I just got back from E3 in LA, and it was really awesome.
The theme for 2015 games is "multiplayer cooperation". Pretty awesome, especially since Cyber Heist fits right into that mix. I'm really glad that games are trending in this direction, because video games have a much greater potential to bring people together in positive ways than what is currently being met.
One of the highlights of the trip was spending time with Andrew Witts, former team member of HackNHide. Andrew is now one of the lead designers on Rainbow Six: Siege, which looks quite excellent. Destructible walls and environments, hostage control, all kinds of good stuff that makes it seem like it'll be a really stellar game. Andrew apparently fought hard for the destructible environment, which is what seems to make the game stand out from other games of the same genre. It's really good to see team members succeed, and Andrew is really taking that to the next level.
The purpose of my trip was to help promote Vinyl, another game from our cohort in the Entertainment Arts and Engineering program. Vinyl was chosen to compete in the college-level design competition, and got a spot on the floor at E3 for people to come by and see the game. We were floored by how much positive response we got, and how many people not only came by to play the game, but gave us incredible feedback and really liked it. Vinyl didn't end up winning the competition, but the experience was definitely worth it and I anticipate future EAE teams competing as well.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Friday, June 6, 2014
Interview with InnoGames
I just got done with a phone interview as a designer at InnoGames for their free-to-play browser game Tribal Wars, and it was a pretty good experience.
Tribal Wars is an always-on freemium browser game, similar to a game that Janice and I played while we were dating called Travian. Its actually a pretty solid genre that I've had a soft spot for a very long time. Browsergames are accessible anywhere, and its kind of surprising that they're not more prominent in game culture than they currently are with the really easy access to the internet via smartphones.
InnoGames appears to be making a very smart move in that direction, though. For all of their browsergames, it looks like they're developing accompanying apps for smartphones, not just relying on phone browsers. I remember playing Travian with Janice and being completely thrilled to be able to manage my account from my phone. For an always-on experience, having an always-on device is just that more incredible. I seriously can't figure out why this genre isn't more popular.
In either case, the interview went really well. We talked about design of both Tribal Wars and Cyber Heist, and what I might do to improve on either of the games. The most interesting question of the interview was what changes I would make to Cyber Heist to make it into a freemium game. I mentioned making DLC map packs, cosmetic banners for players searching for partners, and perhaps in-game cosmetics for people who want video streaming to look cooler.
InnoGames is in Hamburg, and it'd be quite the experience to move there and work in Germany for a while. I actually have quite a fondness for the German people, not only from my heritage but also because they seem to really enjoy the same things in games that I love. Some of my favorite games of all time are the board games that regularly come out of Germany, and it'd be really cool to work there.
Tribal Wars is an always-on freemium browser game, similar to a game that Janice and I played while we were dating called Travian. Its actually a pretty solid genre that I've had a soft spot for a very long time. Browsergames are accessible anywhere, and its kind of surprising that they're not more prominent in game culture than they currently are with the really easy access to the internet via smartphones.
InnoGames appears to be making a very smart move in that direction, though. For all of their browsergames, it looks like they're developing accompanying apps for smartphones, not just relying on phone browsers. I remember playing Travian with Janice and being completely thrilled to be able to manage my account from my phone. For an always-on experience, having an always-on device is just that more incredible. I seriously can't figure out why this genre isn't more popular.
In either case, the interview went really well. We talked about design of both Tribal Wars and Cyber Heist, and what I might do to improve on either of the games. The most interesting question of the interview was what changes I would make to Cyber Heist to make it into a freemium game. I mentioned making DLC map packs, cosmetic banners for players searching for partners, and perhaps in-game cosmetics for people who want video streaming to look cooler.
InnoGames is in Hamburg, and it'd be quite the experience to move there and work in Germany for a while. I actually have quite a fondness for the German people, not only from my heritage but also because they seem to really enjoy the same things in games that I love. Some of my favorite games of all time are the board games that regularly come out of Germany, and it'd be really cool to work there.
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