Gaming-GDC 2011: The future of Imangi Studios

The husband and wife team of Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova make up Imangi Studios, the iPhone developer behind line-drawing hit Harbor Master. We've been following the duo for a while now, andlast talked to them at WWDC, when they were pretty far along in development with a game called Max Adventure, a dual-stick shooter with a plucky kid with a laser gun for a hero.

Max Adventure was released last December (and has since been updated), and Imangi tells me at GDC that the launch went well -- mostly. "It was the best launch we've had on our own," says Shepherd, adding that both the ratings and sales numbers were great after the game released in mid-December. "But then," says Luckyanova, trailing off. Then, it turns out, came the EA sale, filling the App Store charts with 99-cent sales of premium EA titles, and Imangi's carefully crafted Max Adventure got "crushed" in the Christmas rush.

But the best part of the story is what happened next: a little while after Imangi had a blue Christmas, EA called them. The company liked Imangi's games, and maybe wanted to talk about a publishing deal.

Nothing has come about (yet), but Shepherd and Luckyanova said they asked EA the same question they ask all potential publishers: What can you do for us? What do you bring to the table? And EA replied, just a short time after rushing the Christmas App Store to the chagrin of independent devs, "Well, have you seen the top 100?"

To be fair, EA didn't say that with malice. Imangi doesn't hold either EA or Apple responsible for getting lost in the Christmas rush. In fact, they hold themselves responsible. "In retrospect," they say, "launching at Christmas was a mistake." Since then, Imangi's gone back to updating both Harbor Master and Max Adventure, and sales have picked back up. The recent update brought some new arenas to play, and fans are asking for "more story levels," says Luckyanova. "They want more, so that's a good sign."

Imangi has a few ideas for other content, including "some neat ideas for challenge levels," though they're not yet sure if they want to do free upgrades, maybe create some paid content packs (Harbor Master sells various maps for in-app purchases) or maybe push for a whole new sequel. Imangi is also working on another new game, though we won't hear more about that for a little while.

I asked if the two-person studio (they also have a designer for hire that they use frequently) is interested in growing, and Shepherd confirmed that they "would like to be a little bit bigger." They're looking add two or more developers onto the team, both to help out with creating content for already-released titles, and to help release Imangi games on other platforms and in other languages. Shepherd says that "what's important to us is not growing too fast." They're happy with what they're doing, and any growth, either in terms of bringing on more employees or even being acquired by a larger company, will be carefully considered going forward.

NBA JAM by EA Review

In a surprise release by EA Sports, the storied NBA Jam franchise has made its way to the iTunes App Store completely intact. This iOS port has all of the playable characters you’d expect from the console versions of the game, including special characters like mascots and political figures like President Obama and Sarah Palin. The classic two-on-two game comes packed with a campaign mode, dozens of challenges that allow you to unlock legendary players, and a classic “play now” option for whenever you feel like dunking a burning basketball over the enlarged heads of some AI opponents.

Obama is heating up...

NBA Jam uses three virtual buttons (turbo, jump/shoot, and steal/shove) as well as a virtual stick for movement, and that all works surprisingly well. With that established, I can now ramble on about how incredible this game’s presentation is.

Everything from the way players move to the shouting announcer who knows the names of every single player (“Obama goes for the three-pointer!”) smacks of a game that should cost far more than $5, especially by App Store standards. Big head mode is hilarious (as always), and it was hard not to yell “BOOMSHAKALAKA” every time I leapt over a dude to dunk my flaming ball in the net. It’s goofy, but also really enjoyable on a “gamey” level. You really feel like you’ve accomplished something when you pull of a three-pointer shot or an epic, high-flying alley-oop.

The problem is the lack of multiplayer. This game does so much right, and then it completely overlooks what is arguably the most important feature to the franchise. Whenever people think of NBA Jam they undoubtedly think of on-the-couch versus matches and co-op comp stomps, and while that isn’t really possible on the iPhone because of its screen size, it would’ve been nice if they at least included local wi-fi multiplayer, much less online. Here’s hoping that comes in an update.

It might not have multiplayer, but there are a ridiculous number of challenges to play through as well as a lengthy campaign that you’ll want to try out on numerous difficulty settings. Even after all that, playing against AI opponents should keep you occupied for a good, long time.

NBA Jam costs $4.99, and (as I said before) that seems too cheap to be true. Aside from its unfortunate lack of two-player options, this is a complete package that controls beautifully and has production values that could easily rival that of the Wii version’s. Even if you’re not a huge NBA fan, this is a basketball game that can stand on its own based purely on the fun offered by its mechanics.