Interview with John Passfield

John Passfield is an Australian Games industry veteran with over 20 years experience in game design and programming. As well as being the owner the successful IP's, Halloween Harry and Flight of the Amazon Queen, he was also one of the founders of Interactive Binary Illusions, then Krome Studios, Australia's largest independent game studio, and now works as Creative Director at Pandemic. In addition he also creates casual games and has so far released Word Shake and Brainiversity.

Due to the free release of Halloween Harry and Flight of the Amazon Queen, and the fact that I'm a big fan of Flight of the Amazon Queen, I decided to take the opportunity to contact John for to discuss independent games, his original IP, starting studios, casual vs commercial games and the future of the games industry.

Thanks for taking to time to talk to Sumea John.

No worries.

You're a big advocate for indie game development, what do you think are the main barriers for indie game developers at the moment?

Regarding PC indie development I have to say that there are so few barriers these days for me, making indie games now is a million times easier than it was in the eighties and nineties. There are lots of cheap or free development tools, online distribution and marketing is easy and there are millions of people on the web wanting to buy games - the only barrier to indie development is a creative one - having a cool idea to make into a game - but that's always existed and won't go away. As for console indie development the biggest barrier is that the hardware owner has to approve your idea. If they don't approve it, no one gets to see it.

Do you think Microsoft is helping indie developers move onto a mainstream console with the release of the XNA Game Developers Studio?

I haven't had much experience with XNA, but any tools that allow developers to get exposure and experience has got to help. But as I said, the biggest barrier to console development is getting your game out to the masses. To play any Xbox360 built XNA games the end user has to be a subscriber to the XNA Creators Club - this is great for a hobbyist, but if you're hoping to make the next Bejeweled and rake in cash, it's not the best option. It would be better if Microsoft broadened the accessibility and let creators profit from their content.

What is the most important thing indie developers should think about when coming up with a new game idea?

You need to know who your audience is. To do this, ask the question "Why am I making this game?" Is it to make money? Are you making your dream game? Is it for fame? Do you want to express yourself? Are you hoping to attract the attention of a big developer so they'll hire you?

Once you work that out who you're making the game for then you need to tailor your game for that audience. If it's a game for you, then go wild, make something that's "out there", just don't be disappointed if it sells a dozen copies.

After Flight of the Amazon Queen, you must have had some fairly good experience developing adventure games, why didn't you go on to develop another point n click adventure?

Actually, we did have plans for further graphic adventures. Work started on Stereo Jack, what we called a cyber-clunk adventure game, but we couldn't find a publisher willing to fund it to completion. We also had plans for a sequel to Flight of the Amazon Queen, called Return of the Amazon Queen, but again the market for 2D point and click adventures was drying up. This was in the mid to late nineties. We also were very close to signing up a game called Gruesome Castle with a European publisher in 1998 - this would have been a full 3D adventure game, but that publisher pulled out of games and we moved on to other projects. So essentially we tried but the market changed.

Which leads me to my other question. What ever happened to Stereo Jack?

We developed a number of prototypes from "2D point and click" to a real time rendered 3D adventure - all the prototypes looked awesome, especially the 3D one. But I think we were ahead of the curve in terms of the move to 3D, plus publishers couldn't think of adventures as anything but 2D and were fixated on the fact that 2D adventures were old hat. Steve and I co-own the copyright on Stereo Jack, and now that we've gone our separate ways I doubt that it will ever see the light of day.

Getting a publisher to sign on for a game like Halloween Harry or Flight of the Amazon Queen must be a pretty exciting experience. How much of Flight of the Amazon Queen did you have complete before you were able to get some publisher funding? How much did you have to show to get the publishers interest?

With both games we had very advanced playable versions to show off. Amazon Queen was mostly done when we signed with Renegade and the release date was held up only because we spent months working on the full voice version - which was cutting edge back in 1995.

Halloween Harry was initially signed by Mannacom. How was Halloween Harry pitched? What made them sign the deal?

I think offering Mannacom distribution rights on an almost complete game for next to nothing helped them sign the deal! Seriously, we had an almost finished game and all they had to do was pony up a few thousand dollars to help out our lead programmer - so it would have been insane for them to turn it down!

