Ted (and Ryan) Talks: An Interview with Genius Factor Games
Studio: Genius Factor Games
Current Title(s): Gravity Well (2009)
Future Title(s): Riese
I arrive at Genius Factor Games at 2:05 in the afternoon, and am welcomed by Ryan Arndt, the Director of Digital and Emerging Media. He’s as friendly as his position requires, and I’m invited to wait in the lobby until their previous meeting concludes. The offices are lowly lit, and sparsely furnished, with ecru sofas and a single glass table with two trade magazines.. Gravity Well may be their biggest success so far, but the few pieces of art on the walls are solely devoted to their newest project, a card game tie-in to Riese: the Series. The door into their meeting is left ajar, allowing me to hear an intent discussion of the viability of video game franchises as cross-media entertainment; I find myself more eager than ever to speak to the two men inside. When I’m welcomed into the office, an introduction to Ted Nugent, CEO of Genius Factor Games, is immediate—as is an introduction to his Australian Shepherd, Jenny, who sits at his feet.
I begin by asking how he feels about the success of the company’s debut; and immediately, his gratitude and modesty take centre stage.
“Well, I didn’t expect Gravity Well to…I think there needs to be box 720 is that’s going to come out after that, we’re planning on launching on those platforms as well. There’s no point now for us trying to compete with other guys in Vancouver, because that’s a declining market. That’s not really where we see the future of games, as a general rule: it’s mobile…The way people are playing their games is changing as well. The Twitter generation is more about short bursts of gameplay rather than the traditional six hours a day, and the emerging consoles that are going to come out are going to follow the mobile mindset, and this experience here is going to help us be in a stronger position later. Not just iPhone; we’re looking at Android, Nokia, and other mobile type devices, the PSP and Nintendo DS… This is a great seed stage that we’re in now, and it allows us to try a lot of things. Even when we get to that point, which we hope to do later this year, we’ll still be looking at the iPhone platform as a place to innovate and try ideas, as you can get a game to market very quickly, and you can build a follow-up very quickly. It’s a low cost to try in the market, so it’s much easier to get some exposure, some feedback, and to move on to something bigger.”
The conversation turns briefly to Gravity Well; an update for iPad is in the works, but Nugent is eager to speak instead of the upcoming tie-in to Riese: The Series, a locally produced steam-punk web series with definite mainstream potential. Nugent tells of their partnership.
“In the summer last year, we learned that it was hard to build a following without a brand. Gravity Well was a concept we tried; I had it ready to go when we started. When we started thinking about what was going to be after Gravity Well, we wanted to find a property that we could build a larger product on, and that was film…I got connected through some of my colleagues while they were still shooting the trailer, and they were trying to do the same thing we were doing—being independent producers. We started talking, and what they were building was amazing. Since they’ve been doing that, they’ve been on their trajectory, and we’re building a game with them; the trick was to build the game where they hadn’t been writing. We’ve been asking the bigger questions they hadn’t come across—that’s changed since, of course. It’s been great working with them. We hope to do more projects with their team in particular, because it’s been great.”
The story of Riese, with its solitary wanderer set against a vast government conspiracy, offers myriad options to a game designer—the decision to build a card game as the first title for the franchise is not obvious to those not in the know. The decision was actually that of Riese‘s production staff.
“They had a card game they wanted to build, and they had a concept in place already. That was what they wanted for their first game. And it was good for us, in that there are lot of other opportunities that that brings into the gaming space. People will understand it, like Magic, and the world that they’ve built—it plugs in well. Our first conversation with them was “We have a card game we want to develop.” We went through discussions and designs—what we talked about then and what we have today has quite a divergence.”
Divergence may exist between the theoretical and the practical notions of the Riese game, but it also exists in the very nature of the GFG portfolio. There’s very little in common between the casual puzzling of Gravity Well and the formal card system of the Riese title. To Nugent, that lack of trademarks is the trademark of Genius Factor Games.
“Like with the platforms…agnosticism. We are from a game-branding standpoint, well, we want variety. So we don’t just want games like Gravity Well. Certainly the casual, puzzle space is worthy to be active in. But as producers, we want variety. We have a connection in that they’re both science fiction, Riese being steam-punk science fiction, but whatever we build for that story, we build really well. The aesthetic is quality, continuity. We want the quality of the product to stand on its own regardless if you know of Gravity Well. Whether we’re doing a sports game, or something else, we want to be proud of it. We’ll hold off if it’s not ready, we take the Blizzard approach. Riese is in the same mindset, and what we have to date is something will hit very well with their fanbase. The steam-punk, science fiction both play into our longterm plan.”
When asked where they saw themselves within five years with said plan, the optimism of the company shines through.
“We’re trying to execute a good long term plan, and I hope to have 2/3 of that accomplished within the next five years. We’re trying to do things that are socially relevant, and do some good in the world at the same time. We’re working on things that I think are exciting, and have a lot of promise going into the future. I’d like to be close to three times our current size—we’re seven people right now. The economics of the environment are stabilizing; the changes from when I formed the company to today—fortuitous now, though it sucked at the time. It opened up talent, it forced the changes that are occurring in the industry, towards mobile and away from the business model of the music industry. It led us to be ahead of the curve, and aware of where we spend our resources. Great studios? Those are great to have, but that mindset is a leftover from the last part of the last decade.”
“Sometimes I bring in my espresso machine,” Ryan quipped, leading me to ask where he saw his department going through the next five years.
“Many more Facebook fans, and more interaction. I’m still learning, everyone’s still learning, so to get that growing, and comments, and have people interested, because they like the brand, and what it represents. On Facebook, we’re at 163 right now. I know that number every day.”
And with their constant volunteerism, that number is sure to grow. Once the recording stopped, the conversation turned to the different causes that Genius Factor Games supports. Gravity Well’s opening screen shows their devotion to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the BCSPCA. Genius Factor Games gives each employee three paid days to give back to the community. Both men are quick to point out how instrumental volunteerism was in bringing Arndt to Genius Factor Games—his work with the Ghoulash Bash in particular helped him garner attention, if not notoriety. Ryan laughs, but his point remains insistant.
“If successful in life, help others!” Ted speaks up, one last time.
“I believe in paying it forward, things come back in ways never expected. I want people here to be proud of where they work.”
The interview ends; I shake their hands.
posted in Editorials, Game Dev By: Sumari |
