On April 14th and 15th a brand new conference is coming to the gaming industry. Hosted by Last Straw Productions, IMGD (which stands for Indie MMO Game Developers Conference), is the first of its kind, focusing on independent and hobby game developers to learn more about making and producing a quality MMO. In our first in a series of interviews, we sit down to talk with Jonathon Stevens, the conference's founder and director. Throughout the course of the week we'll be bringing you interviews from other speakers. As an interesting note, there is still time to take part in the conference yourself, without even having to travel to Minneapolis. If you register by the April 13th deadline, videos of the whole conference will be available for download after the conference is complete.Gamersinfo.net: Let's start out with explaining to our readers what the Indie MMO Game Developers' Conference is and have you introduce yourself to us.
Jonathon Stevens: My name is Jonathon Stevens, CEO of Last Straw Productions and Conference Director for the Indie MMO Game Developers' Conference.
IMGDC is a much needed conference that is geared towards the ever-growing world of Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) and the Indie developers who dream to cut themselves a piece of the MMO market pie. Designers and developers alike will find useful tracks and discussion groups at the conference. This conference is here to prove that Indie developers can and should be successful in the MMOG market.
Gamersinfo.net: The second question that comes to mind is why an indie MMO? Do indie developers really have what it takes to develop an MMO?
Jonathon Stevens: Being in the Indie game development arena, I’ve seen a lot of discussions about what’s possible in terms of virtual worlds and MMOs. I was astonished at how often people would dismiss the thought of building what I’d seen termed a “real” MMO. In other words, lots of people, including Indie developers, were under the assumption that building an MMO that could and would be successful in the terms of today’s standards was impractical and impossible for an Indie developer or company. I found the lack of confidence mostly came from fellow Indie developers just not having the proper knowledge of what goes into an MMO in regards to design, business, development, etc.
This is when I realized that to connect Indie developers with MMOs, we needed some platform to get them that knowledge that would help them realize their dreams to build a successful MMO. Anything is possible if you have the passion and drive to keep attempting and reaching for your goals. IMGDC will help those developers reach their goals by obtaining priceless knowledge from AAA developers and designers as well as Indie success stories.
Gamersinfo.net: What do you hope someone who attends the conference as a would-be game developer will come away with?
Jonathon Stevens: There are two main goals I’d like to achieve with this conference for its debut year. The first goal is that not only Indie developers, but prospective publishers will realize that you don’t need millions of dollars to build a profitable and FUN MMO, you just need the talent, drive, and commitment.
The second goal is that Indie developers will have the basic knowledge of the insides of what works and what doesn’t work in MMO design, development and post-production to create fun virtual worlds that will help Indies build games full time.
Gamersinfo.net: How long has the IMGDC been in the planning? At this stage of the process does it feel like it has taken as long to bring the conference together as it would to develop an MMO?
Jonathon Stevens: Actually IMGDC was conceived in September of 2006. That puts us at only five months so far and less than a year from conception to reality when the conference starts on April 14th of this year. Developing an MMO usually takes a year or more to polish to a point of release. I’ve actually quite enjoyed planning IMGDC and networking with game designers, developers and studios who build MMOs for a living. It’s been a great experience.
Gamersinfo.net: Ok, so I'm asking this one out of pure, simple personal curiousity, and Minnesota seems to be in the middle of no where as far as game development goes. I've just got to ask... Why Minneapolis? ;)
Jonathon Stevens: Well, a couple reasons led me to the location of Minneapolis, Minnesota. As I mapped out all game development conferences and Indie development conferences, I noticed that we had locations pretty much central to everywhere but the mid-west. We’ve got both coasts and down south, but nothing in the central northern regions. Since what little money Indie developers tend to have usually goes towards tools like the Torque Game Engine from GarageGames or paying for art or other assets, I wanted to make sure that people who weren’t near any of the other conferences had a chance to attend ours.
I was originally looking at either Minneapolis or Chicago for the venue, but after a couple forum polls, Minneapolis seemed to be the favorite. I also live in Minneapolis, so it was a fairly easy decision.
Gamersinfo.net: I notice two tracks for the conference, the design track and the development and business track. Looking at some of the round tables and classes offered on each, I'm finding myself having to make a tough decision because both sound interesting. What advice can you offer to people on how to pick which track?
Jonathon Stevens: IMGDC certainly does have some great speakers and content at the conference that I too am finding difficult to choose between which ones to attend. The thing you have to remember is that you don’t have to “choose” a track. You can decide to go to a class from the design track the first hour and a class from the business track the second. You aren’t locked in to attending one or the other; it’s a completely open format.
We’ve scheduled the tracks so that classes from both never overlap however. So if someone wanted to, they could attend all track classes from both tracks or all round tables from both tracks.
Gamersinfo.net: You have some pretty big names coming to this conference, Dr. Richard Bartle and Jack Emmert just to name two. Dr. Bartle “wrote the book” on game design, for example. And Mr. Emmert's City of Heroes/City of Villains had to have one of the smoothest releases of any MMO I've followed in the last decade. Any concerns that indie game developers will feel that they aren't in the same league with theset two gentleman, and many of the other speakers for that matter, and come away feeling more awestruck than educated by them?
