Experimental Game Dev Podcast Show

Podcast Interview: Aquaria Developer and 2007 IGF Grand Prize Winner

Alec, from Bit Blot games and TIGSource Forums, talks about the journey from starting out as an eight-year old kid indie…all the way up to developing the 2007 IGF Seumas McNally Grand Prize Winner game…Aquaria

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/aquaria-podcast.mp3

or listen to it here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/dewplayer.swf?mp3=http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/aquaria-podcast.mp3

Here is a short video of Aquaria…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40cXjcz-9c]

Show notes:
0:00-5:00
Introduction, from Bit Blot Games
Talks about playing games as a kid
Got a programming book and worked on small games
Biggest game worked on was an RPG that would get restarted every few years
Got into indie scene as a kid. Then did some work for small indie studios
Not-so-great feeling when certain games got cancelled
Worked on a casual game with someone else
Worked on a game with girlfriend…an underwater adventure and eventually would be a precursor to Aquaria

5:00 – 10:00
Finished the game and wanted to see how to sell the game. But was not too interested in the marketing aspect.
Was on Big Fish Games.
Feels that marketing flows from a quality game
Started a freeware team in high school
Team management experience in high school.
Vision to start own company and do games
Didn’t feel inspired by the quick 2-month game finished
Sat down and came up with changes in development/quality process for future games
Came out with a prototype that was the seed for Aquaria

10:00 – 15:00
Continued working on it after meeting up with a new partner, Derek
Met partner after doing music for a parody game that Derek was working on…
Worked on Aquaria
Had to revise game 3-4 times … and iterated to get it done
Game was inspired by Action RPG genre
The story was boring when replayed it…so had to redo story
The importance of story to gameplay
The value of story in games…being able to enhance the experience
Graphics changed through the iterations

15:00 – 20:00
Music changed during iterations; had a composer. Then wrote some music by himself…then changed that to be more unique.

Sent to other game developers to get feedback during play-testing phase

Food system added in a later iteration.

The IGF Submission was the one with pure gameplay.

20:00 – 25:00
After played it, felt a little empty.
So added more characters and items.
Cooking system towards the end
Support/side system that gives you power-ups
Pressure of being told to release early
Knew that if released game early, it would be terrible
Last 10% takes longer than 90% of the game
Pressure to get stuff ready was challenging, had to submit to IGF in December 2006…and had to debug some major issues
Had a lot of interest, so making a great game…it was enough marketing to make a game a success

25:00 – 30:00
May do advertising in the future for the game, not sure
Wants to make a special boxed version of the game…as a collector’s item
Wants to make a soundtrack CD later on
Have a mac version that is going to come out soon
Subtle hints about the next game
Talks about doing a game that can hit a broader audience
Not necessarily a casual game, but something that is accessible to most folks

30:00 – 35:00
Top 3 lessons from Aquaria
Feels more confident now
Feels more relaxed
Feels better with partner….works well with Derek
Thinking about sending prototypes to testers and other game designers more early in the game design process

35:00 – 40:00
How definition has changed from an 8 year old to IGF Grand Prize winner
Since won IGF Grand Prize, more confident about abilities
Indiegamer.com and Gamedev.net as references for indies
forums.tigsource.com … enjoys the feedback section there

40:00 – 45:00
Community Projects at tigsource.com
Game competitions at the site too
Talking Online vs. going to GDC
GDC was cool because met folks doing games as a living
Skype every few weeks with various game developers
Favorite Indie Games…
Mr. Robot
Chocolate Castle

Some freeware stuff is nice

45:00 – 50:00
Where he sees the future of Indie game development going
Top 3 lessons learned so far being an indie…
1) Don’t give up
2) Work Hard
3) Have fun

Take care,
Action

Podcast Interview: Mobile Game Developer of Anna’s Secret…

Jan, Developer of the IGF Mobile Finalist Anna’s Secret talks about developing the game.

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/annassecret-podcast.mp3

or listen to it here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/dewplayer.swf?mp3=http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/annassecret-podcast.mp3

Show Notes:
0:00 – 5:00
Description of Anna’s Secret and some of the mobile design features including geocaching

5:00 – 10:00
Educational goals of the game
Interesting features and unique design properties in the mobile design space

10:00 – 15:00
More ways and ideas to leverage the “mobility” aspect in the mobile game design space
User testing for Anna’s Secret and surprises encountered
Location Detection

15:00 – 20:00
Future mobile games that he would like to develop…mainly games that leverage location much better
Multi-player games in the mobile space
Developing a multi-player version of Anna’s Secret
Some of the features of a multi-player Anna’s Secret

20:00 – 24:00
Ubiquitous Gaming
Ideas for future mobile games
Educational Mobile Games
Suggestions for making games for the Mobile Space…like leveraging climate changes in mobile game design

Take care,
Action

Podcast Interview: George from PiEyeGames…

George, from PiEyeGames, talks about developing games as an indie and some of this experiences as a console developer.

