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Size DOS Matter: Mattis Delerud of Team DOS talks to Biz during Dare to be Digital
Key insights
5 takeaways- 01Size Does Matter is a rhythm-action game developed in Unity that combines mechanics from Tetris, Super Hexagon, and Guitar Hero for touchscreen devices.
- 02The development team employs an agile workflow using TestFlight for continuous user testing and rapid iteration based on community feedback.
- 03The game is designed for cross-platform compatibility, with current support for iOS and Android and potential future expansion to PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4.
- 04To circumvent the high costs of licensing mainstream music, the developers source royalty-free soundtracks from emerging electronic artists on platforms like Newgrounds.
- 05The game utilizes a free-to-play model that includes a base package of eight to ten songs, with additional revenue generated through the sale of artist-specific song packs.
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Transcript
[Music] so team dos are making game size does matter there's no pun intended uh and it's a retro arcade rhythm game and it crossed between tetris runner super hexagon and guitar hero for example okay so that's the game and the whole point of the game is to get through these gates by resizing your and moving your block up and down that's all okay the whole game is for the ipad okay and that's for the ipad so um ipad is it uh is it going to be coming to iphone and or and or android tablets hopefully i actually have it here on the phone as well so it's everywhere i will have to play that later yes it's on the google nexus 7. okay it's on the ipad 2 3 and 4. um first yet i think if you think the fbi and hopefully maybe on ps vita
maybe oh la we're not sure hello maybe okay and basically because the control scheme is so easy right it's just up and down the resize we can basically put it on anything we want to okay anything that unt supports we will have it up unit unity is is is the name of an engine that i keep hearing everywhere yeah everyone except for one here yeah so everyone seems to be using it and so why did you why did you choose uh unity for for a rhythm action game that's a good question uh so ug is so ridiculous and easy to get into we have used unity in school we are now graduates so we have used it for three years so we know it in and out it's really easy to deploy so if we would like to have prototype upgrading in three hours we had i was up and running into while for this just you can deploy it on android on ios ps4 via speed blackberry android yeah so so you're making a game that is uh gesture based on a touchscreen device
so swipe based on a touchscreen device and yet you're talking about playstation vita playstation 4. lots of other devices that sort of thing do you think music music games transition well onto different platforms and different control schemes i think they do it all depends on the controllers really when it comes to for example guitar hero you are relying on an external source of control right so that would not work on any other device they have tried it with prints up here if threads on fire keyboard doesn't translate well but for example our game i think that translates pretty well because you only have two sources of movement there's so like and that's it so our game translates pretty well others may not others may not but a big inspiration was super hexagon by that classic fantastic game so ours were just really inspired by that one uh so some translates translations so one of the big appeals i would say the thing that took the money games and turned them into the rhythm action genre thank you for imagining the monument all right don't worry be uh be mania veteran here uh the
uh basically the thing that sort of made that leap was something like a guitar hero coming along and saying play along to your favorite songs so when you're sort of independent like smaller developer that kind of thing and you can't get licensed tracks what does that do to the appeal of the game yes that's a very good question uh we've tackled that quite quite easily because one of the things i listen to a lot of electronica in the music so one of the things that i wanted to do selfishly was to promote artists okay so in this game insights doesn't matter we don't have big artists we never have big artists so i sent out between 50 and 40 males to have to new grounds people to people on this card everywhere we just got a bunch of people to make music for us and now we're working with four different artists and that's how we tackle this we get
small names and try to try to promote them and that's the whole base of the game so is that a contrabass thing like you will that you would promote their music as long as you could use their thing royalty-free essentially basically yeah okay cool um so what's the time frame of release on this one for mobile devices let's say that's hard um right now we have no idea we'll see on sunday how people like the game if they like it it will be out in a couple of months but just being really quick with the developments try to get as fast as possible and we will distribute it using an app called test flight so everyone with an android device can just send me a mail maybe you can post an email or something online they can send me a mail and i can just send them the game basically uh but hopefully as fast as last time okay and uh there's a lot of talk about there's a lot of talk about premium games going south at the moment but music a lot of music games are
uh continuing the sort of premium thing at the moment are you looking to are you putting up a paywall barrier or are you going premium or we are going free to play pretty quiet yes so the plan we have right now is that we are going to provide the users that download the game for free with a base package of songs right now we have eight songs uh maybe we have ten the version that will be released and then you will be able to buy song packs afterwards so if you have a favorite artist say uh skrillex i don't think he'll be in anybody yeah i like his hair yeah yeah if you like to buy his songs yeah if we can get him onboard you can just buy this phillips pack okay or the album pack have those in your game and buy another one if you want and these are small amounts of money of course
Summary
Size Does Matter is a rhythm-action game developed by Team DOS that blends mechanics from titles like Tetris, Super Hexagon, and Guitar Hero. The core gameplay involves players resizing and moving a block to navigate through incoming gates. Designed primarily for touchscreen devices, the game utilizes a simple, gesture-based control scheme that allows for cross-platform compatibility. By leveraging the Unity engine, the developers have successfully prototyped and deployed the game across various platforms, including iOS, Android, and potential future support for consoles like the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4.
A central challenge for independent rhythm games is the inability to license mainstream music tracks. To overcome this, the developers have adopted a collaborative model, partnering with emerging electronic artists from platforms like Newgrounds. This strategy serves a dual purpose: it provides the game with a unique, royalty-free soundtrack while simultaneously offering exposure to smaller, independent musicians. This symbiotic relationship forms the foundation of the game’s audio identity.
The project follows a free-to-play monetization strategy, providing users with a base package of approximately eight to ten songs at no cost. Revenue is generated through the sale of additional song packs, allowing players to purchase specific artist collections or albums. Development remains agile, with the team utilizing distribution platforms like TestFlight to facilitate user testing and rapid iteration. While the final release date remains flexible, the developers aim for a swift launch based on community feedback, positioning the game as a scalable, accessible entry in the mobile rhythm genre.
