Q&A: Crytek Budapest Studio Head Kristoff Waardahl Speaks On Fibble

Crytek Budapest is just one of the many great studios that are a part of Crytek but just recently, they released their first IOS game Fibble. We were given the opportunity to get some answers from the Studio Head, Kristoff Waardahl regarding their debut in the market, Fibble itself and their future plans.

So Crytek are known for these crazy Sci-fi shooters but are now looking to get into mobile gaming. Where you always observing the IOS market? And if so, why enter now?

Waardahl: Within the studio we all love playing mobile games and naturally follow this market as well. With the current breathtaking evolution of these devices we felt that the time had come for us to enter this space, as we now have the right platforms to deliver our trademark best-in-class visuals!

Fibble is Crytek’s first IOS game about a cute alien’s quest to find his lost friends after crash landing on Earth. We can honestly say it’s a big departure from what we usually see developed from you but where did the actual idea come from?

Waardahl: Well, you still have the aliens, right? Jokes aside, we like casual puzzle games just as much as the more core stuff, and the mobile platforms presented a great opportunity and challenge for us to be able to create such a game. The core idea is actually quite old within Crytek – we have had these ideas kicking around for some time. As the mobile tech came together we started iterating and evolving the original concept and came up with Fibble.

The game uses a port of the CryEngine that we’ve seen power all of your games. While games from Crytek are always up to a high standard visually, how difficult was it to adhere to the same standard on a mobile device? Were you able to push it to its limits?

Waardahl: Each platform has its own challenges but we are very happy with the results achieved with Fibble. I think we are definitely pushing the limits, but, as always, we are hard at work to push them even further!

With popular physics based games on the App store such as Angry birds and Cut The Rope, what kind of plan did you have going forward to make sure Fibble stood out?

Waardahl: Well, Fibble is a full 3D game with real-time cinematics, so we feel it’s definitely separate from the rest of the crowd in terms of visual fidelity. The core gameplay is also great fun, a nice a mix of dexterity and quick thinking.

After witnessing Fibble’s successful IOS debut, do you plan on developing more IOS titles? Or even spread out to Android as well?

Waardahl: Absolutely!