OLC Original: A talk with Kirill Plotnikov
Late last month, Kirill Plotnikov - Alawar Entertainment’s VP of Publishing – was kind enough to chat with OLC regarding his company, the state of the casual industry, and a bit more.
Firstly, thank you for finding the time to speak with us. I recently reviewed your PlayStation Network title, Hyperballoid HD. Though an entirely solid, enjoyable title, I did end the piece on a bit of a curious tone:
“This is Alawar’s second outing on the platform, and though we can certainly understand treading friendly waters, we’d like it if they took just a bit more risk.”
Playing through the title (as well as having knowledge of your previous PSN title, Magic Ball), I felt a sense of familiarity – that these titles are just a prelude of a much more expansive, varied catalog. How did the decision come about to release these games on the PSN first rather than one of your other titles, or an entirely new franchise?
Thank you for your kind words! I’d like to welcome all OneLastContinue readers and thank them for their interest in our games. Going back to your question, we put a lot of effort into the Hyperballoid project — both the PC and the HD console versions. And it paid off! For example, the visual style of the game meets the high standards for products offered on the PlayStation Network. This is exactly why we decided to use Hyperballoid as our guinea pig.
In addition to everything else, Hyperballoid HD’s gameplay is ideally suited to the PlayStation 3. Controlling a paddle is much easier with a joystick than with a mouse. Also, the history of casual games started with Breakout-style titles; the best-selling games come from this genre.
Also, I’m satisfied with the sales of the game on the Russian and European markets. (The game’s release on the U.S. storefront is quickly approaching.) So the results have confirmed our predictions. Going forward, we’re planning to release DLC content packs with additional levels for Hyperballoid HD. Our audience has expressed an interest in us doing this. As for the other games in our collection, we’ll certainly port our hits to the consoles.
We’re planning to develop new multiplatform entertainment products for the PC and pocket and stationary consoles. Porting our hits on the computer to the consoles will remain one of our main priorities throughout this process.
Alawar Entertainment have only recently gone about in testing platforms outside of the PC. While the iPhone seems to be a natural medium to extend your franchises onto, the PlayStation 3 is less so a “casual-friendly” platform. If I’m not mistaken, you are exclusive to Sony, correct? Why did Alawar choose the PlayStation 3 rather than the Nintendo Wii – where the casual demographic is emphasized? Certainly there was an amount of risk involved in doing so.
Sony has created comfortable working conditions and a welcoming atmosphere for casual game developers — and set a good example for the other console giants. One of the most important priorities for our company is digital distribution. Sony has organized its service well and the power of the PlayStation 3 allows us to realize our most far-fetched ideas.
Nonetheless, we don’t have a strong orientation toward one platform. Right now, we’re finishing work on several games for the Nintendo DS pocket console, for instance. I think applications from Alawar Entertainment will eventually appear on the Nintendo Wii, too. Time will tell.
Was there a bit of hesitation launching these games on an admittedly core-focused console?
We wanted to minimize our risks from the start, which is why we decided to start by releasing just two games for PSN, then look at the number of games we sold and decide what to do next.
Are there any plans to go multiplatform with some titles?
We’ll definitely release multiplatform games. Casual entertainment is finding more and more fans. This includes Sony console users, Xbox 360 lovers and Nintendo devotees. It would be great if the process of “casualization” picked up even more steam and our colleagues took advantage of what this industry has already achieved. As we’ve seen as popular casual games like Peggle have appeared on the consoles, casual games can be very popular among console gamers, and we hope to see more casual games appearing on all of the consoles.
As far as Breakout games, we aren’t planning to release Hyperballoid HD for the Xbox 360 or Wii in the near future. We’d like to try our hand at developing new multiplatform casual games and work on porting hits, such as those in the Farm Frenzy series.
Is there a fear that the casual gaming market will burst, or become small enough to where Alawar – a reasonably large studio that focuses on this demographic – will have to scale back? Do you believe the market will remain large enough for casual developers to continue operation at this pace?
Casual games are very different from large gaming projects that cost several million dollars. We have a different audience, different budgets and different distribution channels. So the arrival of our bigger brothers on the casual market doesn’t scare us in the least. There’s room for everyone.
Many developers have attempted to find harmony between the two markets by interweaving both core an casual elements in a single game in an attempt to both enrich the gaming experience and, perhaps, produce a title is easily marketed to every demographic. Do you feel this is a natural maturation of the casual market (such that successive iterations in a franchise – or, at least, titles within the same genre – become more advanced and find overlap with core-like features) or an attempt to cater to a niche group? As both a gamer and industry professional, what do you imagine the casual genre of the 2010′s to look like?
Casual games differ from hardcore ones not only by genre but also by the gaming process and the user experience. Consider the incredible success of Wii Sports, which people of all ages are playing. On one hand, it’s a realistic sports simulator, a genre not especially popular with casual gamers. But it’s also a simulator with rules that have been simplified as much as possible and controls so easy even grandmothers and grandfathers can figure them out. The game doesn’t become any less interesting as a result of these concessions; on the contrary, it lets the whole family play together with relatives and friends.
The same can be said for the entire Alawar game catalog. We have strategy games, simulators, and arcade games. The Farm Frenzy series is especially popular right now. That series came out on the PC and was ported to the Apple iPhone platform. Now we’ve started to release add-ons for the computer version of Farm Frenzy 3. These add-ons are aimed at users who want to set their own personal records — people with a competitive drive.
Very quickly, there are two technologies I’d like to mention – one is widely available and the other is on a threshold: motion control and 3D monitors/television. Assuming 3D tech becomes media-industry standard, what sort of doors does this open for you, a game producer? Do you believe a studio like Alawar can take advantage of these two technologies in meaningful, substantial way that enhances the product and progresses the medium? How do you see them utilized by both casual and core market?
I recently saw Avatar on IMAX, and I’m still in awe of that fantastic sight. We live in the 21st century, so it’s impossible to ignore the latest technological developments. Another matter is that casual games are for everybody. As soon as motion control and 3D television become broadly available, like the Internet and personal computers have, we’ll start the mass production of 3D entertainment, which users will control using their voice and body movements.
Regarding the future of Alawar, 2010 is a brand new year. What is the state of Alawar like; are there any major changes, acquisitions or franchises coming down the pipeline? Now that you have more or less wet your toes in the console (and handheld) market, do you envision a bolder Alawar?
We’re starting the year with a new casual strategy game for the PC — Settlement: Colossus. This is another experiment in genre. The game stands at the junction of two categories. As in Sid Meier’s Civilization and Age of Empires, users develop their tribe into a mighty empire. The difference is that there’s a resource extraction element to the game as well, meaning the player must search for resources in various picturesque settings. This part of the gameplay resembles the hidden object genre.
We have many other plans, though. We’d very much like to broaden our presence in the console gaming market, in part by releasing our first multiplatform product. That product will be available for sale by the end of 2010. In addition, we’ve decided to port 20 more games from our PC catalog to the Apple iPhone. But we don’t plan to reduce the number of PC games we release. In fact, there will be even more of them. Users will be able to enjoy completely new titles and play the continuations of ones they’ve already grown to love. Stay tuned!
