Editor's note: If you haven't played Canabalt, A) what's wrong with you, and B) you can do so here, here, or on iPhone. Then read this interview! -Demian
Adam Saltsman, aka Adam Atomic, is the indie developer behind the simple-but-addictive Canabalt. Canabalt's gameplay is about as stripped down as it gets. Your character automatically runs, and you hit a button to jump -- that's all. Yet, the game proves that by concentrating on one simple element and making that fun, everything else falls into place.
In this interview, Adam chats about his minimalist approach to design, the trend toward social network integration in gaming today, and the implied narrative in Canabalt.
Alex: Did you begin development on Canabalt with the intention of making an elegantly simple sort of game?
Adam: Totally. it was built for the Experimental Gameplay Project, a monthly game design showcase about small games with specific themes. The August theme was "minimalism!"
Alex: Do you think bigger game companies could learn a thing or two about paring their gameplay down to the core, most-fun mechanics possible, instead of just adding more and more stuff?
Adam: This is going to sound elitist and grumpy, and I swear it isn't; I'm actually talking about this at GDC with some friends, too. AAA companies can't design. I don't mean that they choose not to, or that they are not capable of it, but they just can't. Designing something new and then filling it with their standards for content and length would take...well, look how long it takes Valve and Blizzard to make a game, and they're not even innovating that much! It just makes zero financial sense for them to invent new things. Do I think big companies should have a not-for-profit sector of their company, subsidized by their sequels, that helps to pioneer amazing new stuff (I am looking at you, Nintendo)? If my little-bitty company can do that, surely they can.
Alex: Social network integration was a big part of what made Canabalt's popularity spread, but other games have tried to do something similar (see: Uncharted 2) and just managed to be incredibly annoying. Do you see social network integration growing and evolving with games, or fading away?
Adam: Growing, but awkwardly, haha. These things are not a fad, and for small developers especially they are really important. Figuring out how to use them without bothering your friends is gonna matter more and more, I think.
Alex: The way you did it, it was more about bragging rights rather than "So-and-so played blah-blah last night." But here's what I'd like to see: a Majestic sort of mystery game that drops clues on Twitter or Facebook once someone figures out a specific part of the game. Make it happen!
Adam: I like it! We're looking at doing simple ASCII art for our new game. There are a lot of ways to use this stuff!
Alex: Maybe I'm crazy, but I've played so much Canabalt that I became convinced there's more at work than just randomly generated buildings. Seems like when I'm at full speed, long gaps are commonplace.
Adam: You're not crazy! About halfway through development I changed it to generate buildings based on your velocity, not your distance into (or out of?) the city. This was pretty critical, and I have Farbs (Captain Forever) and Steve Swink (Shadow Physics) to thank for their input there!
Alex: You're dropping hints! He's not escaping the city, he's going into it to save someone, isn't he? It's safe to say there's no end, right? I have a friend who got to 17,000 meters, so I'm going to assume there isn't.
Adam: It never ends. Well, it might, but it's at like 1.78-e36 or something! Lousy 32-bit numbers.
Alex: There seems to be a loose story, but one that's completely left to the player to infer. Are the robots meant to make the game more aesthetically pleasing, or were you intending the player's imagination to paint a story?
Adam: Very much both! Pretty much everything you put in your game should be trying to do both. Anything you put in there should be able to help communicate an idea that will stick around after they've finished playing.
Alex: Since you've managed to boil down your game to a single button, is it safe to say you're moving on from Canabalt? Are you going to continue experimenting with the single-button control formula, or add more to it?
Adam: Definitely onward, not necessarily upward? I'm working on buckets of stuff right now, none of which is even in the same genre, much less similar control scheme or look or feel. There will be a little bit of Canabalt in everything I make from now on, though; I learned a lot while building it!
For more of my writing on music, movies, and more -- as well as those of contributors like Chris "Cosmo" Ross, Ultan O'Connel, and Chris Whitehead -- check out Cerebral Pop.
Comments (7)
You just inspired me to write something, actually. Thanks.
I really enjoyed this interview.Canabalt is one of those games that stays with you after you play it.I think if you put this game in anyone's hands they would understand it within a couple of minutes.That is something you can only say about a few games,and that is what makes Canabalt so special .