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/pieyegames-podcast.mp3

or listen to it here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/dewplayer.swf?mp3=http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/pieyegames-podcast.mp3

Show Notes:
0:00 – 5:00
Talks about getting started as an indie

5:00 – 20:00
Talks about developing games as an indie
Development process
Design of games including Dark Side, Scavenger, and Circulate
Putting games on the portals

20:00 – 25:00
Future direction for games

25:00 – 28:00
Console development vs. indie development
Evolution of game design

Take care,
Action
Action

Podcast Interview: Developing the browser-based MMO Horse Isle

Joe, from Horse Isle, talks about the challenges and opportunities of developing a casual browser-based MMO. Joe discusses developing a flash-based MMO.

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/horseisle-podcast.mp3

or listen to it here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/dewplayer.swf?mp3=http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/horseisle-podcast.mp3

Show Notes:
0:00 – 5:00 — Introduction and description of the browser-based game called Horse Isle

5:00 – 10:00 — Development needed and testing process to release the game

10:00 – 15:00 — Description of how the world works and the underlying technical design of the game including PHP architecture

15:00 – 20:00 — Benefits of rolling own backend server vs. commercial backend server. Future development and enhancements to the game. Techniques for marketing the game.

20:00 – 25:00 — Game/Community limitations based on targeting an under-13 audience. Issues with updating a game that is always live….and having a test server to ensure stable releases. Time spent on technical vs. business issues related to the game.

25:00 – 30:00 — Social elements of running a game. Lessons learned from developing a browser-based MMO. Suggestions for other indie game developers out there.

Take care,
Action

Revised Gamma Bros Podcast…

Hey folks,

Thanks for all the great feedback about the podcast. One main theme was that the podcast had too many “clicks”…and so I’ve improved the podcast so that the hard clicks have been removed.

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/gammabros-podcast-revised.mp3

Take care,
Action

Podcast Interview: IGF Finalist and Gamma Bros Developer…

Part of the Gamma Bros development team talks about developing the game, benefits of using Flash…and their vision for their studio…

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/gammabros-podcast-revised.mp3

or listen to it here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/dewplayer.swf?mp3=http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/gammabros-podcast-revised.mp3

Feel free to add our new Indie Game Podcast Widget that allows your readers to easily access our podcast library…
You can grab it here…

Thanks again for listening to the show and feel free to send over comments and suggestions on ways to improve the show.

We’re also looking for more interviewees…if you’ve developed a game and want to contribute back to the indie game dev community….send us an e-mail ( support at indiegamepod dot com) and we’ll go from there.

Take care,
Action

Podcast Interview: IGF Finalist and Toribash Developer…

Hampa, developer of the IGF Finalist Game — Toribash (check out trailer of the next version of Toribash here) … talks about developing an innovative game, managing a game development team, and growing a game community.

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/toribash-podcast.mp3

or listen to it here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/dewplayer.swf?mp3=http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/toribash-podcast.mp3

Feel free to add our new Indie Game Podcast Widget that allows your readers to easily access our podcast library…
You can grab it here…

Thanks again for listening to the show and feel free to send over comments and suggestions on ways to improve the show.

We’re also looking for more interviewees…if you’ve developed a game and want to contribute back to the indie game dev community….send us an e-mail ( support at indiegamepod dot com) and we’ll go from there.

Show Notes:
0:00 – 5:00
Introduction

Talks about developing Toribash, his first game

Now there are 8 developers working on the game

Signed up for a game competition and developed Toribash for it

Toribash’s Viral Growth

5:00 – 10:00
Developing tools/ideas to help empower the community

YouTube of Fight Scenes/Gameplay and its importance

Other ways to help create the game community…
* The creation of clans
* Fighting Leages, etc.
* Competing with Clans, etc.

10:00 – 15:00
Using Forum Signatures to help promote the game

Using dynamic signatures

Physics Engine used for the Game, Open Dynamics Engine (ODE)

Benefits of using Physics to make a game

Develop on OS X, but release first on Windows

Developing a virtual world around the game

The game interface is extremely difficult, but it still gained popularity…
the reasons why that happened

Now they are doing usability tests to find ways to make the game more accessible

15:00 – 20:00
If change physics of the game, it would change the player’s fighting styles developed over the year. So the team can change everything BUT physics.

Changing the game mechanics would be really hard

Next Release will have some new game modes that the hard core gamers will enjoy

List of viral concepts used to promote the game including signatures, contests, and sharing content

20:00 – 25:00
Game Development Process…come up with an idea, and develop it as quick as possible
A lot of iteration, a lot of prototyping, and trying it on real players

Usually do most of the prototyping alone…but once it’s done, sends it out right away

Usually 10 iterations to find a solid prototype

Recommends playing lots of games, read up on books, and do experimentations to
help improve game design/development skills

Favorite Indie Games

Prefers gameplay over usability

Goals for his game studio, the goal of being a major studio in Singapore

Talks about the Singapore Game Scene including many American companies there like
EA, Linden Labs, etc.

