-screen?
You should have noticed a significant role of touch screen input in our games. It’s that simple and intuitive, and virtually no learning curve! No doubt, a beginner will always prefer stylus and fingernails to awkward buttons. Palm touch screen potential is far from being exhausted. In search of the ultimate game recall Black & White with its "gesture recognition" technology - drawing circles to cast a tornado spell.
How would you judge the Zodiac as a gaming platform?
Tapwave Zodiac release is a notable event in the history of mobile gaming. With its extreme novelties and classic console style it’s a certain mobile gamer’s choice. And no doubt, Zodiac initially built up for games is now in critical need of titles utilizing an impressive collection of its capabilities and specials.
Your graphics are outstanding. How do you think the release of OS6 will affect your future upgrades and/or new games?
The industry certainly lacks a starting point to move to 3D. High performance OS is another step to higher standards we should adhere to.
Do you have plans to develop for other handheld platforms in the future, such as Windows Mobile, Smartphone, Nokia, etc.?
Once we arrived at a decision to focus efforts on Palm OS and have one at fingertips. I should say we managed to learn things that distinguish Palm native applications and are sadly bypassed in blind ports. Pocket PC is on the horizon. And we are not stopping there. A co-operative agreement between Handy Entertainment and MobileWizardry (www.mobilewizardry.com) first targets the migration of Psycho Path to Pocket PC, Microsoft Smartphone, Symbian Series 60 and other mobile devices. We are excited to take use of SHARK development kit, an amazing concept that breaks down environment barriers and allows millions of mobile gamers to enjoy their favorite titles without regard of device type in use, be it a smartphone or PDA.
Can we take a peek at the future plans and/or products of Dreamway?
We are shooting for Dreamway 1.1 release early February with custom car settings, new bonuses and additional Zodiac enhancements. First soundtracks and new courses to appear on the site really soon. Please, stay tuned for Bluetooth multiplayer later this year. And to cast the light on forthcoming company titles, we are developing a new entertainment products direction with the release of Riverland Screensaver, that has a real-time element in its essence. Schedule release dates to be announced.
I should thank Jen and all of you for the week-long acquaintance. Everyone of the company staff put efforts into answering your thrilling questions.
