But it would be awhile before they brought their ideas to the next level and eventually created the App company DAHGi according to Hurlbert.

Gameface is game that tests your knowledge about famous and influential people throughout history. Faces could be anyone from politicians to scientists to athletes and artists. You name the faces as best as you can, if you’re correct you score points. If you’re really stuck there are clues available, but each time you use a clue the less points you earn.

“We brought the game to the international toy fair in 2004, and licensed the game to a game manufacturer and distributor in North America and then later in 2005-6 to Europe.  When the iPad hit the market, we knew we needed to get Gameface on that platform,” he said. “Taking an idea from scratch and turning it into something real, giving us an opportunity to enable people to have fun and learn at the same time … we find that most rewarding.”

But to move the game onto the next platform, Hurlbert needed to find an App Developer who could help them transform their game into a phone app.

“We found our App developer, Jay Wright, on LinkedIn thru a network connection and brought him on board with DAHGi,” Hurlbert said. “It took about a year to develop the content and create the original game and then about 2 months to create the Gameface App.”

For Jay Wright, App Development Director, there were a few obstacles in creating this game but was able to face the challenge to bring the game to life.

“The biggest technical challenge was managing the large number of
graphic faces.  We did not want to just dump a heavily loaded
application on the user, we wanted to be smart about it and provide
only the images that user needed,” Wright explained. “Yet make them available when the device is offline.  The application has earned accolades in its underlying architecture and use of animation.”

Wright said the game was a joy to create.

“I enjoyed animating the deck of cards. Adding controls, such as
taking clues or giving an answer became part of the card itself,” he said.

Creative director Dietl agreed and added that his enjoyment of creating the game came from the research.

“When I was researching the content for GF, I really enjoyed learning about all of these famous people. The names were familiar, but I didn’t know exactly why many of them were famous,” he said. “There were a lot of “oh, that’s who did that” moments. I found myself wishing I’d had a learning tool like Gameface when I was growing up. Now I can’t get enough.”

Hurlbert said there were lots of influences in creating Gameface, one such influence came from a book, The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons in History by Michael Hart.

“I would also say some entrepreneurs who followed their dreams like Steve Jobs, and Sir Richard Branson, gave us the inspiration to “go for it”,” He said and hinted DAHGi have another game in the works. “We have another game in the works, but we are working first on a Droid version for Gameface.”

Gameface is available on Apple.com for iPhones and iPads only at the moment but a Android version is in the works according to Hurlbert.

Gaia Interactive is about to go mobile with its release of Monster G, the mobile spin-off of its Facebook game Monster Galaxy already played by more than 15 million users per month. Since it’s release back in November 2010, Monster Galaxy has become a popular social game on Facebook, reigning as a top 10 game for more than six months (as ranked by AppData).

Soon Gaians and gamers alike will be able to take this game with them anywhere they go, expanding the world of Gaia online to a whole new platform. I was able to talk to Mike Sego, CEO of Gaia Online, about Monster Galaxy on iOS and how Gaia is expanding its universe.

“Gaia Interactive has expanded to become a multi-product, multi-platform social gaming company,” Sego said. “We love games and since 2003 we have spent years developing our talent and expertise for creating highly engaging online games while building our destination community, Gaia Online. With the major opportunities available today in a more mobile and socially-connected world, we aim to deliver high quality games for gamers wherever they prefer to play.”

He said after their game Monster Galaxy on Facebook grew to more than 10 million monthly players online, it was a sign for the game’s next step in gaming.

“We knew the game had stuck a positive chord with a lot of people and mobile seemed like a natural next step for us to expand the game to reach an even larger audience,” Sego explained. “Monster Galaxy is also a natural fit for mobile devices, as the game’s design was inspired by some of the most popular and beloved RPGs of all time from portable gaming systems. We’re confident players will love experiencing Monster Galaxy: The Zodiac Islands on their iOS devices.”

He said the first step is to ensure that Monster Galaxy for iOS becomes a huge success before expanding or creating new games, “which means building a large community of players and providing continual improvements based on feedback and suggestions,” Sego said. “From there, we will look to expand Monster Galaxy: The Zodiac Island to other mobile platforms, as well as explore building additional games.”

For those who already play Monster Galaxy on Facebook, Sego explained Monster Galaxy: The Zodiac Islands is a separate game in the Monster Galaxy universe.

“(The game will) feature an all new story, new monsters, and a completely different battle system optimized for play on mobile devices,” he explained. “Players familiar with the game from Facebook will immediately recognize and enjoy the same rich gameplay of battling and capturing zodiac-themed celestial monsters but with a whole new world to explore. We hope to also attract a new audience, as the game is free-to-play, appropriate for all ages, and does not require a Facebook connection.”

