Vitaly Simonov: My advice to beginners? Try taking conventional things and combining them in unconventional ways

“We are not big on giving advice but one piece of advice we can give to beginners is to try taking conventional things and combining them in unconventional ways. There’s no point in ignoring your limitations, because at the beginning of your journey, limitations are all you have. You just need to find a creative way around them,” Vitaly Simonov Co-founder, Weappy Studio suggests.

Speaking to GOLD magazine as part of a cover story featuring 18 of the top gaming developers based in Cyprus, Simonov also shares why he believes Cyprus is an excellent place for game development, from its favourable tax regime to a solid game development community, and more.

How did the focus on console games, particularly in the adventure strategy genre, come about?

We focus on games we love and understand – not just because working on something you would enjoy as an ordinary player is a more pleasant experience, but also because we believe it to be the only valid strategy. Most attempts to ‘hack the system’ and mathematically figure out the formula for a successful game fail. It may be useful to study numbers and keep track of metrics but only in addition to your own gut feeling of what is good. After all, making games is hard and passion is the only fuel that will carry you through its challenges.

Walk us through This is the Police, and its spinoff Rebel Cops and the reasons behind their success.

This Is the Police is a mix of genres. It’s a management game, a strategy game, an adventure game, a visual novel and a puzzle. That may look overly ambitious on paper but, in reality it was the most approachable way to develop a debut game. This was the first full-fledged project for most of us, so we were lacking in terms of knowledge and experience. We therefore realised that we couldn’t bet on any one feature and make it deep enough, elaborate enough, and polished enough. There simply wasn’t one single thing we were able to raise to a ‘wow’ level in that moment. So, we figured that we should come up with a game where the whole package is what really counts. We took different elements from different games that we liked which were ordinary and even superficial on their own. We then put them together in a particular way, wrapped in an engaging story with highly stylised visuals – and it worked.

Now that we’ve learned a lot, we feel more confident professionally and are aiming higher. Still, this was – and is – a process. We are not big on giving advice but one piece of advice we can give to beginners is to try taking conventional things and combining them in unconventional ways. There’s no point in ignoring your limitations, because at the beginning of your journey, limitations are all you have. You just need to find a creative way around them.

HBO’s success with The Last of Us and collaborations between acclaimed filmmakers and game creators like Jordan Peele and Hideo Kojima suggest that gaming is on the way to becoming the dominant entertainment medium. What prospects do these developments open for game developers?

While the success of Super Mario Bros and The Last of Us is undeniably impressive, the Five Nights at Freddy’s film adaptation is in some ways even more astonishing. It’s not a brand owned by a big corporation, it’s not a huge franchise running for decades, the movie’s production budget was a very modest $20m, and it wasn’t critically acclaimed. Yet, it grossed $300m worldwide just in cinemas, which increases the chances of smaller developers with devoted fan bases seeing their games being adapted for the screen. But it’s important to note that gaming isn’t ‘on the way’ to becoming the dominant medium, it already is the dominant medium! It’s a $180 billion industry with the most engaged audience. It’s also the biggest form of entertainment in the world. All prospects are open and we shouldn’t look for any external validation. Collaborations are great, especially with people like Jordan Peele who are immensely talented in their field. But we don’t need Jordan Peele in order to succeed.

Given the growing popularity of e-sports and its evolution into a major sporting event, including an annual e-sports World Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia, what opportunities does this remarkable surge present for game developers?

E-sports is a separate industry that has little to no influence on how games are made and played in general, much like Formula 1 doesn’t really influence the global car market.

Your studio, among others developing console and PC games, has chosen to establish itself in Cyprus. What specific attributes make the island an appealing destination for you?

Cyprus is an excellent place for game development, from a favourable tax regime to a solid game development community. Located between pivotal time zones, it provides excellent opportunities for working with contractors worldwide. Considering all the benefits, the island is one of the best places for remote work and for hiring/relocating people. In addition to that, our partners from GEM Capital actively support the local game development industry and share their expertise.

The recent decision by the House of Representatives to reduce the naturalisation period for C-level executives to four years reflects efforts to establish Cyprus as an IT and games hub. What other changes, policy or otherwise, do you believe would further support this goal?

Due to Cyprus’ popularity, we hope for further infrastructure development. For example, broadening real estate rental options and expanding facilities for children. Establishing a dedicated game development hub with benefits for the studios, such as reduced rental rates and other supporting measures to allow developers to easily rent an office, use its infrastructure and share knowledge, can boost interest in the island even further.

(This interview first appeared in the January edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.)