The state of iOS game development, according to the creators of Alto’s Odyssey

Enlarge / Alto's Odyssey on an iPhone 7. (credit: Samuel Axon)

2015's Alto's Adventure was a surprise hit. It launched on iOS as a premium game with no microtransactions, and it landed at the top of App Store charts all over the world. It was developed by Team Alto, a collaboration between a Canadian company called Snowman and artist Harry Nesbitt, which had not previously published a game. Its sequel, Alto's Odyssey, launched this week to positive reception once again-the game has a 91 on Metacritic.

On iOS, Adventure has no in-app purchases (IAP) other than a physical gear store that is unrelated to gameplay. On a platform loaded with free-to-play games that aren't actually so free-to-play thanks to complex microtransaction schemes, only a few games achieve the kind of success Adventure has without IAP. Odyssey doesn't have any IAP either, though the Android version of Adventure does.

Ars spoke with three key members Team Alto-creative director Ryan Cash, producer Eli Cymet, and designer/developer Jason Medeiros-about what's new in Odyssey, what iOS game development looks like right now, what implementing Metal support for the first time was like, how Android distribution differs, and more.

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