Lathe Machine 3D: Milling & Turning Simulator Game - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Before I started creating games, I was a Windows application programmer and head of programmers for 12 years in a Slovenian company. I worked on manufacturing execution systems, computer-aided test systems for smart meters, smart metering toolkits, etc. And since the past two years, I work as a developer for a German company, mainly working on a system for gathering data from smart home devices and automatic index data acquisition. Basically working on Windows, Linux, and mobile applications. Ursa, my girlfriend that worked on graphics design, however, had no experience whatsoever.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

It was really hard to get the lighting correct way. That took us way too long. But perhaps I would say that the most challenging aspect was creating our own cutting detection. We were using physics from the Unity engine at first but it was too slow. So I had to create our own custom detect with raycasting to cut and deform the workpiece. Ursa says the hardest thing was learning how to use Blender from scratch. She taught herself using tutorials and YouTube videos. Though I remember her being absolutely pissed off when she finally learned something that worked great in Blender, it looked absolutely wonderful. And then it wasn't compatible with the Unity engine. I think I saw a tear or two back then. Hours and hours of work down the drain. So I believe the most challenging thing for her is sometimes pushing through the failures.

_{Igor and Ursa - UI Games}

UI-Games is an Indie game developer studio with people who believe in developing great simulation mobile games for iOS and Android platforms :) It's run by Igor and his girlfriend Ursa. Igor is the programmer while Ursa looks after designing. So far, UI-Games has published 4 games on Google PlayStore and Apple App Store.

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

Do Camera and Photos apps count? :) I don't think we can do without those! :)
But other than that:
- 3D Bocce Ball: Hybrid Bowling & Curling Simulator that's one of our games. Love it, because it reminds me of my days as a pro bocce player and it's a big hoot around here since it has a replica of our court in it,
- Spendee - so we can track how much we spend and on what we spend it on,
- WeChat -so we can stay in touch with our family that's abroad, and last but not least
- Dropbox, we use it daily.

How long have you been working on this app?

We've been working on this game for the past 7 months and are currently still working on it now.

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

We made this game for everybody who likes lathe machines. For everybody, who don't have one at home to play with. For those that do have it and would just like to try something out, to see how it would look like before they actually make it. We've had professors tell us, they use it to teach students with it. So it really is for everybody. From noobs to pros. From young ones to the elderly. Just pick it up, and play with it. :)

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

Well, aside from the first lathe simulator game we have, this is the only lathe turning simulation game there is. It's way better than the first one since it has much better graphics. With that, we managed to make the piece you're turning 30x more detailed now. And can create threads (which was requested a lot in the previous game). Combined with user-friendlier GUI (Graphical User Interface - in layman's terms: how the menu and the buttons look like) it created a lovely game that is easy and fun to play. To be honest, it was kind of hard testing the previous game. It became a bit tedious at times, while this one, we've tested it for weeks and months and we still like to pick up the phone and play for hours. I know, I know... hours? Well yeah, there's only two of us in UI-Games and all the testing comes down to us. Though we do have one big fan, that became a bit of a volunteer tester himself. He's of great help to us! And I believe that speaks for itself. You must like something to do it voluntarily. :) And to us, that's... something unbelievable! We still run to each other, saying: "Look, look. Have you seen this comment? They like our game!!!" But I'm getting off track here. To try to compare our game to another one that's not ours... Well... They are so different. Recently another lathe simulation game came out, which is CNC based. Which means it only works if you put code in it. So in that aspect, our game is easier to play, since it does not require any prior knowledge and it leaves most things to your imagination, but it isn't CNC based.

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

We're currently working on "copy mode". In it, you will be able to measure each piece with a caliper. And then try to copy an already made workpiece. When you finish it, you will be scored from 0 to 100. Perhaps we'll add some rewards later. It's a requested challenge from our players. We try to listen to all requests and incorporate as many as we can. We will, of course, be adding new products and we'll see what time brings. :)

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

Of course we'd love people to try out our game and then share it with people that might fancy it. Also, please give us feedback. It's crucial to get feedback from people so that we can fix possible glitches, improve our game, add more features to it, and make it even more fun to play! :) And if I may add here. A shout out to all who are already playing our game. Thank you!!! We appreciate each and every one of you! All your positive feedback and ideas give us the strength to keep improving and creating even better games!