With all the excitement of the release of Monster Galaxy: The Zodiac islands I had to ask what’s the next step for Gaia games.

“As someone who has installed and played literally hundreds of games on my iPhone, it’s so personally rewarding to see our game in the App Store and envision the millions of players who will enjoy the fantastic work our team did bringing this game to mobile,” Sego said. “I look very forward to the feedback and the community that forms around this game. Right upon launch Monster Galaxy: The Zodiac Islands already includes over a hundred of monsters to capture and will provide weeks of challenging gameplay exploring all thirteen islands; and that’s just the beginning. Good luck, have fun, and stay tuned for more great games from Gaia.”

Read [iPhone Apps review] Site [Monster Galaxy on Facebook] Site [Gaia Online]

Image source: [Apple]

Wizard World Comic Con 2011 was lucky enough to get Capt. Picard himself, Patrick Stewart, plus his son Daniel Stewart who was in a couple episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The con took place on August 11-14 2011. The panel I saw was on Saturday 13, 2011, and was hosted by Chris Hartwick from G4.

I took a couple videos of Stewart from his panel because I believe Patrick Stewart can say it better than I can.

In the first video (below) he talks about an incident in which he was doing a scene with an alien ambassador with an incredibly long speech, so long in fact that it put Patrick to sleep right in the middle of the scene.

The second video talks about other cast members who couldn’t stay awake during their scenes, a video that never should have happened and he talks a bit about how he got the gig of Captain Picard. We also here a bit from his son about what it was like working on a couple episodes with the wonderful cast.

Site [Wizard World Comic Con]

To find how the idea for project began, I was spoke with both Dr. Harvinder Sareen, director of clinical programs for Anthem Blue Cross, and Bill Locker, CEO/President of the Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo.

According to Locker, it started when Dr. Sareen visited The Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo with an idea to improve the health of children through video game consoles.

“She asked about the idea and we said we were very interested,” Locker said. “We then did some research on exergaming and thought it would be a great program for our kids. Some of the kids at the club can be embarrassed or intimidated to play a ‘real’ sport because of the need for eye-hand coordination. But, with the video games, there is room for error and the need for good coordination is decreased. We feel that having the kids active is vital to their success and this program ensures that all of our kids will be active.”

Sareen explained that Anthem Blue Cross is always focused on improving the lives of the people they serve and the health of their community and said the exergaming project is a continuation of that work to get kids involved in healthy, active lifestyles as well as teach them about the importance of good nutrition.

“When the Kinect technology was brought to our attention, we liked it and thought it had great potential to help kids and teens increase their physical activity levels,” Sareen said. “We discussed the exergaming concept with members of our Childhood Obesity Physician Advisory Committee and decided the best place to put a motion gaming console is where kids get together to have fun and socialize. The Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo was the perfect fit. Finding an after-school setting like the Boys & Girls Club for the Kinect was important because we really wanted to maximize the benefit of the device and make sure a lot of kids could use it.”

Sareen explained that, because today’s child is less healthy than the previous generations, a need for this type of program is necessary.

“The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly 30 percent of California’s children and adolescents are overweight or obese and the rate of obesity among those age groups nationwide has tripled since 1980,” she said. “In short, our kids are less healthy than previous generations and that’s a big problem because it puts them at greater risk for long-term health problems, including diabetes and heart disease. It is critical that everyone – including parents, educators, businesses, politicians and health plans – works together to help our kids grow up healthy. And we need to find solutions that work with our daily lives.”

Sareen said that, according to a national survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 97 percent of America’s youth are playing video games which illustrates just how ingrained gaming has become in today’s culture. She added that, while society wants to move children outside to become more active, it may be challenging for those living in unsafe neighborhoods.

“Exergaming is proving to be an additional option to consider,” said Sareen. “Although relatively new, market analysts and industry experts agree that exergaming is a growing trend, helping people of all ages move from being sedentary to being more active. In fact, this is one of the reasons we set up our project as a pilot study to evaluate the impact of Kinect on children’s physical activity levels, engagement, and other measures.”

Locker said that, with the number of children that visit the BGC of Camarillo and the funding from Anthem Blue Cross to purchase games, TVs and staffing for the project, the program will benefit the children and hopes the data they provide Anthem Blue Cross will reflect that.

“We work with the over 300 kids a day that come to the Club and the benefit is that the kids in the program will be active and that they will increase their physical activity and decrease their BMI,” Locker said. “I am hopeful that our data will reflect that kids can get physical benefits from engaging in sports and dancing through video games.”

