| MSN Home | Hotmail | Web Search | Shopping | Money | People & Chat | |||||||||
| |
 |  |
|
55395 Players Online
Take me to the game |
|
| Behind-the-Scenes Interview: How Online Card Games Are Created | |
|
What are the steps and challenges to developing successful online card games? For the answer, we went straight to the source and asked Trevor Talbird, Product Manager at Expert Software
, the company that created Bicycle card games
. Trevor gives us a glimpse into how online games are created and shares his views on working in the games industry.
Here's the scoop!
Zone: What is your official job title and what department/division do you work for?
Trevor Talbird: I am a Product Manager for Expert Software in the Product Development department. Zone: Describe your job and the part of Bicycle card games you were in charge of. Trevor Talbird: My job is producing software, seeing titles from conception to completion. My focus is primarily entertainment titles. I am basically in charge of making sure that my projects meet the deadlines, guiding the development of my titles, and putting all of the components of the software (art, music, code, etc.) together. Zone: What do you like most about your job? Trevor Talbird: I am a game enthusiast, and that definitely makes me interested in my work. I have always enjoyed having a hand in the game development process. Zone: What do you like most about working in a gaming community? Trevor Talbird: As a rule, people in the game industry are business-minded and dedicated to producing the best-possible products for the public. They also are aware that the products are games, and the best way to produce a game that is fun is to have fun while making it. I think that this makes for a more productive working environment. Zone: Was it difficult to take a card game and re-create it as an online game? What were some of the challenges? Was there one particular card game that was more difficult to create than others? Trevor Talbird: Most card games are inherently multiplayer games, and therefore not too difficult to translate to the online experience. Of course, the only games that don't translate easily to multiplayer formats are Solitaire games. Someone who hasn't seen Bicycle Solitaire online may be wondering how to play a one-player game with other people. The way we solve this problem is to allow all of the players in a game to play the same hand of solitaire, independently of each other. While they are playing, they are able to chat with each other, and even view other players' hands. In this way, players can "race" each other, compete for the best time and/or score, or even get tips from more experienced players. Some of the people here jokingly refer to the multiplayer solitaire as "multi-taire." Zone: We noticed that you incorporated many game variations. For example, Solitaire contains over 71 game variations! Did you and your team learn how to play all these different game variations, and how much research did you have to do? Trevor Talbird: I can't say that all of us here have mastered every single game, but we did quite a lot of poring over rulebooks. The good thing about doing card games is that most of them have been around for a long time, so there is plenty of information around on the various rules and strategies. I can say that we have people on our team now that are amazingly proficient at cards. Zone: What do you think players will like most about these games? Trevor Talbird: The truly beautiful thing about all these games is the interaction with other players. All of the games are great as single-player titles off-line, but the way the whole interface is set up allows for a great online experience. The chat is integrated into the interface, so a great deal of conversation usually goes on between the players. The interaction with the other players really takes all of the games to another level. Zone: What do you like best about Bicycle games? Do you have a favorite card game, and why is it your favorite? Trevor Talbird: During this project, I've learned quite a bit about a variety of card games. Card games have a great history. We have learned a lot about the history of cards and card games while working with U.S. Playing Card Company (the makers of Bicycle cards) to put these games together. Looking back, I am really proud to be a part of something with such a rich history. Out of all of the games, I think that my favorite has to be the old standard, Klondike Solitaire. Zone: Is there anything you wish you could add to or change about these card games? Trevor Talbird: Not really. We've worked really hard to make these games the best they could be. Zone: Any other comments or suggestions you'd like to share with our Zone players? Trevor Talbird: I just hope that everyone has a great time playing all of these games online. |
|
