Exclusive: Astro Duel Deluxe developer interview 1/2

This interview was held with Rusty (Game Creator) from Wild Rooster and Adam (Publisher) from Panic Button Games. Due to the lengthy responses we decided to split the interview up into two different parts.

1. What inspired you to create the original Astro Duel on iPad which was later
   followed by a version for IOS known as Astro Party?
   
   Rusty: I grew up playing a lot of Super Bomberman and NBA Jam with my family and friends. We’d stay up way too late. Usually things would get shut down because we couldn’t keep quiet. Astro Duel was originally about bringing the fun of these nights into a native multiplayer experience for iPad. After a few prototypes I realized an Asteroids -like design would allow the iPad to sit in the center of a table. Everyone could gather around and see the screen better this way. And to get 4 players playing simultaneously, I used iPhones as wireless controllers.
   
   Astro Party was sort of a response to Astro Duel . Hooking up iPhones to use as controllers was tricky to program. And you needed multiple phones, all with the app installed. Astro Party distills the gameplay to only 2 buttons. Four players using just one device. And it works! Astro Party is almost 3 years old, but it remains very popular at schools.
   
   
2. What made you guys decide that you wanted to develop a version of the game for Nintendo Switch? Did Nintendo approach you?
   
   Rusty: It all happened at the Game Developers Conference in March. The Switch was just about to come out and it was exciting! Astro Duel was in a pretty unique place. It was designed to be played either on a TV or in a "cocktail arcade" fashion. When I showed it to Adam, he instantly saw it too – Astro Duel was a perfect fit for Switch.
   
   Adam: At Panic Button, we look for games that just "make sense" on specific gaming devices – They need to be special for gamers who own those systems.
   
   And we've been working on the Nintendo Switch system for a long, long time.
   
   Rusty Moyher and I had some mutual friends who wanted us to meet, and they wanted me to look at Rusty's game.