BGC of Camarillo previously received grants of $95,000 in 2009 and $50,000 in 2010 from the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation to support health and wellness programs in the past.

“We’re excited to work with the Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo to pilot exergaming at their club,” Sareen said. “The exergaming program will break club members into age groups in order to study the effect of regular exergaming on physical activity levels. Participants will be surveyed and assessed for their weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference, as well as their physical activity and nutrition habits, both before and after the program.”

She said the program will also allow researchers to determine whether or not video games will really help children become motivated to stay active while learning the importance of good nutrition and the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables.

“One of the biggest things anyone can do to prevent obesity and maintain a healthy lifestyle is to engage in regular physical activities and exercise,” said Sareen. “Now, a lot of people will tell you they don’t like to ‘exercise’ but the point we’re trying to make is that exercise does not have to mean running in place or doing push-ups. Exercise is any kind of physical activity that gets you off the couch and moving your body. This can include activities such as taking a nature hike, riding a bicycle or playing basketball. It can also mean playing physically-intensive video games that require you to move around. Exergaming, when combined with good nutrition and other healthy lifestyle practices, is a way to engage kids to stay healthy, physically active and enhance social skills.”

Ultimately gaming is a family decision and it’s up to the parents to decide whether they want their child playing video games or not.

“What we’re seeing is that exergaming can encourage kids, even those less inclined, to be more active and experience a variety of sport activities in the convenience of one location, in this case, the Boys & Girls Club,” she explained. “Recent studies, including one published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, show that exergames get kids up and moving, burning energy at levels comparable to what is recommended to keep kids healthy. What’s more, that same study found that kids with higher Body Mass Indexes (BMIs), which included those who were either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, enjoyed exergames more than kids of normal weight, though all of them expended similar amounts of energy. So, there is a growing body of evidence that video games, if used properly, can help boost activity levels.”

“The ultimate goal of all of this is to increase physical activity, encourage healthier lifestyles and add to the evidence-base on healthy exergaming,” said Sareen. “Video games are everywhere, so if we can help kids understand how to use this technology to improve their health, we just might make a dent in the rates for childhood obesity.”

Image source [courtesy of The Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo] Read [Press Release] Site [Anthem Blue Cross] Site [The Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo]

Gamertell had the pleasure of having a sit-down with Gears of War 3‘s Executive Producer, Rod Fergusson, at E3 2011.

Fergusson answered numerous questions regarding the latest installment in the Gears of War franchise and even showed off the exclusive upcoming GOW-branded Xbox 360 designed at Epic Games. The console will come equipped with a 250GB HDD and Gears of War sounds with the opening and closing of the tray. In addition, the console will retail at $399 and is set for a September 20, 2011, release alongside Gears 3.

Fergusson answered each and every question with great poise and eloquence. Gears of War 3 might be the final chapter in the Marcus Fenix storyline but it won’t be the last we’ll hear from the Gears franchise. As for what is to come from future installments of the series, only time will tell. Make sure to check out Gears 3 Fall 2011 coming to an Xbox near you.

Site [Gamertell @ E3 2011]

As the code has no expiration date, customers can take their time to check out the available demos before making a final decision on WinterWolves game site.

Not sure what to try, I recently contacted the owner of WinterWolves, Celso Riva, to ask him about WinterWolves and his games (a few of which have been featured on Gamertell by Jenni Lada).

“Winter Wolves started back in 2004 but, in those times, I was making mostly sports simulation and strategy games,” Riva said. “Until 2008 (when) I discovered the tool Ren’Py with which I released several dating sims and visual novels. I also started another website called Tycoon Games where I put the more “risque” games.”

The current promotion is a 30 percent discount on any game listed on WinterWolves website, to receive the discount just visit Winterwolve’s facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Winter-Wolves-Games/305229676335?sk=app_215797628444679 and become a fan. You will also have an option to subscribe to their e-mail that announces upcoming events, further discounts and more.

If you’re not sure what game to try first, Riva talks about a few of his favorite games starting with the sims-style game Spirited Heart and Always Remember Me.

“I’m a big fan of Princess Maker and in general raising sim games,” he said about Spirited Heart. “So I decided to make this game which is more focused on relationships, since there are 6 different characters to date in the game. The game also features 3 races (human, elf and demoness) and each one behaves differently to the events that happens inside the story.”

Rivas said another sims-style game to check out is Always Remember Me where he “(took) the Sims and mixed it with a dating sim: that’s how I would define my latest otome game,” he explained. “Several actions (have to be) performed in various places of the game (which) changes the story based on time of the day and day of the week. (The game features) a full stat system with 4 dateable characters and 9 different endings.”

In Planet Stronghold Riva said he took the three gaming aspect he loves and combined them into a fun game.

