Interviews

Exclusive: Ian Livingstone OBE on casual games, and Pony Friends

The father of Games workshop and grandad of Lara Croft sees a new demographic for gaming

Exclusive: Ian Livingstone OBE on casual games, and Pony Friends
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N-Gage + DS + Game Boy ...
| Pony Friends

Eidos' forthcoming Nintendo DS title Pony Friends represents a new direction for Britsoft's last remaining publishing force, dealing as it does with the nurturing of a stable of ponies.

Seeing such gentle pursuits coming from the house that has variously sired Tomb Raider, Hitman, Conflict: Desert Storm and recent gun-fetishist's wet dream Urban Chaos, we were more than a little intrigued.

Fortunately, industry luminary and Eidos director of product acquisitions, Ian Livingstone OBE, was happy to tell us more about Pony Friends. Better still, the man who helped give the world Games Workshop also outlined Eidos' new-found interest in casual games...

Pocket Gamer: So, what's Pony Friends all about? Ian Livingstone: It's a game designed exclusively for the Nintendo DS that enables the player to own and care for their very own stable of unique ponies.

The game is not really about winning or losing. It's designed to create an experience that allows gamers enjoy creating their own stable of pony pets and taking care of them by doing tasks such as feeding and exercising their ponies, as well as riding them around town and collecting or photographing the hundreds of items and other animals there are that live there.

What would you say is the coolest feature of the game?

Pony FriendsI think players will love going trail riding. You can own up to three ponies in your stable and at any point you can take any one of them on one of 15 beautiful trails that lead out of town. Using the DS stylus you can look around from your riding position in the saddle and collect fruit from the trees, photograph wild animals around you for your journal or find super secret style items, such as saddles and blankets, that you can accessorise any of your ponies with once you return home.

Okay, we're thinking there's not a hidden sniper rifle in the game. Who would you say is the target Pony Friends player?

We believe this is a game that girls will like because there is a lot of customisation and styling in the game, such as putting ribbons in your pony's mane or designing unique quartermarks (tattoos) using a special paint program that is built into the game.

Each of your ponies has different characteristics, such as beauty, fitness, and favourite food that make them all behave slightly differently. Very fit and fast ponies will be able to compete in races against other ponies so there are elements in the game that will really appeal to boys as well as girls.

When can we expect to see it on the shelves?

We've not announced the exact release date yet, but we're aiming for summer this year.

Where did the idea for Pony Friends come from?

The idea first came about when I was in Australia in 2005 for AGDC and visited Tantalus, a respected development studio in Melbourne. They had existing horse riding technology, and I wanted to make a virtual horse game for the DS and try out some ideas that we simply couldn't do on other consoles.

For example, the racing in Pony Friends is done by cheering your pony on and making him or her run faster; the DS comes with a microphone built into it, so this was an exciting idea that we could bring to life on the console. Ponies are a pet that you can care for like a dog or cat, but you can also ride them, so it seemed like a great idea for a game. Tantalus had the perfect development solution for this and so we signed them up.

How does a game like Pony Friends fit into the mindset of a publisher like Eidos, which has a largely adult-oriented catalogue?

Pony Friends will be the first of many games to come from Eidos that are designed for a younger audience. Kids have always played games, so it's important that Eidos focuses on kids of all ages, not just those that are old enough to play Hitman. Also, it's important to broaden the product portfolio to reduce risk in a very competitive and changing marketplace.

How do you go about designing something so different?

Pony FriendsBefore we even started the design process, we spent a lot of time talking to school kids to find out what they would like to see in a game.

It was really fascinating to see how comfortable kids are with games these days. They definitely have a very clear idea of what they like and what they don't, so these sessions helped us work out what features we should include in the game and which would not be necessary.

Offering a DS-to-DS demo was an idea that came out of these discussions, as the kids that we spoke to really like the idea of sending a free demo of the game to a friend so that they can try it out, but that also unlocks a secret reward for the person who sent it. So in Pony Friends you can send one of your ponies to a friend's DS so that they can feed it and stroke it and in turn that unlocks a reward for you.

People are talking a lot about the explosion in casual gaming. What would you say defines a casual game in 2007?

Irrespective of platform, casual games are simple, fun, addictive, pick-up-and-play titles that don't require a huge time-investment to learn and master. Whether it's a mum who's just dropped the kids off at school wanting to relax over a coffee at their PC, a twenty-something on their way to college with a handheld or mobile, or a hardcore gamer on Xbox Live Arcade, casual games are all about the quick fix.

It's all about good old-fashioned gameplay with the 'I'll just have one more go' factor. We like to think of it as 'bite size gaming'.

What do you think has been the major driving force it? Is it creative, financial, technological, or has it come from the marketplace?

I think it's a mixture of all those things. Innovation has certainly helped, as has the popularity of casual online games portals. But 'casual games' is really just a new label for an old phenomenon.

Casual games have been around since the days of Pong and Tetris but console games today are much more sophisticated and complex. In the quest for realism, it's all got 'a bit too complicated' for some people. The explosion in broadband penetration, plus the increasing availability of casual games (for minimum-spec PCs) on the internet has awakened a forgotten bunch of eager players, and also a large group of new consumers – especially females. And now that they are back in the fold, we'd like to coax them gently into a whole new world of fun, and maybe even push their boundaries to try out a new DS or Wii game!

Where do you think the Nintendo DS fits into all that?

Nintendo has done a great job of identifying and targeting a previously untapped audience and as more and more consumers re-engage and try out games such as Brain Training, they realise how much they enjoy them. Having seen the awareness for these types of games increase among a broader, more mass market audience, we can all now reap the benefits.

Do you think that specific platforms actually do lend themselves to casual gaming?

Casual games aren't really about a platform – they are about a type of gameplay that appeals to a certain type of consumer. People can try-before-they-buy and play games on their computer at first for free but once they get hooked, many millions have voted with their wallets and paid to download full versions.

To the consumer, ultimately it doesn't matter whether they're playing on their DS, mobile, PC or even their TV – it's whatever they feel most comfortable with. If they've never picked up a console or handheld device but are happy surfing the net, then they may gravitate to the PC for their games. The dip-in and dip-out nature of casual games does mean that these games are perfect for filling in time on the go, though, which in turn makes the DS a particularly good fit for casual games.

Where are the developers for casual game titles coming from?

Initially, most of the casual games developers were emerging from the online space, seeing digital distribution as a low-cost entry option to game publishing. Today, established developers with a heritage in handheld games are beginning to show originality in casual PC and handheld titles. Some are also grasping the potential of the Wii and its appeal to the mass market.

So how are you planning to expand Eidos' casual gaming portfolio beyond Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, Pony Friends and Zenduko?

Eidos will be bringing some hit casual online titles to retail this year, beginning with Diner Dash on PSP and DS and the MumboJumbo range of PC titles this spring. There will be further announcements on our casual games line-up soon so stay tuned for more news!

Okay, time for our 'and finally...' question. Knowing that you're a boardgame-fiend, could you recommend one to our readers? The next time the Games Night Club meets up we'll be playing 'Amun Re', a great game designed by Reiner Knizia. Now if you'll excuse me, I have five minutes to kill before my next meeting, so I'm off to play Luxor!