Somewhere – The Vault Papers - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Yes, I am a developer and I worked 10 years in the software industry prior to starting work on Somewhere.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

I could mention many aspects but if I had to pick one I would say that working as a fully independent developer was the most challenging part of it!

It involves learning to do a wide range of things aside of coding: communicating on the social networks, developing game awareness, learning marketing, building a financial forecast, etc...

It was tough but I learned a lot!

After working 10 years as a developer, team leader, and project manager in a big software company, Vincent decided to quit this very well paid but alienating job to move from Paris and try to realize his childhood dream: making video games.
Back in his native town, he formed a partnership with Thomas Gosselin to write Somewhere.
Somewhere is their first mobile game. Their energy comes from their endless willingness to create something unique.

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

I cannot avoid mentioning Lifeline, which obviously was a big source of inspiration for Somewhere.

The amazing Steve Jackson’ Sorcery! series is also a must-have! Inkle did a great job here.

How long have you been working on this app?

I’ve been working for almost 1 year and a half on Somewhere along with an author.

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

We wanted to create a new and fresh game experience deeply rooted in today’s world and talking about our current society's main issues (mass surveillance, environment, etc…).

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.

Somewhere is a textual game where you make dialog choices to navigate through a branching story.

Compared to similar games, Somewhere proposes a very realistic and immersive story. We take part of the permissions the user gives to our game to include some information in the narration; for example, the bad guys may (really) locate you, some hackers may get to know which smartphone model you are using, etc.

It seems we did a pretty good job because some players really got frightened actually 

Please note that the game runs fully locally on your phone, not a single data is sent to a server: you can even play in airplane mode!

It also offers more dialog choices (up to 4) than most other similar games; the player will be in touch with several characters, the music is dynamic and depends on the situation and there are 6 different endings!

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

We have a big players community and they are really lovely, some of them just finished to translate the whole game (~45K words!) in Brazilian Portuguese so there will be an update soon with this new translation!

We are also currently working on another game in the Somewhere license which will take place sometime after The Vault Papers story.

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 of our players are on Android where the beginning of the game is free. After some time you will be asked to buy a single app-purchase in order to unlock the full game.

This is an unusual business model but we wanted to let the players decide whether they like the game and want to purchase the full version or not.

The thing is that some players feel betrayed when this paywall appears but this has never been our goal! Whether you buy the full game or not, if you like the game simply give it the rating you think it deserves and please understand that mobile game development is really tough!

We are far from being able to do this for a living (we both have a “regular” job aside of it) so please be cool!

If you like what we do and want to see more games like this, please spread the word and follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

Now please check your notifications, you may have received a new message ;)

Enjoy the game and take care of Cat!

Somewhere – The Vault Papers

About App:

You are tasked with helping Cat, a culture journalist caught up in a whistleblowing case.

She reaches out to you via text message, and your job is to guide her through a series of challenges and situations to help her investigate and...stay alive!

Search clues on the Web, face random events, help her find her way using Google Maps, but beware, your choices will have consequences!

The story plays out in real-time for several days: you will receive notifications throughout your day as Cat is sending you new messages. You can directly answer or catch up later when you’re available.

Reach one of the different endings and then you'll be able to jump back to earlier points in the story, see what happens when you make a different choice, and explore different paths.

Somewhere is a realistic and immersive interactive fiction that will push you to check if you have some news.

Download Somewhere now: Cat needs you!

• No ads.
• Free trial on the first days of the story.
• Purchase required to unlock the full story.

Categories: Adventure, Game

Date: July 9, 2020

Developer: Vincent Salaün

About developer: After working 10 years as a developer, team leader, and project manager in a ... Read more

Website: http://www.somewheregame.com/

Download

App URL in iTunes
App URL in Google Play

RELATED APPS

Hidden Escape Mysteries

Hidden Escape Mysteries

March 28, 2023


Dive into thrilling adventures, don the detective hat, or discover lost secrets wi ...
Storytime Sam

Storytime Sam

January 30, 2023


Introducing Storytime Sam, an app designed to generate wonderful children's storie ...
Isla Sinaloa

Isla Sinaloa

August 25, 2022

Isla Sinaloa is a relaxing game full of activities to enjoy on a peaceful island in a univ ...

Recreated Story Adventure Game of Jekyll and Hyde!

Enjoy this classical novel ahead o ...

About

Every day we publish one great app and help 750,000 users discover new apps to add to their mobile device. Click here to add your app and let users discover it for free.

Social Links