“I love RPG and I love visual novels and dating sims,” said Rivas. “I think I can define Planet Stronghold as a mix of those three genders. It focuses more on the story and characters, rather than exploring endless tile maps but still does have a pretty solid combat system. (The game also) includes 6 romance-able characters with CG scenes, achievements and a dynamic plot.”

And that’s just to name a few. There are other types of games available to include sport simulation, strategy, wargames, adventures and many other styles of games to explore.

Site [WinterWolves] Site [WinterWolves @ Facebook]

Unfortunately, Communications Director Adam Mersky and Producer Aaron Campbell were unable to provide at this time concrete numbers and data, but still managed to answer some of our questions. And of course, they were relatively mum on what to expect at E3 next month. Such teases!

Incidentally, our giveaway contest for codes to 500 Turbine Points is still going on! If you’d like to win a code for 500 Turbine Points (worth about $5) there’s still time. Simply visit this link and leave a comment on it to enter.

GAMERETELL: Turbine achieved great success when Dungeons and Dragons Online adopted a F2P format. So far, do you see a similar pattern emerging from LOTRO?

Mersky: Yeah. The game has certainly grown from free to play, there’s no doubt about that. LOTRO had a much larger base when we made the transition, so I think that certainly, additionally, DDO’s percent of increase was very high. But we have seen the same kind of growth, we have seen subscribers grow, we have seen lots of new people coming in. I think anybody can see that when they log in the game. Any region that I go to now, any major center there’s other players running around. And it’s been very good for us.

I think that, much like we did the first year with DDO’s operations, we’re still in optimization mode and that’s – how do players feel about the value of the things in the store? And we’re making adjustments as we go. What things can we do? You know, the LOTRO store is much larger than the DDO store so what kind of feedback is that? Are there too many items? Is it hard to find the items? Things like that are what we’re constantly testing on with players, with our beta community –things like that.

So I think we’re learning new things every day, but in a very simple term, we have seen success like we did with DDO. We’re fully behind this model and we think it works. A lot of people still have the misconception that we walked away from subscription but all we did here was add another option to the existing subscription model. And we think that’s been partially responsible for our success.

Campbell: I think that’s certainly one of the counter-intuitive things in the business…to go free to play and see our subscriber numbers grow.

Mersky: Yeah, the players get in, they see the value, they find the community and then they realize that best value of the game is still to subscribe. And we see them go through that process.

GAMERTELL: Has there been a substantial increase in returned players since F2P, people who have reactivated their subscriptions?

Mersky: I don’t have any hard numbers here, but definitely we saw — certainly at launch — a ton of players come back, because here’s an opportunity for them to come back. Their characters are still there, they may make some decisions if they elect to come back as a free player as far as the number of character slots and they can choose which of their characters they want to access.

But you can see that in all MMOs, right? I mean, re-acquiring players is obviously one of our big goals. But we’re always re-acquiring players. Players play for a while, they leave, they check out something else or life gets in the way, they’ve got things to do, then they come back. Certainly events like our content updates or our big updates like [Rise of] Isengard are certainly big drivers of that where a player may take a couple of months off and come back when something like an Isengard launches. And that hasn’t changed even before we were subscription only.

You count on players leaving and coming back and I think that, over the past four years one of the real strengths of LOTRO is that people always come back. Even though they may be going off to play a different game or something else, we’ve seen lots of players sort of come in and out of the game ever since launch.

GAMERTELL: Who is more likely to use the LOTRO store — free-to-play folks or subscribers (AKA VIPs)?

Campbell: Both free players and our premium players purchase something, and our VIP subscribers all use the store but in very different ways. Folks that are paying their subscription very often are buying things that are going to last on their account, more long-term. They’re also buying cosmetic updates – they’re buying a lot of things that help service them in their long-time gaming experience.

Players who are coming in initially and experiencing pieces of the game are sort of acquiring parts of the game as they go. They’re picking up that they want, they’re picking up the storage, they’re picking up an extra character slot because they want to play an additional character, and those types of things.

GAMERTELL: VIPs get 500 Turbine Points free every month. Do you find that they’re spending them as fast as they’re earning them, or do they tend to accumulate them?

Mersky: There’s no one trend or the other. You’ve got players that do all of those things. The idea here is that by subscribing to the service, one of the perks you get is 500 points a month. We have players that subscribe and spend a significant amount of money in the store. We have players that subscribe and play exactly as they did before and they ignore their points. They play as they used to play, as if we were a subscription-only game. And we have subscribers who gave up their subscription and ended up spending more per month just on the store but they don’t want to have the monthly subscription on their credit card.

