After six months of work, a third-year computer science student at Carleton has helped create an iPhone game.
Tom Goldsmith worked on a shoot-‘em-up game called Modern Defense in which players defend their forts from onslaughts of enemy soldiers. Players protect their strongholds by buying different types of soldiers wielding shotguns and rocket-launchers.
The game was created by three high school friends: Goldsmith, Reynold Noynay, and Charlie Wang, who were students at West Carleton High School in Ottawa.
In June 2010, Wang, an electrical engineering major at Waterloo University, said he decided he wanted to make an application for the iPhone and asked Goldsmith and Noynay for help.
Wang said the game was inspired by a game he played years ago called Castle Defense.
“Seeing a lack of this type of game on the iPhone platform, we decided to go ahead with Modern Defense as a tribute with a few twists,” Wang said.
Goldsmith said he did most of the programming for the game. Noynay, a graduate of Algonquin College’s graphic design program, designed the game, while Wang helped program.
In addition, he handled the administrative tasks, like getting the App Store to approve the game, and setting up a bank account for the app.
As all three members worked and studied during the day, Goldsmith said they could only work on the app during evenings.
Goldsmith added he found the process frustrating, mainly because he had to learn a new programming language. He never worked with Objective C in his classes at Carleton, he explained.
“There is a steep learning curve, but it only takes time to get used to the program,” Goldsmith said. He said he thinks if he were to make another app, he could program it much faster.
The creators tried to make the rules of Modern Defense easy to follow, Goldsmith said. They wanted to make gameplay last a very long time, so when the soldiers are shot by enemies, they do not die.
Noynay said he decided on the beige look of the game with input from the others.
“Since it takes places in a war zone, it seemed logical to set the game in the desert,” Goldsmith said.
Modern Defense was a way “we could get our feet wet and gain a little experience,” Wang said.
Goldsmith said he wanted to build an app because it was an opportunity to practice his programming skills and possibly make some money.
“If all else fails, it looks great on a resume,” he said.
Goldsmith added he wants to make more games. Broken Bone Studios, the name the three gave themselves, has started to work on a new app. He said the next game, while still at an early stage, will be radically different than Modern Defense.
“We’re going to move away from shoot-’em-up games and do something simple, fun, and colourful.”