Look out behind youthe zombie apocalypse is upon us!
We caught up with Adrian and Naomi to learn the story behind the app.
Where did the idea for the app come from?
Were you trying to solve a problem you’d experienced, or did the inspiration come from somewhere else?
In other wordsI wanted a running game, not a gamified running app.
and it all came from there.
After you came up with the idea, what was the next step?
Naomi:First we put it on Kickstarter!
How did you choose which platforms to target and which to ignore or wait on?
Adrian:We went for both iOS and Android.
What was your biggest roadblock and how did you overcome it?
Naomi:For me I guess it’s beenand continues to bethe demand for more and more content.
Adrian:Two big roadblocks stand out for me.
called ZR Advance and giving backers a unique username and password to unlock it).
In the end, very few people asked for the refund, which was very kind of them.
But yeah, the lesson is that you shouldn’t pre-sell apps.
The second roadblock was related to the launch of Zombies, Run!
Season 2, where we completely rewrote both apps and changed their behavior.
There was a lot of firefighting that month, and it changed the way we do QA and testing.
What was launch like for you?
The app zoomed straight into the top ten paid apps, and that was at $7.99!
It was such a relief to have it out and to have people enjoy it.
The money didn’t hurt either.
so I get a chance to recover before launch time!
How do you handle user requests and criticisms effectively?
Naomi:Six to Starthas a great team who handle user feedback.
Adrian:We read and respond to every single email we receive from playersover 37,000 of them.
Now, how do you split time between developing new features and managing existing ones?
Adrian:It’s a real balancing act.
These guys are the early adopters and like getting new features and options.
Our second audience is the constant influx of new players who are just getting into the game.
Naomi:I guess that writing the story tends to be both of these things at once!
I’m always thinking about new ideas for episode setups and new things to do with the characters.
What advice would you give to others that want to take on a similar project?
Naomi:Writers, make friends with technologists.
Technologists, make friends with writers.
We two breeds are not so different.
We can make wonderful things together.
And a game like Zombies, Run!
can be extremely easilyutterly ruinedby bad writing.
Honestly, I wish someone else would come along and make a fitness game with a great story!
other than “um, watch Game of Thrones on the treadmill maybe?Iunno.”
When Zombies, Run!
Almost three years later, and still no-one else has even come close.
Have someone you’d like to see featured?
