Smart Melon - a home for original games   2007-02-06

This week we are giving more attention to original games. Heard of TangleBee puzzler developed by Smart Melon games, a development studio based in Canada?    

Given the very simple and unique game idea that makes the whole game so special, we were deadly curious of how people come up with such special puzzles  in the cruel world of match-3:). And of course, we decided to ask several questions to Graeme Sweet, one of the developers of TangleBee.

GM: What was TangleBee game inspired by?

Graeme Sweet: TangleBee was inspired by a free flash game called Planarity. I studied graph theory in university and this game made me realize that untangling graphs could be made into a fun little game. We set to work on TangleBee (it has different rules than Planarity) and came up with the idea of having bees tangled up in a spider's web. Combining our love for outdoors and the forest with our love of being artistic and creative, we came up with the finished TangleBee game.

GM: How much time did it take you to develop the game?

Graeme Sweet: TangleBee was developed over a period of 14 months, although only as part time work. My wife did most of the background artwork, and I did most of the character art, level design, and programming work. We both helped out with the music too. Doing everything ourselves gave us full creative control, but takes a lot longer to get everything together. A lot of time was put into adding secret levels and special powerups that make the game even more interesting as you progress. We had a lot of fun making the game, and we hope that shows through in the final presentation.

GM: What are the plans of SmartMelon for the near future? Do you have
anything interesting for casual game fans?

Graeme Sweet: We're not sure what the future will hold for SmartMelon Games. We're always looking for new, creative ideas for games but it takes a lot of work to come up with original gameplay. You can be sure that our next game will be fun, will challenge your mind, and won't be another match-three clone! 

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