Campbell: The one thing I’d comment on is that we were at Penny Arcade Expo in Boston and a good half of the press folks who sat down with us and did interviews, after the interview was over they’d lean over and quietly say, “I’m not gonna tell you how much but I really spent a lot of money in your store. I love your game.” I get a chuckle at that. It’s great to see people who are gaming with us, they’re buying what they want to and they’re playing what they want to.

GAMERTELL: Yeah, I’ve spent a good deal of money on your store (laughs)

Campbell and Mersky: Thank you!

GAMERTELL: E3 is coming up very soon. The big question is — will there be a Rise of Isengard trailer and/or playable demo at E3?

Mersky: We will be making some big announcements at E3. We will be at where we were last year, at the Warner Brothers booth. We’ll certainly be making a lot of big announcements about Isengard and hopefully answer a lot of questions people have. Players should stay tuned around E3 to hear more news about what’s coming up for the rest of the year for LOTRO.

GAMERTELL: I know that it’s still a little further off but PAX Prime is also coming up in the fall and I know at PAX East you guys gave away codes for special mounts. Will you be doing that again at PAX Prime?

Mersky: I can’t guarantee anything because I don’t want to commit and you know, all of a sudden we change our mind but the mount was a big hit, people loved them, and apparently they – I don’t know if they sold but apparently there was a brisk market on eBay for them too, from what I was told. I don’t know what they were valued at but one of the cool things about having a store now is that we can more easily just give items that are of value.

What was cool about the, what we affectionately called “The PAX Pony” here in the office was that you could only get them at PAX. It wasn’t on sale from the store or whatever. The players responded well to it and I don’t know when it will be, but we’re gonna do our best to have another sort-of-unique item for our friends in Seattle.

GAMERTELL: So you don’t know yet if it’s going to be the same horse or have a new design?

Mersky: Yeah, I can’t really comment on that. We haven’t really finalized that. We love PAX, Turbine was one of the original exhibitors at PAX back in the day, we’ve been there since the beginning. We love the fact that they come to Boston now ’cause our whole company gets to go. We had the biggest booth on the floor this year, it was awesome. And we expect to have a pretty good presence in Seattle this summer. It’s not even in the fall anymore, Toni. They moved it up — it’s not on Labor Day weekend now, it’s the weekend before. It’s now in August.

So we’re gonna be coming straight from Germany ’cause we’re gonna be at Gamescom –

Campbell: We’re gonna be getting off the plane and walking right in (laughs).

Mersky: So we’ll be on the road for most of August as a result. But certainly by then we’ll have a lot more information on Isengard, and we’ll be in beta and all that so it’ll be very cool.

GAMERTELL: So you’re saying that you’ll be in beta for Isengard roughly in the summer? Like late summer, like August?

Mersky: Our plan is to go into beta sometime this summer. We’re still on track to ship in the fall but we’re not going to put a date on it. We’re going to ship it when it’s ready and part of that process is getting players to hammer on it for us in beta. We’ll certainly let everyone know when that process starts but I’m pretty confident that by PAX we’ll be on our way.

Site [Lord of the Rings Online]

High Voltage Software and Sega’s Conduit 2 is a Wii exclusive and direct sequel to The Conduit. In the previous game, Agent Michael Ford learned that an exiled alien named John Adams was using a group called Trust to take over Earth. Previously, we saw Ford enter a conduit at a Trust base about to fall apart, and he winds up on a Trust oil rig. Ford must now fight against Trust and Adams.

GAMERTELL: When you first started work on Conduit 2, did you have any ideas in mind of things you felt you absolutely had to do or include in the sequel?

David Antognoli, Conduit 2 Designer: “We knew we wanted to strengthen the single-player experience by adding more wow moments, opening up the level designs, and injecting more narrative into the experience. For multiplayer, we wanted to ramp up everything–more weapons, more maps, more customization, more modes.”

GAMERTELL:How did the reviews for The Conduit influence Conduit 2?

David Pellas, Conduit 2 Design Director: “The reviews for The Conduit helped us pinpoint what areas of the game we needed to work on. We immediately started working on a solution to the hacker problem and redesigning how our single-player campaign progressed.”

GAMERTELL: The Conduit had some multiplayer issues with hackers. An IGN article from April, 2010 mentioned that “security will be tightened” to deal with this situation. Can you elaborate on what this would entail?

Antognoli: “We targeted this problem from the onset of Conduit 2’s development and have embraced a variety of strategies to deal with it. Perhaps most visibly, we have implemented a patching system for Conduit 2 that allows us to update the game post-release in order to patch up any known exploits.”

GAMERTELL: What games, books, movies or TV shows they were you really into while making Conduit 2?

