Unsatisfied by the experience, Simogo returned to iOS and the development of its most ambitious game yet, Year Walk. The studio's unsuccessful foray away from touchscreens was probably for the best. Year Walk's cold, creepy atmosphere and unusual story was a step in a new direction for the studio.
Meanwhile, Daniel Olsén has shown impressive range by creating the plaintive, mournful soundtrack to Year Walk and the twangy, Ron Grainer-inspired DEVICE 6 score, helping Simogo's sound mature. Flesser calls him Simogo's “troubadour extraordinaire”. Jonathan Eng has helped provide ditties for every single Simogo title, including the adorable 'Dear Mr, UFO' for Kosmo Spin and the Mersey Beat-esque 'Anna' for DEVICE 6. But Simogo also collaborates with musicians from outside the studio. Self-taught, Flesser creates the distinctive audio for Simogo's games, from Beat Sneak Bandit's funky score to Year Walk's atmospheric crunching snow. It was a pitch we made in 2012, which led to long interesting discussions but ended up being put on hold." For Simogo, it's either new or it doesn't get made. "And we really struggled to create something that felt both fresh and natural. "We've made one prototype for a game controlled with a standard controller," says Flesser of a rare experiment beyond touchscreen devices. The studio's ability to tease inventive controls from capacitive glass is exhilarating. Kosmo Spin's embroidered world whirls with a swipe, Bumpy Road's cobbled streets undulate at your fingertips, and Beat Sneak Bandit's titular cat burglar slips past guards with a rhythmic tap. This is evident even in Simogo's early games. It's very refreshing starting with a totally clean slate, every time." So that's why we strive to make that interaction new. "A big part of what we do is trying to make unique things, and the way you interact with a game is the most immediate 'feel' of it for the player. "How a game feels in your hands, is something we consider very important. "We really enjoy 'inventing' new controls," says Flesser. That's how Simogo began, and the desire to find new methods of interaction has defined its work. It was there that he met programmer and designer Magnus Gardebäck, kick-starting a friendship that would result in the duo striking out on their own in 2010. This newfound enthusiasm led Flesser to take a role at Malmö's Southend Interactive in 2007, producing art for XBLA titles like R-Type Dimensions and ilimilo. And lots of games showed the way too, with new and fun ways to play: Ouendan, Pac Pix, Yoshi's Touch & Go, Another Code." "It felt so fresh! Suddenly there were lots of possibilities to create your own rules about interaction. "I didn't feel a great need to create games before the DS," explains Flesser. Then, in 2004, the Nintendo DS arrived with its touch-sensitive screen and a new set of inputs. In the early 2000s, while working as an animator on movies and commercials, Simon Flesser felt that games were in a pretty uninteresting place. Go back a decade, however, and the art, design and audio half of Simogo wasn't even interested in making games. Bumpy Road's clever controls and warm art style are indicative of Simogo's early work. It highlighted Simogo's current position as one of the most exciting studios on the planet. Indeed DEVICE 6 recently earned either a nomination or an honourable mention in every single category at the upcoming Independent Game Festival, an achievement unprecedented in the history of the awards. But over the last 12 months the studio's work has dramatically evolved, resulting in two of last year's most creatively diverse iOS games, Year Walk and DEVICE 6. Until recently the duo of Simon Flesser and Magnus 'Gordon' Gardebäck created games like Kosmo Spin, Bumpy Road and Beat Sneak Bandit - punchy little mobile titles with clever control schemes and adorable mascots. Swedish developer Simogo had a hell of a 2013. "If we had a mission statement now, it would probably say something like, "We make what we feel like making.'"
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