This week I got a chance to interview the developer from the game Litron. It’s free to download and play for Android and now Android TV with an IAP to unlock more levels. It’s full of nostalgia. The graphics, gameplay, and music made me feel like a child playing on an old gaming console. It’s fun, perhaps a little short.
On Litron’s Origins
What was the original idea behind Litron and how did it influence the art style?
Litron is inspired by three games. First, gameplay is based on the classic “Snake”. Second is the the old school retro “Tron” graphics style, and the last one is “99 Problems” – a simple mobile game that was a lot of fun playing because of the hard level of difficulty and variety. This combination of existing games gave me something new and fresh.
On Developing for Android TV
What made you decide to support Android TV?
I am an independent developer that is trying to know the market and all possibilities to promote my games so I have decided to check out by myself if Android TV can help the luck and get better visibility.
How much time went into supporting Android TV?
I have spent about 2 weeks of work with Android TV. It was very easy to implement. Over 90% of my work was focused on adding gamepad controller support to my game engine and doing menu changes for new steering.
How does the gaming experience differ from a phone?
Accuracy and fast reaction is very important in Litron so game controller with physical feedback gives more fun from playing. And Litron on the big screen looks cool 😉
How have you integrated Google Play Games into Litron?
Players can compare their progress with each other by checking statistics and leaderboards like time spend on game, points for unlocked levels, traveled distance, death counter. I have prepared eighteen unique valuable achievements too.
Has Android TV support affected the number of users playing the game?
Not yet. I have released Android TV support about 2 weeks ago and there is about 1000 players that checked this game on their TVs. I belive that it will be better soon 🙂
On Android TV
What is your least favorite thing about Android TV?
Android TV is not very common yet. For small indie developer studios it is very hard to get access to other devices with Android TV and check if everything works properly. So I’ve tested Litron only on one TV device and had to release game in faith that it works fine.
What is the best feature of Android TV?
It is hard to choose one … Android on my TV is THE BEST ‘feature’ for me 😉
What is the one feature you want to see in the next update to Android TV?
Android TV has everything I need. But if i could go step in future then support for depth camera like in Kinect would be something useful in TV gaming.
What’s coming next? Are you planning to release more games?
Yes, Litron was just a warmup. I am prototyping gameplay for my new project right now. It will be something more advanced than Litron but I’m going to stay in my favorite retro style.
Conclusion
Litron is a fun game. I spent some time myself playing through all the free tier levels. Litron is free to download on Google Play.