Antognoli: “Lots of science fiction!”

Pellas: “I enjoy many different interests, but the show that I have been enjoying through the development is Super Natural.”

GAMERTELL: Did any of your personal experiences influenced Conduit 2‘s design in some way?

Antognoli: “We live to make games so everything is personal. That said, much of the design for Conduit 2 was already thought out from The Conduit and during the early months of development. Once we established our goals, we had a lot of work to do in order to complete those goals at a quality level that we were excited about.”

GAMERTELL: What kind of challenges did you face in creating a game with online multiplayer that supports up to 12 people, considering how user-unfriendly the Wii is when it comes to multiplayer matches?

Pellas: “Actually, the multiplayer for Conduit 2 was much easier to refine and implement that it was for The Conduit. During the development of The Conduit, we spent a lot of time iterating, testing, balancing, and writing network code. This process was arduous but in the end we delivered a very solid experience. For Conduit 2, we did not start all over and those lessons learned on The Conduit actually gave us a tremendous leg-up for Conduit 2.”

GAMERTELL: “What made you decide to remove drastic motion controls from Conduit 2? Did you feel it would make what is a more serious game more gimmick-y?

Antognoli “For single-player, it is true that we limited the motion-based interactions in the game. We felt like they slowed the game down and that wasn’t what we wanted. As for game controls in general, we still utilize motion controls in the default control scheme and feel that they bring a unique Wii-twist to the game experience. That said, players do have the option to customize their controls or use the Classic Controller / Classic Controller Pro.”

GAMERTELL: Could you specifically go into why Nintendo requested no Wii Speak support?

Pellas: “During discussions with our partners we decided together that it would be best to support the HeadBanger peripheral, rather than the WiiSpeak. There were a number of reasons why we chose this direction, some technical and some not so much. In the end, we believe we chose the best technology to support and received the best results.”

GAMERTELL: How do you respond to and feel about criticism from gamers who feel that the Wii is unsuited to a FPS, and that a game like Conduit 2 would be better suited to the PS3 or Xbox 360?

Pellas: “We politely disagree. Wii gamers deserve games developed for their system of choice and the FPS genre is a much loved genre that deserves to be represented on the Wii.”

GAMERTELL: High Voltage developed the Quantum3 engine for the Wii, which you’ve used with The Conduit and Conduit 2. Do you have any projects in development that will also be using this technology? Or are you hoping to refine/enhance it for future projects?

Antognoli: “Our Quantum engine is a tremendous accomplishment for our company and we are very proud of the technology. We are definitely not ready to retire it and in fact, we just made a round of improvements for a couple future projects.”

GAMERTELL: Can you talk about any games that you may have been developing, but had to scrap? If so, what elements if any were carried over to the Conduit games?

Pellas: “We are always working on something “extra”. Many of these ideas are just concepts that we attempt to prove. A good many of these make it into our games. As for any specifics, I can’t really say because those that weren’t used yet will likely be used in the future.”

GAMERTELL: Is there any chance we could see a Conduit 3, if all goes well? Or perhaps even see a variation for the 3DS? There was that 3DS proof of concept demo of Conduit 2 at GDC…

Pellas: “We would love to make a Conduit 3, but that really depends on how well Conduit 2 does. As for the 3DS, we really like the hardware and have already developed a tech demo that involved portions of Conduit 2 running of the hardware. As for what the next steps are, we are unfortunately not talking about those yet.”

GAMERTELL: Speaking of the 3DS, how do you feel about Nintendo’s new handheld, both technically and just in general?

Antognoli: “The 3DS hardware is definitely cool. There is a lot of power packed into that little package and as I mentioned before, we are already developing tech for it. Personally, I think the augmented reality stuff is incredible and has really jumpstarted some interesting conversations internally.”

GAMERTELL: Now that WiiWare demos have begun popping up on the Wii Shop Channel, can we expect to see demos for High Voltage games like Gyrostarr?

Pellas: “We currently have no plans to offer demos of our previously released WiiWare games.”

GAMERTELL: High Voltage Software tends to make a balance of games that are more for advanced gamers, like The Conduit, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law and Hunter: The Reckoning, and ones that are for children and casual gamers, like Lego Racers, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Country Dance. Is there a variety or genre of game you prefer making, or do you enjoy the general challenge regardless of the final result?

Antognoli: “It’s awesome to work on a variety of games. It keeps things fresh and helps round your skills out by exposing you to a variety of ways of doing things. While I love working on core-games like Conduit, I also enjoy working on other games.”

GAMERTELL: Previously, High Voltage’s Eric Nofsinger said that High Voltage Software wants to make Wii games that don’t “look like crap.” Aside from games like The Conduit and Conduit 2, do you have any other plans for similar quality games?

