Did you remember ... The Agency ? No, we don't talk about SOE, but about the new adventure of Matt Wilson (Creative Director) and Corey Dangel (Art Director). We talk about Detonator Games.


GS: Do you like The Agency?
Absolutely. The Agency is like our own child. We helped give birth to the idea, nurtured her as she took her first steps, bandaged her knee when she fell of her bicycle, etc. So, naturally, We are very proud of what we created. And We’re excited to play the game when it releases.
 
GS: How your idea to team up together to form DG was born?
All of the founders, Matt Wilson, Corey Dangel, and John Smith, have worked together for about 12 years now. When we first met at Microsoft, we were building the Internet Gaming Zone. It was right when the Internet first entered the mainstream and we all had very similar ideas about community and the power of social gaming. Up until recently, nobody talked about “social gaming”, but we’ve committed our careers to it.
We formed Detonator Games so that we can connect people through play. We want to deliver games that are overflowing with the attitude and emotion that focus on bringing friends together through a common goal of fun.  It’s clear that social spaces like FaceBook, MySpace, and hi5 are all drawing huge numbers of people who enjoy playing together…socially. And we have the experience and the ability to make a significant impact on the way millions of people are entertained. That’s super exciting!
 

GS: What kind of projects do you have in mind ?
Initially we are focusing on short session games with “sticky” elements to encourage replay and community. Our first game will have gifts, achievements, collections, and a simple economy. We look forward to developing our games and evolving our portfolio in partnership with the players.
 
GS: Do you like the actual MMOs panorama? Do you think that the future of massive games will be the sandbox victory against theme park style or to spread MMOs on consoles?
We have enjoyed several of the larger subscription-based MMOs, and levelled many characters to the maximum. Although the genres have been fairly limited…and that was a significant motivation behind doing The Agency™ with Sony Online. But the landscape is improving, and I think there are a number of very interesting non-fantasy MMOs on the horizon that will be sure to entertain.
The question about sandbox versus theme park is very astute. I believe there is room for both, but I worry that the production costs of a high quality sandbox game compounded by the complexity of developing an MMO makes the sandbox variety very, very challenging to complete.
The thing that may surprise some is that vastly more people are actively playing farm games on Facebook than playing World of Warcraft. By a significant amount! So if you consider the massively popular social space as a kind of MMO, the panorama of games looks even better! 
 
GS: Do you think that digital delivering offers now to minor software houses the possibility to reach their goals on their own, without a publisher “behind the shoulders” ?
Absolutely! There are so many opportunities for independent developers to get their product before a customer. It’s really great. Admittedly, marketing and distributing your own project adds complexity to the production process. But the opportunity is tremendous.
Successful digital delivery is driven by quick accessibility and viral marketing. This allows great games to transfer to players quickly when they want them. It also brings on a new kind of marketing team: your friends! In the social space of gaming, your friends become your marketing and distribution model. And in the connected world, that is more powerful than the millions of dollars spent on marketing some games.

GS: Micro transactions or traditional monthly fee?
The trend is towards micro transactions and that is definitely the way we are designing our initial games. “Freemium” is the new subscription model. Try our games for free, play them as much as you want. If you like our games and we do our jobs right, then you’ll be glad to pay us for incremental content and work. I think it’s a win for both players and developer.

 
GS: Do you think that “facebook kind of approach” to social networking will influence the way to create MMOs as virtual worlds, in the future?
Yes, definitely. The success of Facebook has influenced everything. The console makers are working to integrate Facebook into their services. Gaming portals are creating Facebook-inspired features in their portals. I strongly believe that social networking is the next evolutionary step for business. All business! And we at Detonator Games are thrilled to be part of it.
 
GS: Mass Market and business ruins the originality in the games or help developers to reach a wider audience ?
Games can be very expensive to make and the money has to come from somewhere. So business people tend to be conservative with their large investments. But this is what makes the independent and social games space so incredibly attractive! You can make 50 interesting social games for the same price as one AAA console game. So there’s plenty of room for experimentation and innovation. At Detonator Games, we are able to work on a number of interesting ideas quickly and we iterate on them with the players. Big developers need to manage risk. Small developers embrace risk to find new opportunities. And with the building revolution in social media, the opportunity to speak a very wide audience is bigger and better than ever.


Thanks for the great questions! It was a real blast to answer them all. For more updates be sure to become a fan of Detonator Games on Facebook and follow us on twitter as well.

Thx to Matt and Corey for the interview.
(Pictures: Corey Dangel and Matt Wilson)