Path of Adventure - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Yes, I’m a software developer for about 15 years now.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

Finding the right techniques and combining them to something that worked as I wanted. The game is, in fact, a web application made in Angular, written in TypeScript and wrapped as an app with Cordova. On top of it that comes the logic of the game itself, which is quite unique and complex. Designing the right architecture for that logic was a nice challenge, too.

_{Jordin Kee}

Jordin Kee a.ka. Keeweed is an indie game developer from the Netherlands. In 2018 he quit his job as software developer to create text-based game Path of Adventure.

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

For inspiration, I had a look at a couple of different text-based games available for mobile. While not exactly what I was looking for, I liked the games from Inkle Studios (like 80 Days and Sorcery!). The writing and the high production value are impressive.

How long have you been working on this app?

I experimented with the gameplay and the core tech for about two years, in evening hours and weekends. Then, I decided to have a serious go at developing the game and quit my job and worked full-time on the game for about a year. The initial release was after 9 months.

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

To have fun playing a text-based game. I wanted the game to be exciting, funny and playable offline, in short bursts, and on a mobile device.

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.

I set out to make a text-based game that focusses strongly on gameplay. Most other text-based games on the mobile market are what is called Interactive Fiction; stories where you can make a few choices that alter the flow of the story. With Path of Adventure I wanted to make a real game; a full-featured RPG (although small-scale), with Rogue-like elements. I think Path of Adventure is pretty much what I imagined.

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

Now that I’m starting a normal day job again, I don’t know how much time I can put into the game in the future. But the list of ideas and also suggestions from users is long. Among them are adding more content, more visuals, sound effects, and localizations.

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.)?

Most importantly, to have fun! It’s a challenging game, which requires a few (or more!) tries to beat it, so take your time. And of course, if you like it and/or have suggestions, I’d love to hear it.