Casual Challenge

FarmVille, Farm Town and Mafia Wars: titles representing the cream of social gaming on the almighty Facebook (at the moment). Icelandic company Gogogic has thrown Vikings of Thule in the MMO arena of the platform. The game might not threaten the reign of the aforesaid triumvirate, but its presence could be memorable and pave the way to the Althingi of developers for Facebook.

: Please introduce Gogogic

Jónas Björgvin Antonsson: Entrepreneurs established Gogogic in 2006 to create and introduce a modern breed of game development company. Since then, Gogogic has grown to become an exciting and influential organization which is based on a strong understanding of emerging gaming markets and an ability to harness communities as part of innovative concepts. We currently make online MMOGs for Facebook and multiplayer games for the iPhone.  Gogogic is moving towards games that can cross those two platforms to create a seamless multiplayer experience that is both social and engaging.

: Could you speak about your experience for developing the iPhone/Pod Touch (for instance Apple review process)?

JBA: We have a talented and determined team, which has invested much time in learning how to develop for this platform. Apple provides excellent tools that make the whole process very straightforward once you have mastered the technique.  We have now released two successful titles for the iPhone and are confident that our developers will continue to find innovative ways to use the tools to create new gaming experiences.

Gogogic has also been quite lucky with the Apple review process.  We haven’t had to wait weeks or months like other developers we have heard about.  If you deliver a good product and are organized, the review process should be smooth.

: There are thousands of games on App Store. A difficulty for developers is to get attention. What is your strategy?

JBA: The games have to speak for themselves and offer something unique. If you release a well-designed game that creates an engaging experience for players, people will take notice. We have built our name by developing multiple titles of high quality.  We aim to create a devoted audience by introducing multiplayer games and cross-platform experiences.

: You are a new, small start-up company. Was it hard to get the green light from Facebook for your projects? How does it work? Please tell us about the procedure (as much as you can).

JBA: We have been using Facebook as a platform for our games since 2006, so we were quite early on the scene.  Getting the green light is not difficult, but developers must understand both the API and the use case policies in place.  Understanding the social interaction and activity within Facebook is a time consuming process, but a very important step in the creation of any game or application that would like to add value for the users rather then creating spam.

: Please tell us the challenges and hardships of developing an MMO

JBA: Developing fully a good architecture with the ability to scale and expand service to other platforms is incredibly time consuming. The process takes many skilled and experienced people who know how to handle networks and distributed systems. One has to understand how to approach game development from a service-oriented standpoint. There are many social aspects to take into consideration, such as building an audience and maximizing retention. The game basically becomes a facilitator of social interaction.

Another challenge in creating any successful project is to find a game balance both for individual players and in terms of the overall in-game economy. This is a process that never ends and developers will have to adjust this constantly to keep the players interested.

All these challenges are also found when developing an MMO on Facebook, but you also need to be aware of the 3rd party integration that is added onto the whole thing.

: What makes Vikings of Thule a casual MMO?

JBA: Vikings of Thule is easily accessible from any computer via the Internet. This is a huge factor in making a casual game.  The game is designed to allow the players an experience where they can feel comfortable playing for hours or minutes while still being engaged in the experience.  As Vikings of Thule is not as demanding as many other titles, the players control the amount of time they would like to invest. They may exit the game at any time without penalty.

: Has any of you been nurturing the idea for long to make a game with your historical, cultural background?

JBA: We have a rich history and a strong cultural background.  Iceland, or Thule, seemed to be a suitable setting for a game and allows us to represent our culture in a way that we feel is appropriate and just. We look at samurai, Spartans, or cowboys and we want Vikings to have that same mythical, strong presence.

: Did you take into consideration that the Viking setting might be less appealing in some territories, for instance in Asia (where MMO is huge)?

JBA: We were aware that Vikings of Thule would appeal to a niche audience, which is a good thing when you are releasing your first Facebook MMOG. Having it as such can allow you to control growth as you develop internal procedures and tools. Although we feel that Vikings of Thule could raise the interest level on the subject, our next project will appeal to a much broader audience.  The level of a game’s appeal is not a constant, and we feel that making a good product can capture the attention of many audiences. We know, for instance, Japan has showed some interest in Iceland.  This could lead some Japanese players to our game.

: What improvements do you plan before the official launch?

JBA: Before we officially launch, we would like to improve the economic and physical game balance to make sure everything remains fun, yet challenging for our players. We also want the players to be able to communicate and interact with each other in new ways.  We are listening to the feedback we have received during the Beta testing and implementing these suggestions along with our own ideas. Eventually, Vikings of Thule will become larger and you will have more ways to rise in rank and earn a spot on the Althingi.

: Have you considered the expansion of the Vikings of Thule experience to iPhone/iPod Touch?

JBA: We have considered expansion onto other platforms and the game’s architecture takes that into account.  Unfortunately, we cannot release more details at this point, but you can expect many interesting cross-platform experiences from Gogogic in the future.

: Finally, suppose the popularity of SNS gaming and/or casual gaming declined, what is your plan for that scenario?

JBA: Our talented team has no shortage of innovative ideas on how to move Gogogic forward to meet the needs of emerging trends. We do generate considerable revenue as a 3rd party service provider, which would allow us to continue developing new products, which will engage a wide audience.