20 January 2023 , 17:35
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It's funny to think that it's been 10 years since Candy Crush Saga first launched.
The simple yet addictive match-three puzzle game, initially thought by developers King to only have a shelf life of six months, has become ubiquitous with mobile gaming and downloaded more than three billion times in the decade since it first launched on iOS and Android devices. It is simply one of the biggest mobile games ever created.
Mirror Gaming headed to Stockholm, Sweden, to speak to King about why they think Candy Crush's success has endured. King president, Tjodolf Sommerstad, has been with the company since 2011 and has been an integral part of the development of Candy Crush over the past ten years.
“I'm so proud of the celebration we have put on for players like the Candy Cup and the Meghan Trainor event, and all the celebrations we are doing in the game," Tjodolf told Mirror Gaming.
"But also in terms of how well Candy Crush has done. We still have momentum. We have a business around Candy Crush, and we still see the excitement around Candy Crush. We're 10 years in, and I’m like, who knew 10 years ago, that it would still be thriving after a decade?
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“Somehow, we found that sweet spot that makes it relaxing but challenging. You can play candy crush in different modes. You can play it when you're not giving it too much attention but still have fun and make progress, or you can give it a lot of attention and think about how you make each and every move.
“As a puzzle game, it's rewarding and colourful. It's nostalgic in terms of its theme, and it's proven to have worked very well over a long period.”
When asked whether King has ever thought of bringing Candy Crush to other platforms, Tjodolf remarked: “We keep our eyes open. We want to be where the players are. That's our mantra. So, sometimes we do research and have done small expansions and things on other platforms over the years, but we're focused on mobile.”
Vanesa Tate is King’s first Audio Director. Previously Tate worked as a freelance audio director, composer and editor for films, including blockbusters Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, before moving into the Games Industry in 2010, working on the Need For Speed and Project Cars series.
On the festivities, Vanesa said: “This is their [the fans’] celebration as much as ours.
“They have been playing this game for a very long time. We all have been playing Candy Crush. I remember when he came out, and I was playing as well. So, it was, it's an amazing feeling.”
On joining King in 2020, Tate pushed for a revamp of Candy Crush’s audio to have more “filmic soundscapes”.
"My job is to give the players the best sound. We work with the creatives, and we feed off of each other. We talk about what we can do and have ideas. We are very passionate people here.
“There has been a push by everybody in the audio environment in games to go towards a more filmic soundscape. So we always reference films and how we can give players the best audio experience possible. We have slowly, bit by bit, gone into more filmic-sounding audio experiences.”
“I was like, you know what the product is. Let's look. Let's explore every angle. We explore films, soundtracks, classical music – all sorts. Then we were like, Okay. Does it fit the game? Does it work with the game?
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Candy Crush narrative director Abigail Rindo discussed the challenges of crafting a compelling narrative for one of the world's most popular puzzle games.
“Everything we do is so situational. It's all about finding what narrative works best for the experience, and that's where the challenge is.
“The player has experienced 10 years of content created by many, many, many, different developers so they've all got their own interpretations of it.
“What we've tried to do as a narrative team is take that and distillate down to its essence. Take the things that are most important to players that they've experienced and then make them easier to understand – more coherent, more memorable and more interesting. So it is sophisticated enough that we can take it [the narrative] into the next 10 years.
“As long as our players have that appetite, we will find ways to tell them stories in a way that works best for them.”
All that's left is to raise a cupcake to another 10 years of candy-crushing fun.