25:00 – 30:00
Other indie game dev studios as role-models…such as
Introversion

Also respects ID Software

Spends about 50% of time on technical and 50% of the time on promotion

Noticed that someone developed Toribash fight scenes in Second Life

Since 50% of time is business, most of the time spent on managing developers, paying
the bills, etc.

Benefits of going through a publisher…to getting on a console

30:00 – 35:00
Developing on a console would take away focus from the PC app…so if did a console
app, it would be after releasing version 3.0 in October 2007. That version will be
feature complete.

Does not reveal features until release a game…so that folks do not complain if a feature gets cut.

Issues with working in an 8-person team…
It takes time to make sure that everyone is happy
Must make sure that folks have something to do at all times
Having a good CVS system is important
Having an update of what folks are working on…via e-mail
Finds that working in a team is more fun than expected to be

The top 3 lessons learned…
Trusting people has been very helpful to success

35:00 – 36:00
Advice for indies out there…
Make a game that you think would be fun to work on 3 years later

Should create a game that would like to play yourself and be really fun to do

Take care,
Action

Podcast Widget Released…

Hey folks,

We now have an option where you can add a widget to your site/blog that allows your readers/visitors to easily check out the podcasts of the Indie Game Dev Podcast show.

You can grab it here…

You can find a sample of the widget in the right side bar below.

Take care,
Action

Experimental Gameplay Workshop Founder and Braid Developer Interview…

Jonathan, founder of the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at GDC and developer of the game Braid talks about game design…

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/braid-podcast.mp3

or listen to it here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/dewplayer.swf?mp3=http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/braid-podcast.mp3

Be sure to add your game blog, game site, or indie game to our Indie Game Dev wiki…

Show Notes:
0:00 – 5:00 Minutes…
Introduction, Experimental Game Design Workshop Founder

Started out with simple games and was a hobbyist initially.

Started out as an indie in 6th grade

Started own company in 1996

5:00 – 10:00
Challenges of starting a company
Signed with TEN
Created a mult-player sci-fi game
Took an extra 1.5 years to finish the game
Did a sequel for the game

10:00 – 15:00
Suggestions for indie game developers…
take an incremental approach to development. Now you can make a simple game on the web
and put Google Ads next to it.

Or can make a simple game and sell it for 5 dollars.

Had a complex interface for first game, now realize that interface simplicity is important.

Noticed that another game called Arc that was very simple…was having a lot more success…even though
our company’s games had better production values.

15:00 – 20:00
Mentions how Snood felt like an anamoly.
Same with Runescape. Does not have high production values, but still very popular

Started the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at GDC because noticed that there were these
folks doing interesting experiments with games

20:00 – 25:00
Big waves at GDC…
Mid 90s: Online gaming

Late 90s: Hollywood in Games

2004-2006: Mobile Games and MMOs

Current Wave: MMOs

Talks about having a “prototype mindset”…a mentality where trying to explore
and learn things

Will work on a prototype for 1-2 weeks and then put them away for a while

25:00 – 30:00
After puts the prototype away, will come up with more ideas during the away time

When you prototype, don’t do it when you need to have a successful idea. Prototype when
you are on another project and doesn’t matter how it comes out. Maybe it will come out
good or not.

While doing main development, will take 1-2 weeks off to prototype and come up with ideas

30:00 – 35:00
Details about Braid Design and the development/exploration process

Talks about working on Braid in Thailand

35:00 – 40:00
Experimental Gameplay Workshop Discussion

40:00 – 45:00

Talks about some interesting games found at Experimental Gameplay Workshop…
Rod Humble’s “The Marriage”

Future of gaming

45:00 – 50:00
Production values vs. Gameplay

Games as Expression

50:00 – 55:00
Social Gaming vs. Single-player gaming
Opinions on Alternate Reality Gaming

Talk about favorite games
like..
Counterstrike
Everyday Shooter

55:00 – 60:00
Favorite games like…
Gammas Bros

Talks about the future of his game design…
and some of the concepts behind his upcoming game

60:00 – 65:00
Talks about initial design process
vs.
current design process

Last words for indie game developers out there…
keep doing what you’re doing
It would be nice to see indies that are doing it because they want to be independent

Take care,
Action

Stair and Truck Dismount Game Developer Interview…

Jetro, from Skinflake Games, talks about developing the famed Stair Dismount and Truck Dismount games.

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/skinflake-podcast.mp3

or listen to it here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/dewplayer.swf?mp3=http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/skinflake-podcast.mp3

Be sure to add your game blog, game site, or indie game to our Indie Game Dev wiki…

Take care,
Action
Free Kids Games
Coloring Pages