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The games industry has many big-name studios with eager eyes on them, all waiting to see what their next big hit could be. But giant studios aren’t necessarily the home to what could be your next favourite game.
There are thousands of independent game studios and solo developers, all hard at work crafting new game experiences with often unique ways of looking at games. In this series we aim to highlight those very games and the developers behind them.
In this interview – part of our regular Incredible Indies series – we speak with Agonalea Games co-founder Pedro Aira about its charming new mobile game Punko.io, which aims to revolutionise the tower defence genre with hybridcasual sensibilities.
PocketGamer.biz: Tell us a bit about the team. What’s your background, and why did you decide to make games as an indie?
Pedro Aira: My background is in game design, and we’ve worked on multiple IPs in the past, building mobile games to accompany movies and series.
We decided to go indie because we feel the mobile ecosystem is stuck in many ways. There’s a big explosion of creativity happening in the double-A space for PC and consoles because triple-A lacks innovation.
The same situation applies to mobile free-to-play: big studios lack creativity. We believe a new wave of hybridcasual developers will redefine mobile gaming in the years to come.
How did the idea for Punko.io come about and what were your inspirations?
The short answer is that we waited long enough for Plants Vs. Zombies 3, and it’s clear that EA isn’t going to deliver the tower defence game we want.
“We decided to go indie because we feel the mobile ecosystem is stuck in many ways.”
Pedro Aira
Time and time again, we see new games using tower defence more as an aesthetic than a real game mechanic. We believe there’s a path for tower defence to include RPG progression, so why not create the tower defence game with RPG elements that many of us have been waiting for?
How long have you been working on the project and how many are on the team? What challenges did development throw up?
We’ve been working on the project for over a year now, and the team currently consists of 10 people, specialising in game design, art, animation, development, production, music, SFX, social media, and marketing.
Development is always a miracle, with challenges in every aspect of game creation. My best advice for other indie developers is: learn marketing. It’s more than 50% of the challenge, and by the time you realise it, it may be too late.
You’ve said you’re trying to bring creativity and soul back into the tower defence genre. What makes Punko.io different from other titles in the genre?
Punko.io is what I call a ‘grid tower defence’ game, like Plants vs. Zombies. What makes the game unique is its progression system and the combination of towers and spells.
Imagine if Archero and Plants vs. Zombies had a child, and that child embodied punk. That’s Punko.io.
“Learn marketing. It’s more than 50% of the challenge, and by the time you realise it, it may be too late.”
Pedro Aira
In Punko, you can equip items and upgrade them to improve your stats. Each item has unique skills, allowing you to define the best strategies.
You can mix strategies too; maybe the Bazooka works great for chapter five, but it’s not the best for chapter six. You’re always identifying the optimal item combinations and tower selections for any given challenge.
As an indie, how do you keep a free-to-play game running for the long-term? What are your plans?
The free-to-play model is here to stay, fundamentally driven by live operations. Our plan is to create a smaller team of three to four people dedicated to live ops, who will handle Punko.io’s ongoing operations.
Meanwhile, the core team will eventually move on to the next project.
Launching in the current mobile games market is tough for anyone. Why did you decide to make a game for mobile and how do you plan to get it noticed by players around the world?
Launching on mobile has always been a ROAS (return on advertising spend) challenge. If you can recover your marketing budget and maintain over 100% ROAS, you’re in business. Yes, IDFA changes affected this math, but good games still push through because positive ROAS is achievable.
To get noticed, it’s all about user acquisition. Talented UA managers who love gaming can find ways to deliver the right ads to the right audience. If you don’t have one of them on the team, you need to find a way to succeed.
This is the secret sauce of publishers – they understand this profile.
What is it like working on a game as a small indie studio in today’s game climate? What challenges do you face and what opportunities does working independently provide?
It’s incredibly hard work. And for any task the mantra is: if you don’t do it, nobody will.
“For any task the mantra is: if you don’t do it, nobody will.”
Pedro Aira
Going indie is essentially a ticket to working a lot; you need to build the right habits and stay consistent to succeed. It provides you with creative freedom, and if that’s something you value, then this is the path to achieving it.
What’s next for Agonalea? Is your plan to continue developing Punko.io or explore new projects?
Right now, it’s all about Punko.io, but we have ideas we’re exploring with the team for future projects. We’ll have to see how things go.
Are you an indie developer?
At Pocket Gamer Connects there are a number of ways indies can put their hot new games in front of publishers, investors and industry peers – as well as gain insights from other indies.
We’ll be hosting the Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan on November 9th and 10th. If you want to take part in the Very Big Indie Pitch to get your game in front of experts and gain valuable feedback, you can submit your game here. We’ll also be hosting the Big Indie Zone, an exclusive expo area for indies to show off their games.
Not heading to Jordan? Pocket Gamer Connects London will take place on January 20th to 21st. Once again we’ll host the Very Big Indie Pitch, the Big Indie Zone, while also bringing the Incredible Indies track to the show live on stage!
