Recently we had an opportunity to speak with Raz Yehuda, the CEO at ApeAleGames about The Hidden Caverns of Nahala

Please share with us the backstory of what motivated you to create this app.

The Hidden Caverns of Nahala is the sequel adventure of The Hidden Treasure of Nahala. Nahala is the name of the countryside village I was born at. It was a magical place in the eyes of a child, where each door and path led to wonderful mysterious worlds. I guess this child was my biggest motivation, wanting to share his imaginary world. It was only natural to name this project after that place.

What features do you hope to roll out to your app in the future?

Without exposing any details of our new project, I can only say that though in Nahala Trilogy the player is a soloist in the world created, the next project includes multiplayers environments and game play that will give our fans a whole new game adventure. I do believe the greatest journeys are those taken by oneself, yet some are better taken accompanied.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of the creation of this app?

There have been countless rewarding moments during the creation, but if I have to choose only one it will have to be the first installation of the beta version on my device. Recently I became a father and in a way, this moment of seeing the app was like giving birth to my vision.

Do you have any recommendations or advice for others wanting to create a mobile app?

First - be ready to live the paradox: making a dream come true, must follow sleepless nights. If you think it's an easy journey, you better not take the first step.

Second - be ready to live the cliché: the higher the obstacle, the bigger the satisfaction. Any complex project faces crises along its birth process; some harder than others. Every joyful moment has days of frustration before it. Yet, the end of the road makes it worth it all.

How did you decide which platforms to release your app on and do you plan on releasing your app to other platforms?

Our goal is to reach as many users as possible. The Hidden Treasure of Nahala was released to ios and android and these days we are working on an android version for The Hidden Caverns of Nahala. For our next projects we have chosen a different framework, in which we could reach most of our fans more efficiently.

How is your app different than the rest of the market? Which unique need does it fill?

We were focused on creating unique player experience. There are several similar games with quite high quality, but we wanted to improve the user interface and experience while playing. We tried to achieve this goal by using videos and sounds that increase the interactivity of the app.

What is the coolest or most innovative feature of your app?

We have decided to give the animation high priority, wanting it to be both realistic and surrealistic. Our lead was to mix worlds, play with the mind to wonder whether it's real or fake world around it. We composed a theme to support that idea and used the hang instrument, which sounds are native yet complex to increase the hypnotic affect. Lately, one of our fans wrote us: 'your game didn't make me forget about the real world, for a few days it became the only one'. That was the biggest compliment and gave us the feeling our goal was achieved.

What surprised you most in your journey to create this app?

I was truly amazed seeing all the creativity around. When doing market research I found dozens of amazing apps made by indie developers and I have worked with creative people that made me admire the bounded connection between technology and art.

Which other mobile apps or technology have inspired you?

My favorites are: The Room, The Lost City and Forever Lost. These are really great apps. They are sophisticated and full of respect for the players' intelligence. Even though most of Nahala design was ready when I first encountered each one of these apps, in a way I can say they somehow inspired it.

You can view The Hidden Caverns of Nahala here