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| Behind-the-Scenes Interview: The Hardships and Rewards of Game Production | |
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We caught up with Rhonda Henderson, Producer at Random Games and got the scoop on the work it took to bring you Parker Brothers Classic Card Games. It was a collaborative effort, and a rewarding experience. Here's what she has to say:
Rhonda: My official job title is Producer, and I work in the Production department of Random Games, Inc. Zone: Describe your job and the part of Parker Brothers Classic Card Games you were in charge of. Rhonda: My job is as internal project leader, and customer liaison. I was responsible for making sure all parts of the production team were coordinated and working towards the same goal. I also was responsible for making sure that we, as developers, had a clear vision of what Hasbro, as the publisher, wanted from this product. Zone: What do you like most about your job? Rhonda: Getting a product on the shelf. There's nothing quite like the rush I get when I can see physical evidence of all the hard work that I've been doing. Zone: What do you like most about working in the gaming industry? Rhonda: The gaming industry is filled with people who are young at heart, and who, for the most part, really enjoy their jobs. How many jobs in the world can you get paid for playing games? Zone: What's the relationship between Hasbro Interactive and Random Games? What jobs did you each do to get this product to the public? Rhonda: Random Games has been an outside developer for Hasbro Interactive for many years. We've jointly put several titles on the shelves and expect to have many more in the future. For this product, someone at Hasbro told us that they were looking for proposals for a new set of card games to compete with existing similar products, but which would spotlight proprietary titles Hasbro owns. We put together a bid and a proposal, which Hasbro accepted, and Random began development of the Parker Brothers Classic Card Games in August of 1998. We have a full development team internally, so we were able to do all of the programming, audio and artwork in-house. Hasbro kept the vision for the games, and gave suggestions for creative direction on some elements -- especially Ace [the animated central character]. [Ace] was a lot of hard work, but I think the effect is superb. And then of course, Hasbro was responsible for marketing, promotion, packaging, but most of all, having the initial vision for this set of games, and believing that we were the right developer. Zone: What made you decide to create this series of games? Rhonda: We were really excited when we heard that Hasbro Interactive wanted to create these games -- especially me. As an avid card player, these are exactly the types of games that I enjoy the most, and to have the opportunity to create with Hasbro Interactive the next generation of card games, was a thrill. There are so many really boring card games out on the market, and I knew that with the creative team here at Random, we'd be able to put out something out of the ordinary that's an awful lot of fun to play. Zone: What were some of the major challenges to completing this project? Rhonda: We developed this title in conjunction with the Milton Bradley Classic Board games -- 16 distinctly separate games in two complementary packages at one time, and we did it all in the space of seven months. That's an awful lot of really intense work! Zone: What do you like best about Parker Brothers Classic Card Games? Rhonda: I like the fact that it's colorful and fun to play. There is nothing about this game that is flat, boring, or matter-of-fact. Ace is absolutely amazing. He turned out to be far more than I could have ever imagined -- the writing, voice talent, and dedicated artists really brought him to life. Zone: Is there anything you wish you could add to Parker Brothers Classic Card Games or change about it? Rhonda: I don't think I'd change anything, but I can't wait to have the opportunity to do a sequel which can have an even wider selection of games and more player characters. Zone: Any other comments or suggestions you'd like to share with Zone players? Rhonda: I hope everyone has as much fun playing these games as we did making them. I think we've created a great set of games here, and my thanks go out to Hasbro Interactive for giving us the opportunity! |
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