Editor in chief Paul Bury interviewed Thorsteinn, the developer of The Moogies.
Q: What was the inspiration for The Moogies?
A:The Idea behind Plain Vanilla Games was conceived
when I noticed my two kids (aged 2 and 6) playing around
with my iPhone and iPad. The intuitiveness of these
touch screen devices for kids is simply incredible. My
son was not even 2 years old when he was asking for the
iPad, unlocking it and selecting an app to play. This
made me start to search for apps that were suitable for
this younger demographics and I was surprised to see
that there really were not that many high quality apps
available. The result from that is Plain Vanilla Vision,
to make the most beautiful and fun apps for kids aged
2-6 available on any mobile device.
Q: How many different interactions can be done
in The Moogies?
A: Children and parents can both talk to the Moogies
and then interact with the Moogies themselves and the
environment by touching it. We have over 80 different
funny animations that happen when you touch different
objects and kids have a blast exploring and discovering
new things.
Q: Any plans for future animals in The Moogies?
A: The world of the Moogies is constantly evolving,
so you shouldnt be too surprised to see new Moogies
introduced through updated or new apps.
Q: Do the creators of The Moogies have children
of their own in the target range?
A: Yes, we used our kids extensively as a test group
when developing The Moogies. Kids are the most honest
focus group, as they do not hestitate to push the home
button and shut off an application if they are not
enjoying it. Every scene in The Moogies has therefore
been approved of kids in the target range. :)
Q: Are there any sequels planned?
A: We are working on expanding The Moogies
franchise, watch this space!
Q: How long did it take to develop The Moogies?
A: From the beginning we knew that we did not want
to make one single game, but rather a magical world with
lots of characters that we could expand. Because of this
we spent a lot of time on the character creation part.
The idea behind each character is a result of countless
brainstorming sessions, prototyping, working with child
psychiatrists and with children themselves. We wanted to
make characters that appealed to both children and
parents alike, and we are very proud of our nine
characters so far. The concept of the first Moogies app
is to introduce the cast of characters and let children
talk to them and explore all the different things that
happen when you touch various objects on the screen. We
started working on the Moogies about 13 months ago.
Q: How large was the team that created The
Moogies?
A: The core team behind The Moogies is about ten
people. The team consists of game designers,
programmers, animators, illustrators, graphic designers,
sound engineer and a music composer. On top of that we
had a lot of talented artists contribute to the project,
such as voice talents. Plain Vanilla is only roughly a
year old, but we have some game design veterans in the
team.
Q: Which animal in The Moogies are you most
like?
A: I think the Parrot is the office favorite :)