Hare figuring out iCannon Fodder

You asked and he listened - old-school developer Jon Hare is working out whether Cannon Fodder and Mega-lo-Mania can work on iPhone and iPad and other smartphone-related devices.

"Yes, I am looking into both possibilities at the moment," Hare told Beefjack.

And that's not all:

"I am working on several original games on iOS, Steam and Sony Minis right now," he said. "It's the best opportunity there has been for a while. A lot of the younger developers are very lucky to be starting out now. It is the best chance they have had to make original games for 15 years.

"I designed or co-designed, and had published, 14 original game concepts – not including sequels – between 1985 and 1995... but I have not had one original game that was my idea from the start published since that date, because there has been no market for it.

"What is staggering," he added, "is that we had eight number-one games at Sensible, and still, the moment we hit 1995, no one – except Warner Games and Virgin – had the balls to back us based purely on our track record. But now, with cheaper platforms to develop for, people, at last, are open to original games again."

Hare's next game will be an iOS, Minis, Bada and Android resurrection of Bitmap Brothers' classic Speedball 2 next month.

He's also working on a new word game "I am confident will be a success everywhere from Easter onwards".

"And then," he went on, "we are looking at a few more Bitmap games, maybe some old Sensible games, maybe a new football game... maybe something totally new again."

"A balance of old and new sounds like a sensible way forward."