Jonathon Stevens: Hopefully, they will feel both awestruck and educated. The speakers we have lined up are some of the best in the industry. IMGDC isn’t here to make a small impression, but an incredible one and plant the seeds for a new age of MMO development. The Indie age.
Gamersinfo.net:And on a more general note, I often think of indie games as the “hidden gems” of the gaming industry. Have there been any “hidden gems” in the world of indie MMO's that stand out in your mind?
Jonathon Stevens: I’d have to agree with the “hidden gems” statement. I don’t just think Indie developers can build a successful MMO, I believe they can build BETTER ones. Indie developers have something most big studios do not: Passion. Sure, AAA companies have passionate employees, but NO ONE is more passionate about a game than the person who makes all the decisions about what it should be, have, entail and convey. Indie titles like A Tale in the Desert (http://www.atitd.com) and Minions of Mirth (http://www.prairiegames.com) are two that stick in my head. Several more are in development with a lot of promise like Fractured Universe (http://www.fractureduniverse.com/) and my own company’s medieval vampire and werewolf Forbidden Dawn (working title).
Gamersinfo.net: What obstacles do indie MMO game developers have to overcome besides the obvious smaller budget? How will this conference help them learn how to overcome these obstacles?
Jonathon Stevens: It’s difficult to state any of the obstacles without going back to budget, as most, if not all, wouldn’t exist if the budget were there.
Indie developers tend to wear many hats. They aren’t just programming or animating or designing on their titles. Big companies have entire teams of employees working on a single title.
Indies also run into the problem of just not having enough experience or knowledge when it comes to post-release. Things like customer service, legal issues, marketing, etc. are all foreign to most Indies.
IMGDC will help show Indie developers what it takes to build and run an MMO effectively and efficiently. Indies will receive knowledge ranging from maintaining a good community relationship to running an Indie studio to legal considerations when attempting to build an MMO from an IP.
Gamersinfo.net: What advantages do indie MMO game developers have that big industry ones don't have? And what might a potential developer learn about taking advantage of these advantages from this conference?
Jonathon Stevens: I’m sure every game developer, designer, artist, composer, et. al. would agree that the biggest benefit of being an Indie is not having the red tape that goes with a corporate title. Indies get full creative control on their own games which is a huge plus.
Gamersinfo.net: Outside of game developers themselves, who should attend the conference? Is your hope to make this conference the “E3” of the indie MMO community?
Jonathon Stevens: From what I’ve seen so far we’ve had interest in and out of the Indie developer group. I think developers, Indie or not, can benefit from the sessions at IMGDC. I know a lot of people are fans of a lot of IMGDC speakers, so we’ll surely get many gamers who just love playing the games this elite group has helped create.
I believe with the right direction and coordination, IMGDC could become the next E3 of MMO development period, Indie or not. We went with an Indie theme to keep focus on the intimate community of Indie developers, not because AAA companies couldn’t gain incredible knowledge and insight from IMGDC. There’s something for everyone.
Gamersinfo.net: Anything else you'd like to tell us about the conference?
Jonathon Stevens: IMGDC takes a different spin on game development conferences and offers qualities you typically find in Indie developers such as passion for the product, commitment to excellence and integrity. IMGDC is here to bridge the gap between vision and completion for Indie developers wanting to break into (or continue in) the MMO realm. The tides are changing with many startup and Indie companies pushing out MMOs. Watch out AAA companies, we're coming for you!
I’ve played computer games since college, addicted first to story type games like Might and Magic. I have 3 children who also love computer games. My oldest son is a typical kid who loves the challenge of pressing the right combination of buttons and levers on a joystick in just the right way to make something happens, and frequently gets frustrated with mom’s slow fingers. ;) We use computers for both education and entertainment, and sometimes even bribery for good behavior.
The “glory days” of computer gaming for me were when games like Spectre Supreme, Pirate’s Gold, the Might and Magic series, the original Prince of Persia… those sorts of games were coming out on a regular basis. Back then I owned a Macintosh and was a die hard Mac fan. I was one of the first in my area to buy an iMac and on it learned the joy of playing games on the internet like daily crossword puzzle and “mind bender” type puzzles. My first online RPG was given to me for Christmas the year EQ was released, and I was hooked from day one. I played EQ for about a year. I started playing DaoC during late alpha testing, and was hooked on it.. well, to be honest I still am. I’ve tried pretty much every MMORPG I can get my hands on, from big names like EQ, to more obscure ones such as Underlight. I’ve been writing for IMGS since the first DaoC guide, and find I love the challenge of learning a game and presenting what I’ve learned (and sometimes my opinions), to other players.
I’m not a very strong player as far as learning PvE or quick reaction times, so I tend to stay away from games where I’m pitted against someone else in a way that requires physical (rather than mental) response. I still enjoy story and puzzle games, and in a way that’s how I still approach online games. I would much rather spend hours working through a quest than 5 minutes in combat against another player. I still get lost in simulation type games, obsessing over them until I’ve gotten them beaten. And I like being able to sit down at the computer when I’ve got less than half an hour and playing through a few levels of a puzzle game. I tend not to like first-person shooter type games, or anything with person to person violence, so I steer away from them unless they are fantasy based settings. All in all, I enjoy computer gaming so much that my life feels incomplete somehow when my computer is down.
