Are we human, or are we Windows Phone 7 Timedancers…?

Timedancer is a Windows Phone 7 app that, according to creator Ali Maggs, brings a whole new interactive experience to the phone, merging point and click gaming with the addictive qualities of a great TV series. 

The game is desgined as a ’5 episode season’, with a complete story arc which the user pieces together over the course of the series and uses a combination of live action video, animation and augmented reality elements.

Set in the near future, Timedancer chronicles the lives of Vivien, Tempus, Ben, Kazuo and Adam, each of whom have their own agendas but whose fates are intertwined across the fabric of time and space through the mysterious Timedancer Corporation.

Ali took time out to give us the details on what it was like developing Timedancer for Windows Phone 7.

“Timedancer was conceived in the early part of 2010, initially as an iPhone/iPad application.

Development stalled while we looked at turning 5:13, a horror film produced by Perantauan Pictures/Befour Media, into an app for the iPad. Sadly, our developer account was never activated, and Apple’s bizarre restrictions on their applications, the terrible development environment (I doubt any developer would use xCode if there was a viable alternative) and the rather curt replies from Steve Jobs who, when we complained, suggested we moved to a different platform, made us decide to do just that.

Next we looked at Android phones but the problem with Android as a platform is the vast number of different hardware (and software, now) configurations. The Android market is clearly very fragmented and is running into the same problems that plagued Windows Mobile 6.5 (and its predecessors). We were going to target Android (and set about targeting just the more capable handsets) when Windows Phone 7 came along.

For us, the platform was perfect. The baseline specifications are terrific, the standard screen resolution means that we can optimize our video files accordingly and produce an app that works well across the board.

As a developer, I love Visual Studio. Being able to combine coding in Visual Studio with the terrific design interface in Expression Blend was the perfect environment for coding this app. Make a code change in Visual Studio, and the change is already replicated in Blend, even if you have both applications running at the same time.

Microsoft themselves were extremely helpful during the development process. I think they were impressed with what we were doing. There doesn’t seem to be anything similar to Timedancer coming to Windows Phone 7, and there’s nothing out there on any existing platform that blends video and interaction with a decent story and an on-going mythology.

Right from the start we had support on hand from Microsoft and, in August, we were able to acquire a handset in order to test our app.

For us, Windows Phone has the benefits of a decent coding environment, with designer tools on hand to simplify the experience. It falls somewhere between the iPhone’s closed platform and the Android’s openness. Sensibility rules when it comes to restrictions and the amount of support we’ve received, and the openness of Microsoft employees on both sides of the pond has enabled us to realize our vision and do something different on a platform that’s embracing doing things in a new way.

This October, we’re bringing Timedancer to Windows Phone 7. It’s the combination of talented film makers and writers, coupled with the benefits of Windows Phone and its development platform that has enabled us to bring a grand idea to potentially millions of users in just a couple of months. For us, Windows Phone offers a new distribution model for independent film makers, and allows us to create a truly interactive experience enabling users to experience a story in their own way. We’re looking forward to developing the idea further in future episodes.”