Jungalist caught a post E3, post Puzzle Quest 2 interview with game development veteran, Steve Fawkner, for a three-part feature at Kotaku AU. Kotaku AU readers provided a great range of questions for the Infinite Interactive CEO and Lead designer that touch on the big issues, news, and features concerning Puzzle Quest, Galactrix, and the recently released Puzzle Quest 2. From the Kotaku AU interview...
Why do you think Galactrix didn't do as well as Puzzle Quest?
(Steve F.) We kind of put that down to a couple of things. Firstly, the move to a sci-fi setting. I think sci-fi, for a game of that sort, doesn’t have the same broad appeal that a fantasy setting did.
Secondly, the kind of mechanics behind the game were a little harder to grasp. For casuals, and even some of the hardcore folks, didn’t grasp those mechanics as quickly as they should've done.
Additionally, for the third installment of the feature, Steve provides some of his thoughts on the current state of game development in Australia. It's a hot topic for an industry gradually making its way out of the mayhem caused by global financial crisis, and he describes how tough it is for the industry still when there's simply not much investor money going around.
Steve is enthusiastic about the independent games development space and the opening markets and opportunities it provides to smaller indie developers, however, he echoes the sentiments of many that some of the popular markets are simply too busy and noisy (like the Apple appstore), whilse Facebook is still a rich opportunity for developers who are ready to provide a more compelling game experience than the current offerings...
...Facebook has already had its first verve, its first wave of applications. I think there’s another one coming on Facebook, with better quality games. The games on there at the moment are lacking in terms of basic game design principles.
But they’re good enough to make a lot of money, so when the second wave of good games hits Facebook, there’s going to be a huge opportunity for indies there.
A fantastic feature from Kotaku AU, highly well worth the read! Head on over to Kotaku AU from the links below:
Part 1: Steve Fawkner On Time-Travelling Pirates
Part 2: Steve Fawkner On Improving A Classic
Part 3: Steve Fawkner On The Future Of Aussie Studios