- Company Name: Elite Gudz
- Location: Farmingdale, NY
- Notable apps: Graffiti Spray Can
- Platforms: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Specialty genres: Entertainment / Utilities
- Company size (Core Team): 6
- Short description of company: Founded in part by Graffiti Artist and Designer, Phetus, ELITE GUDZ is a Design Studio Specializing in Cutting Edge Creative Production and Consulting. Based out of Long Island New York, ELITE GUDZ contains in its ranks top talent from the worlds of COMICS, TOYS, STREET ART, FINE ART, TELEVISION, MOVIES and TECHNOLOGY.
How did you and your firm get into the iPhone game development business?
We create for all media, anywhere people come in touch with creativity. The iPhone and iPad is the most current and significant development frontier in which designers and artists can interact with consumers and fans of the artistic process. Elite Gudz applies its creativity and aesthetics to all forms of media which are relevant and personally inspiring. We’re interacting with users in a whole new way, which is very gratifying and something we have only begun to explore.
We love to experiment with apps. We have lofty goals for app and game development – our team couldn’t be more excited and brimming with apps – more to come!
In your opinion, how has the iPhone and Apple’s iTunes App Store changed the gaming industry?
The App Store has opened up an opportunity to connect creators and consumers with the ability to monetize product in a relatively simple way. What this means for a studio like Elite Gudz is a real incentive to develop within this particular medium. We can quickly conceptualize, develop and distribute within an effective system. I understand why some may see the standardization of delivery and content as limiting or detrimental to creativity, but the truth is, we are all free to develop for whatever platform or medium we choose, and we simply see opportunity within the iTunes App Store. If we feel the need to break the rules a bit or stretch our creative muscles beyond those confines, we wouldn’t hesitate to do so.
Describe the differences between developing games for the iPhone and the iPad.
The differences are really just now being fully discovered. The obvious difference is in the increased screen real-estate and the ability to work on larger, more detailed assets, a full keyboard, and more menu and navigation options. As we push the limits of this device, we’re discovering much more, and it’s going to be a boon for multiplayer games, and richer, full-blown apps.
What factors go into how you ultimately price your games?
Development time and cost, along with the potential audience for the content all consider into the pricing of a title. We do our best to make an educated estimate factoring all these things in. We like to do Free versions in order to get people familiarized with an application before we decide to ask them to pay for anything.
Describe what your dream game for the iPhone would look like.
My personal dream game for this platform would be something that merges our sense of storytelling and design with the ability to connect an entire community of participants and players. I see the gamer’s ability to customize, choose and contribute to a developing world, that not only provides an engrossing environment, but simple and addictive gameplay. I don’t mean to speak broadly on this topic, but if I get too specific, I may give too much away…