Pellas: “We work very hard on all of our games and we develop each of our games to look good and play well, regardless of platform.”

GAMERTELL: Tablets are huge now. How is High Voltage Software trying to capitalize on that market?

Pellas: “The market is interesting and we are definitely not ignoring it. We unfortunately can’t talk about anything official yet.”

GAMERTELL: Finally, what’s the best shooter on the market right now, excluding Call of Duty?

Antognoli: “Conduit 2!”

Pellas: “Definitely Conduit 2! We just spent 24 straight hours playing the game and I was left wanting more.”

Conduit 2 launched on April 19, 2011. It’s $49.99 and features not only a robust single player experience, but also a local multiplayer mode for up to four people and online multiplayer for up to 12 people that doesn’t require friend codes to play online against other people. There are still friend codes, but you can play against random people without entering any, if you’d like, and add random people to your rivals list.

Read [Gamertell] Site [High Voltage Software]

Hodges runs the More Pot website and is the founder of A2C2, the All-American Cannabis Club. A2C2 also has a Facebook page.

The Book of MorePot website is quite cheeky, parodying the Mormon religion. Members are referred to as LDS (Later Day Stoners) and celebrate 4/20 and 10/31 (I had no idea Halloween was a stoner holiday!). There’s even a picture of two guys (one of whom I’m guessing is Hodges) dressed in the classic Mormon missionary attire of short-sleeved white button shire, dark tie, and dark pants. However, instead of spreading the word of Jesus, the MorePot missionaries spread the word of marijuana legalization.

The A2C2 website on the other hand, is more straightforward. Not only does it provide information on what features the club has to offer (selections of plants, counseling, even discounts for certain groups), but it also tracks cannabis-related news.

GAMERTELL: Why did the More Pot ad in the Metro specifically target gamers? Why have gamers been lumped in with stoners and potheads? Surely there are those who support your cause who are not gamers.

Hodges: The book of MorePot included gamers for a few reasons.
1st) Gamers tend to be intelligent individuals capable of doing their own research. Cannabis prohibition has been created by government propaganda. Regardless of if they use cannabis, it is hard to support prohibition when you do your own research.

2nd) Based on my experience the typical gamer does not vote! Unfortunately, what I have seen is intelligent people being “fed up” with our government, feeling as if their vote does not count, and using that as an excuse to not vote.

3rd) I know a lot of people that consume cannabis, that consider themselves to be gamers. 4th) The way I see it, regardless of if gamers support my cause, the more intelligent, open minded, individuals that vote, the better.

GAMERTELL: Can More Pot refer to studies suggesting that gamers are likely to smoke pot, or that pot smokers are likely to play video games?

Hodges: Sorry, I can not suggest any studies I would consider to be valid on this subject. This has nothing to do with them smoking pot & everything to do with my belief that the typical gamer is an intelligent individual capable of doing their own research.

GAMERTELL: Is it safe to say that the More Pot ad is aimed at a particular demographic (young, college-age males) that also happens to enjoy playing video games? If so, then why not mention other activities enjoyed by this demographic, such as playing sports or going to bars?

Hodges: MorePot was not aimed at any particular demographic. It was designed to spread the truth to anyone who will listen.

GAMERTELL: Does it have to do with the stereotypical “slacker” image shared by gamers and potheads?

Hodges: The one undeniable issue that “stoners” and “gamers” share it is the “slacker” stereotype. If I had to choose one specific reason I included gamers in the Book of MorePot, it is because both groups need to overcome this unjustified stereotype. If we all start voting, the “slacker” stereotype will go away.

GAMERTELL: Is it fair for More Pot to assume that all gamers support your cause? What about those who don’t?

Hodges: My only assumption is that gamers are intelligent and capable of doing their own research. If their research leads them to feel differently then I do, that is their right as an American. All I truly care about is that people start voting.

Site [The Book of MorePot] [All-American Cannabis Club]

Also, we get a sneak peak at what to expect from Rise of Isengard, the upcoming and highly anticipated next expansion. The expected release date for Rise of Isengard is fall 2011.

LOTRO launched in North America on April 24, 2007 and April 26, 2007 in Europe. To celebrate this four-year anniversary, Turbine kicked off an in-game festival on April 19, 2011. Players can participate in trivia contests and horse races, win little prizes, have beer fights in taverns (yes, you read that right), and other fun activities. Also, from April 21-24, players can earn double XP, as a little thank-you from Turbine. The anniversary festival will run until May 2, 2011.

By the way, stay tuned over the next few days for information on how you can win codes redeemable for 500 Turbine Points.

