|
|
 
|
GameBunny.com Questions and Answers #2 |
|
GameBunny.com: |
Looking
at the positive side of things – what is the best thing about being
a smaller company and/or indie developer? |
| |
|
|
Stephanie Shaver: |
A few days ago I'd have told
you maneuverability, but Monday and Tuesday we had another small
company show up to look at HeroEngine. To make a long story short,
we all had a hell of a good time together, and it reminded me of
something I sometimes forget...the camaraderie.
I can talk to and interact with
anyone and everyone in my company about what they do. If a tree
doesn't look right, I can probably find the artist who changed it
and, if he isn't under crushing deadlines, get him to fix it. We
socialize together, some of us live together, and we're a very tight-knit
group. Some people are extremely comfortable with this. Some move
on. It's not for everyone. But for the few of us who like it, it's
a very enjoyable experience. It's also a form of maneuverability,
so I guess that is my answer after all. |
|
|
|
|
GameBunny.com: |
How important is having gorgeous
graphics? Can you get by without them in today’s market?
|
| |
|
|
Stephanie Shaver: |
I'm going to be honest here: I think the
graphics of most MMOs are flat, jagged, and ugly. However, the
same games that I think look uglier than a chimpanzee in high
heels and a prom dress have also made enough money to buy a small
island kingdom in the pacific, so what do I know?
I
think more important in an MMO is consistency. You have to
present a united, consistent front when you're building your game.
People will pick up on that. They may not realize it's happening,
but they will. |
|
|
|
GameBunny.com: |
There’s
a 10-ton-gorilla of an MMO called World of Warcraft which currently
dominates the North American MMO market. Your thoughts please on
Blizzard’s mega-successful game - Is it good for the industry as
a whole? Has it set a new bar which must reached by all future MMOs?
|
|
|
|
Stephanie Shaver: |
WoW is awesome for the industry,
the same way Harry Potter and Peter Jackson opened the floodgates
for fantasy in cinema. WoW has made a new wave of MMO players out
of people who previously did not play those games. Those players
are potential customers and playmates.
Blizzard did with WoW what it does with every
product: it took a game style, and improved on the game mechanics.
Everything WoW has done has been done in other games. The key is
that WoW said, "Hey, that thing where you sit around staring
at a spellbook for five minutes? Yeah, that's dumb and boring. Let's
not do that."
We'll never have the advertising budget they
have. We don't have their rabid fanbase. We don't have Scott Kurtz
and the Penny Arcade dudes calling us up at 3 A.M. and breathing heavy into the phone receiver.
But we do have an intense desire to make a fun, easy to play game.
So long as we get the word out and stay true to our design philosophy,
we'll do all right. Of
course, we wouldn't mind WoW's numbers.... |
|
|
|
|
|
That's all she wrote, folks.
A huge thanks to all the roundtable participants! |
|
|
|
|
If you'd like further info...:
Stephanie Shaver, Simutronics,
HERO'S JOURNEY
Interviewer: David 'spridal'
Moore. © 2006 gamebunny.com. 05.May.06
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
