By Randy Chase
Creating a
computer game, as many of you are aware, is a long and arduous
process.
More than five years ago, my son and I started drawing squares on a
white board and playing around with 3x5 cards.
Little of what you see now would have
any visible correlation to those earliest drawings and experiments.
However, from that earliest concept to what is now a living and evolving
game, there
have been a few long term goals and beliefs that have remained constant and that have
played a major role in the evolution and creation of SpiritWars..
I'll outline each briefly here, and you can follow the links of those that interest you.
The initial motivation began from a
frustration with the industry's trend to migrate old software to new platforms.
In
the old days, when operating systems and computers were introduced a couple of times a
year, we called this "shovel ware."
The Internet isn't just another delivery medium for software (i.e. a bigger or differently
shaped disc).
The Internet represents a radical deviation from the technological
base that preceded it; and entertainment products for the Internet need to be designed for
that new technology.
Most of us on the design team have
played one or more of the various trading card games.
And, like thousands of other
fans of the genre, have grown tired of trying to compete in a "he who has the most
money wins" playing environment.
We feel we have captured some of that dynamic design and atmosphere that
make the card-based games so popular, but done so in an original way way that
also delivers a fair and
equitable playing environment for you or your child.
Evolving Game Design
Having grown tired of the process of
working for two years on a title, only to disband
the team, regroup and start over again, it seemed much more productive to develop a
dynamic and flexible game concept that could grow over time.
A Different Direction
In an on-line world that seems
dominated by first-person shooters and real-time graphics-intensive action epics, we've
obviously opted to go in an entirely different direction.
Wonder why?
Yes, this is going to be a "pay to
play" game.
And, yes, I know that there are many of you out there who believe
that nothing on the Internet should ever cost money.
For you,
Kellogg Creek Software does offer both a free and a pay version of
SpiritWars.
For the rest of you,
here's a look at the rationale for our business model.
SpiritWars is a registered trademark of Kellogg Creek Software.