Mersky kicked off the interview by saying, “We’re very proud to have reached this important milestone. Not a lot of MMOs get to be four years old. And while LOTRO’s sort of a baby here, compared to all our games it’s the youngest, it doesn’t take away from the accomplishment and we’re really happy especially in light of the fact that the game continues to grow and is doing well, something that’s also not easy to do in this market.”

GAMERTELL: LOTRO is celebrating its fourth year this month, which is an important mark. As Adam mentioned, not many MMOs have made it that far. What can you attribute LOTRO’s success –or successes– to?

Campbell: First of all, we have a beautiful and authentic and massive world of Middle-earth to draw on, that players can journey through. We also have a really great game design, a really tight team that knows how to tell a story and knows how to be authentic to that story and bring players in. We have a lot of innovation. We’ve been changing the game since the day we launched it, right? So we’ve added things like…we’re among the first to bring you cosmetic outfits to change the appearance of your character. Scaling instances – you can choose the size and difficulty and scale of the spaces you want to play through. All along continuing to grow the world and give you new features like legendary items. I think that capacity to grow, that capacity to evolve as an MMO is absolutely key to succeeding in any market, especially this market. And then last year of course we took a giant leap and transformed our business model as well with free-to-play, added that on top of our existing subscription service.

GAMERTELL: Like many MMOs, LOTRO has had its ups and downs over the years. Are there things you wish you could have done differently? And what do you think worked best of all?

Mersky: The easy, snarky answer is that with hindsight being 20/20 is that I wish we did free-to-play from the get-go.

Campbell: But the market was so different back then.

Mersky: It is. You can’t compare. It wouldn’t have worked in 2007 the way it did in 2010. But clearly that’s – that’s something that if you could turn back time and circumstance but…you know. That’s been a big thing for us.

Campbell: Also, sometimes it’s the little things right? One thing that we’re very committed to is adhering to the lore. But looking back I have to say Moria is very dark in places (laughs) and that is absolutely a benefit, and every time I fall off a cliff it’s not so great. But one thing that’s worked well, I think is that continuing to develop new landscape and new instances and places has absolutely been key to our success. And in making that fit in the flavor of the world, building authenticity early on.

GAMERTELL: Keeping the playerbase happy for four years has got to be a challenging task since people want the game to go in so many different directions. What have you learned over the years in terms of appeasing your customers?

Campbell: I’d rather think of pleasing my customers. They’re hungry, they definitely have a lot of things. It’s about choosing the right directions to go, the right investments to make, the right things to focus on and build for the players. I think one of the key things we learned is to make sure that we build options for different play styles. So if you want to be a solo player, now you can play the entire epic story as a solo player and not feel caught out of any critical story moments. If you want to play in large groups we have raids across the game. In fact, one of the things we’re gonna talk about is that for Isengard coming up, we’re taking this giant dragon raid we’re building and making it a 24-person raid, which is back to being one of the largest sizes of raids we’ve had in the game. So, giving that flexibility, giving you large group content, small group content, opportunities to socialize and roleplay, whatever it is you’re in to – we wanna build those opportunities for you.

GAMERTELL: And just to be clear, you said that for Rise of Isengard you guys are planning on bringing back the 24-man raid?

Campbell: With Rise of Isengard, we have two really key things right now that have come out just from the development process. One is the that our dragon raid is going to be scaled to 24 players, which we’re really excited about. It’s a huge, very complex piece so it’s taking us some time and it’s gonna be awesome. The other thing I want to say is that as we’ve been building out the landscape — ya know, the regions of Dunland and the Gap of Rohan and Isengard itself, looking at that space we said, ‘This really doesn’t quite fit for five levels. This is for ten levels’. So we’re actually boosting the level cap, so instead of 70 we’re going from 65-75. And that’s with crafting and all the other associated things you would expect.

GAMERTELL: Four years have passed. Where do you see LOTRO four years from now?

Campbell: Oh goodness uhhhh, somewhere past Gondor? (laughs). Okay, so one thing I say about Turbine and about LOTRO in specific is that we’re always working on those core systems. We have our own game engine, we have our own team in-house that builds our engine. So we’re constantly looking to upgrade and improve that performance. This is a modern game. I challenge it to stand up to any game on PC right now, when you get it out there on modern hardware, on DX11 and get the shadows going, the trees bending in the wind and such. So we’re going to continue to focus on those things, continue to make combat great, continue to develop brand new parts of the world and expand that story and push further on and listen to our players’ feedback. As I said, we evolve. I can guess where we’re going to be in two years or three years but if it’s anything like the last four years, it’s gonna surprise me.

Site [Lord of the Rings Online]