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Recently, the Zone contacted the designer of Elite Darts, John Slaydon of Perpetual Motion Enterprises, and the game's producer, Ron Montgomery of Patch Products, to participate in an e-mail interview. Here's what they had to say about the publisher-studio relationship and the effort that went into delivering a great game!
Zone: What is your official job title and what department/division do you work for?
John: Product Design Manager. I run the production department for Perpetual Motion Enterprises, the developer of Elite Darts.
Ron: I work in Marketing, Promotions, and Product Development [for Patch Products, the publisher of Elite Darts]. I focus mainly on Patch's computer games, but I also work with our other lines, such as board games and outdoor action games. I also manage our Web site.
Zone: Describe your job and the part of Elite Darts you were in charge of.?
John: I was the Game Designer and Project Leader for Elite Darts. Basically, I sat down with the team and got everyone's ideas and suggestions; then I created a design document from those ideas that described in detail the functions of the game, from Interfaces to AI. After the design was completed, I was in charge of the day-to-day running of the project. I had to collate the code, art, and sound departments, making sure that everyone got what they needed when they needed it. I also had to upkeep the design document and make sure we came in on time. Which we did. We beat our master date by a week. I couldn't have done that without a great team working with me.
Ron: I work with PME and everyone at Patch to formulate game concepts and to make sure everything remains on schedule. John lets us know when we are going to have a gold master. I get things rolling to make sure we'll have things like a game box and manual. I also contact the gaming media to get the word out about our upcoming games. Since we are a relatively small company, we don't have the budget to run a lot of ads to really hype our games. Instead, we try to get noticed through more of a "guerrilla marketing" approach, such as the cross-promotions with Arachnid Darts Co. to give free darts with the first 25,000 Elite Darts games. We also rely on news stories and our Web site to get the word out. Additionally, I also work with the fine people of the Zone to get our games up and running online :) and with the American Darts Organization in several promotional efforts.
Zone: What do you like most about your job?
John: Being able to envision a game during the design stage, then having that vision come to life at the end of a project. I love the look on the team's faces when they know we have just made a really good game.
Ron: I like the variety of things that I do. I get bored easily, so I could never work at a job where I do one thing over and over. The gaming industry is perfect because things are always changing and there's always a new challenge ahead.
Zone: What do you like most about working in the gaming industry?
John: Honestly, making games. I have been playing games since the Commodore 64. I always wanted to make a game that I would enjoy playing, and for the past couple of years I have been able to do that. I also like getting free stuff, but that's another story.
Ron: I've enjoyed video games since I was a kid, and it has always been a dream of mine to be involved in the creation of games. It's a thrill to see Elite Darts shipping to stores like Wal-Mart and CompUSA.
Zone: Are you an avid darts player?
John: No. I would sometimes throw a dart at a dartboard, but I never signed up for a league. Once we decided to create a dart game I read a lot of books, and we bought a couple dartboards for the office.
Ron: I love the game. I play darts a lot, and I think you need to really know the game in order to make a realistic simulation. I honestly believe that people who play Elite Darts will be amazed at how real the game feels. This is backed by the fact that the American Darts Organization endorsed the authenticity of Elite Darts.
Zone: What's the relationship between Perpetual Motion and Patch Products? What jobs did you each do to get this product to the public?
John: I believe you would call it a joint venture. We design and develop the product and Patch publishes it and sets up the distribution chains. We were also in constant contact with Patch. I would usually talk with someone up there at least once a day. We would send them periodic burns of the game to get their feedback. And when the schedule allowed, we would implement changes or suggestions they had. It is a very good partnership.
Ron: PME and Patch work together to come up with ideas for new games, and how these games will play. PME does all of the programming/development, with input from Patch along the way. Patch takes care of most of the non-programming work, such as assembly, marketing, and sales.
Zone: What made you decide to create/publish a darts game?
John: We had an idea for the dart game. We downloaded and bought all of the other dart games we could. After playing them, we realized we could make something that the general public would really enjoy. After the design document was created, we decided that we had a really good idea for a dart game. So we pitched the idea to Patch and they liked it. The rest is history.
Ron: Two things, really. The first is market trend. Games priced around $20 are very popular right now. A game like Elite Darts, with its smooth engine, great replay value (darts has been around for a long time), and multi-player capabilities should appeal to both "Casual" gamers and "Core" gamers looking for a change of pace.Second is the fact that I have never seen a really good computer dart game. There are over 21 million die-hard dart players in the U.S. alone. Judging by the initial response we've had for Elite Darts, this is a market that has to be itching for a solid dart game.
Zone: What were some of the major challenges to completing this project?
John: Time. We had something like five months to make the game. That sounds like a lot of time, but we had one programmer for the entire project, and let me tell you, he worked very hard. Also the AI was a challenge. We spent most of our testing time tweaking the AI to be competitive.
Ron: As for Patch, we're still getting our feet wet in the computer games industry, so we come across new hurdles all the time. We did learn from our first two games, Kuba and Play This, Play That. Both of these are fun games that have received good reviews, but never jumped off the charts in terms of sales. Darts will be in most major computer games retailers from the start, and we're very excited about how things look.
Zone: What do you like best about Elite Darts?
John: It's hard to say. I really like all of Elite Darts, but my favorite part was probably the multi-player tournament, where you and a buddy can team up in a four-round, single-elimination dart fest. Also, the chat feature is nice.
Ron: The engine. Ashley McKenzie, the lead programmer for Elite Darts, did a great job making the game feel like you are actually holding and throwing a dart. The motion is very smooth and intuitive, and it even takes into account things such as how hard you throw, when you let go, and whether you moved the mouse to the right or left. I think people will really be pleased with the "feel" of the game.
Zone: Is there anything you wish you could add to Elite Darts or change about it?
John: I would add more dart games. We have three games and each game has multiple options to set, but the more we could give the player, the happier the player will be.
Ron: Not really. We spent a lot of time going over every aspect of the game. I'm sure John and the rest of PME got a little tired of the requests to tweak this or that, but I really think we have a game that all dart players -- from beginners to pros -- will enjoy.
Zone: Any other comments or suggestions you'd like to share with your Zone players?
John: I hope you enjoy playing Elite Darts as much as we enjoyed making it. We tried real hard to make the game as easy to navigate and control as possible. Read the manual, watch the tutorial movie, and use the practice mode. If you do these things, you will be throwing the dart like a champ in no time. But most of all...Please Have Fun. Games are made be fun, so enjoy yourself.
Ron: For everyone who is waiting to play Elite Darts on the Zone, the game has shipped and will be on store shelves in early February. If anyone can't wait for Elite Darts to hit the shelves, they can visit www.patchproducts.com to place an order. I look forward to playing against (or with) everyone soon.
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