This week I have a special for you, my ever faithful readers: an interview with three of the coolest online game designers.  I interviewed Margaret Wallace, Tom Rassweiler, and Shane Culp.  Margaret Wallace is the CEO of Rebel Monkey, Inc and has been in the online game industry for thirteen years.  Tom Rassweiler is Manager of Game Development for Arkadium, and his most recent project is a fishing game for National Geographic Channel’s Hooked, Reel ‘Em In. He has been in the industry for about six years. Shane Culp’s most recent position was as Director of Development, Online Games at MTV Networks in NYC.  He left MTV Networks a few months ago, has been doing contract work  for other clients since, and has been making PC games for ten years.

Below I have a little Q&A I did with the developers.

1. In your opinion, what genre of games will see the most growth in popularity in the coming months?

Margaret:  I think that right now Facebook games hold a lot of promise in terms of being able to establish an immediate audience. Of course, being dependent on the Facebook platform leaves you a bit vulnerable, what happens if they suddenly change their policies or access to your games for example, but having a presence on Facebook for most content creators is an essential part of any online strategy.

Tom: It may be more than a couple months out, but I think that motion controllers have a long period of growth ahead, especially since  Sony and Microsoft are both releasing their own versions of the Wii-type motion controller.  This is not to say that the standard couch-potato game controllers won’t still be used, but there is still a lot of
space for game developers to explore, and new ways to get people seamlessly engaged with the game experience.  In the computer space, I think the OnLive system that is being released is very exciting.  It could re-invigorate pc gaming because it would allow developers to develop for one platform and have it distributed to all computers,
tvs and hand-held devices.  It could also cut down on piracy so it would increase the profit margins for games.  In the pure online space, I think the introduction of micro transaction systems that any amateur or professional game developer can use will spur further growth and creativity within games.  The main problem to date with
being a small independent flash game developer has been monetizing a great game. Many have tried to do this through ads, but it was hard to make real money.  Micro transactions, however, could be a very successful way for developers to cash in on great simple addicting flash games.
Shane: It seems that a bunch of casual companies are trying to do casual MMOs or virtual worlds, and online multiplayer. Those are huge buzzwords right now but there are very few success stories in the field.  I’m afraid that the market is going to be flooded with them, and there is really only a market for a few of them to be successful. I’ve had some experience with one on one real time multiplayer at MTV, and the results turned out to be fairly disappointing. I’m a bit more interested in the turn based multiplayer games I’ve seen on Facebook.  I’m thinking they make much more sense with people’s busy lives these days. I also feel there will be another shift back to fun, simple single player experiences that are designed well.

2. What is the coolest advancement in gaming you’ve seen since you began working in this industry?

Margaret: There are so many things to consider. On a very simple level, increased broadband penetration in the US and across many parts of the world have really made it possible to deliver all sorts of fun experiences online. WhenI started making online games, if your application was 1 MB, you were pushing it. Can you imagine? Those sorts of  extreme restrictions just don’t exist anymore. I am also excited about what online gaming platforms like Monkey Wrench offer because it makes it possible for anyone to build their own gaming world or deploy really deep real-time and asynchronous multiplayer games on Facebook or anywhere they want online. Monkey Wrench supports traditional head-to-head games and these team-based co-operative games like you see on CampFu, which I believe is totally unique for casual gamers.
Tom: It’s not a technical advancement, but I think the coolest thing to happen to gaming since I started is the broadening of the user base. When we started, people were still shocked that women actually played online games. Then over the course of the last several years, women and older gamers have become major parts of the industry.  Arkadium develops games successfully for such diverse demographics as those found on AARP, myYearbook, Seventeen, ESPN, and National Geographic, and we’re constantly broadening that reach.  We recently did quick
questionnaires with people walking in front of our building about what games they play.  Only a few of them said they didn’t play games, but then later admitted to playing games like Solitaire and Sudoku online.  There were many women between the ages of 21 and 35 who said they love video games, and went on to describe Wii or online titles. This whole section of gamers didn’t really exist 6 years ago.
Shane: The coolest advancement I’ve seen is sort of a regression. Online games and downloadable content, through channels such as Steam, XBLA, PSN, WiiWare and the iPhone, have made it possible for a small group of developers to reach a wide enough audience so games that take risks have become commercially viable again. This has lead to some much needed innovation and originality that due to cost constraints large publishers and large developers are not willing to undertake. Alien Hominid, Braid, the BIT.TRIP series, PixelJunk’s Eden and Topple are all great games that have come out of this new independent spirit. I look forward to many more.

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