Typically, if a developer was pitching a concept to a publisher how much of the game should be complete before showing it off?

If it's an original intellectual property (IP) and you have no track record then you need a fully playable section of the game that is indicative of the final product. This vertical slice of gameplay should be something that you could happily release to the public as a finished demo.

You've worked on some very successful 2D games. In this era of 3D and mind blowing graphics and physics engines, do you think there is still room for the humble 2D game in the mainstream?

Definitely. 2D seems to be doing great in the casual games space and on the Nintendo DS. I think you'd be hard pressed pushing a 2D game on the PS3 or Xbox360 - but it depends on the type of game. It is rare to find 2D games on the next gen systems.

The PC has always been the main platform for adventure gaming, but do you think there is room for it on other platforms? The DS maybe?

If you expand your definition of what an adventure game is, and look beyond the strict 2D point-and-click genre, then I think consoles have already had some great adventure games. Stuff like Phoenix Wright on DS and the Resident Evil series on PS2 and Gamecube are good examples.

Of course they are nowhere near as prevalent as the adventure genre was on PC in the nineties. But I'm hoping that with the success of the new Sam and Max games on PC and the success of the Wii and DS with their innovative interfaces we may see some of the old classic adventure style games return. I would love to play Sam and Max on my Wii and Monkey Island on the DS!

Are there any plans for sequels to Halloween Harry or Flight of the Amazon Queen?

I personally own the copyright to both Halloween Harry and Amazon Queen, so the decision is up to me. I'm definitely open to doing something with them in the future - but I make no promises!

Would you say your passion lies with casual games or commercial games?

I love both. I like casual games because they're easy to pick up and play, and the price point is great. If I had to compare the two I'd say casual games are like TV shows and commercial games are like cinema release movies. As a developer both game styles are exciting to work with and offer very different challenges.

Any hints as to what you're working on at the moment?

I can't talk about what I do in my day job, but I can talk about my casual games. I've just finished Brainiversity, a brain-training style casual game that will be launching on major portals very soon.

As a founder of Interactive Binary Illusions, then Krome Studios, several IP's to your name and now being Creative Director of Pandemic Studios, there would no doubt be a few people who?d look to you for inspiration, but who do you admire? Are there any mentors you look to for inspiration?

Eric Matthews, co-founder of the Bitmap Brothers and creative director for Sony Computer Entertainment's London and Cambridge studios is somebody I really admire. He gave me my big break in the industry and is a true visionary about the future of games. When he talks, you listen.

You've been part of the development of some of Australia?s largest game studios, what do you bring to a company to contribute to that success?

I'd like to think I bring some creative ideas to the table. And I tend to be very passionate about what I do. I hope that rubs off.

What direction would you like to see the games industry take in the next 5 years?

I hope it stays on the path it's going at the moment where there are games being developed for all tastes. It would be awesome if we can keep the barriers of entry low and let small developers flourish with little fun games, while at the same time let the big companies get a return on investment on their mega-blockbusters!

And now for some of my more general questions. When you get home at night, do you still feel like playing games?

Definitely. But because I have a family the games I play are very different to when I was young and single. A quick bout of Pokemon, Phoenix Wright or Animal Crossing on DS is more my speed. I need something that I can instantly stop playing when the need arises. I also like to have small play times so I can mix my spare time with making casual games. The trick to doing this is to not watch TV anymore. Which is no big deal as games are way more exciting!

What are you playing at the moment?

Pheonix Wright and Pokemon: Diamond on the DS. And I'm still playing through Zelda on the Wii?

What game are you most looking forward to this year?

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree, Mario Galaxy, Resident Evil 4 and My Sims on the Wii.

What is your favourite game of all time?

Zelda: Link's Awakening on Gameboy. I've played it a few times over and I love it. Close second would be either Day of the Tentacle or Monkey Island on PC.

John Passfield, thank you very much for taking the time to participate in this Sumea interview. We wish you all the best in the future, and look forward to seeing what you?ll be bringing out in the near future.

Thanks for speaking with me.