Here’s the wrap-up of the Q&A session we had with Sean Cooper the other week! Hopefully everyone will find this as interesting and informative as we did! Have a great weekend! So many exclamation points!

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All About Sean Cooper

Game Design & Development

Mochi Coins & Shadez 2 Development

The Business & Industry of Games

All About Sean Cooper

Who is Sean Cooper?

SC: I have worked on Flood, Syndicate, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper, Bond, Godfather, Battlefield, Boxhead!

List three of your favorite games of all time.

SC: Sensible Soccer, Rampart, Battlefield 1942 and Command and Conquer (first release only).

I enjoy your Shadez series, and I was wondering if you were planning on creating a type of online multiplayer version, or any other types of online multiplayer games in your other series of games?

SC: Yes.  Boxhead: Bounty hunter is coming soon… I would love to write a game where 400 people beat the crap out of each other until one man is stand – that could be cool.  A bar brawler.

Jameson: He’s talking to us more than typing. He’s explaining how he wants to create a multiplayer game where everyone fights and the last man standing wins.

What do you think about serious games and games as something more than entertainment. Do you plan to go this way someday, even if it is not financially rewarding at the moment? (Yeah, I know your current games)

SC: Doesn’t really appeal. If it is FUN, then I will make it versus if it makes a ton of money and no FUN? What would you rather do?

What are your favorite flash games that you like to play yourself (besides your own)?

SC: Fantastic contraptions – the best.

Please name your top three indie or commercial developer in the flash game market.

SC: Brad Borne, Colin Northway of Fantasic Contraption and Paul Priece ( the Casual Collective guys).

Game Design & Development

How has your experience working for other platforms helped you in the casual game space, and how has it hindered you?

SC: Hindering is good. The restrictions of any platform invoke new ways of thinking. My experience on the other platforms helps in the design process only, I think.

What steps do you take to balance the risk/reward developing Flash games?

SC: Totally risky, but the reward is massive.  I have loads of games that never made it.  I have some games on my harddisk that no one will ever see, as they did not make it.

I was wondering how much planning goes into making one of your games, they seem well thought out, does it just start as an idea and you add to it during the development cycle, or is it a well planned out series of steps?

SC: That is a really nice question… my process is simple to me. Think of one statement that descibes your experience you are trying to create (i.e. Boxhead – Kill as many zombies in one shot).  And then design around this statement…. it keeps you on track etc.  As I work on my own you need to be very discipline in following this

Do you ever have multiple projects going at the same time or do you knuckle down on each one until it’s done?]

SC: Yes, 3 this time: Shadez 2, Boxhead iPhone and Boxhead: Bounty hunter (16/32 player).

How is it to work with big names like Peter Molyneux? He seems very visionary and creative. Is he ingeniously talented or is most of it his ambition and dedication?

SC: No, Peter is a natural Game designer, he can see what the consumer wants. He is the person that I hold most dear to me, as he created me in the gaming world.

The graphics in your game fit perfectly with not only the themes, but even the title names you chose, when designing graphics for your games, do you develop them around the idea that you started with during the dev process, or are the graphics thought out before the game is actually started developing?

SC: No, during the process and towards the end… it has to represent the experience. Boxhead was called Blox before. On the day of release I had to quickly redesign the logos…

Who came up with the Persuadertron from Syndicate?

SC: Peter Molyneux did.

Are there any new flash gaming technologies emerging that interest you in particular? you mentioned developing an online multiplayer game, and using microtransactions, how about 3d flash, or physics, or do you have any ideas that would be great to have available one day to help make a fun interesting games?

SC: No, none for now.

I’d make 2D shooters – they’re my favourite games – but there doesn’t appear to be much of a market for them.

SC: Disagree. Boxhead is a 2D shooter. It has a big market.

What are your thoughts on webgl?

SC: No interest again.

Is user created content important to you in your games? Level editors and things like that?

SC: Yes. We have to work out away of doing this well… the next Boxhead will have some user design components in it.

SC: Playing is working.

What are your feelings about Flash games that emotionally emersive as opposed to something that’s only quick to pick up and “fun”?  How does this compare to your opinion of games on traditional platforms?

SC: I think we have to find a careful balance of the two, Zelda is pickup and fun but yet deep and emotionally immersive.

Mochi Coins & Shadez 2 Development

How long did shades 2 take to make?

SC: 6 Months +1 month for making it simpler to get into.

What made you choose to use Mochi Coins over other microtransactions for Shadez 2?

SC: Because Mochi is awesome. Because I have never worked with Mochi before and this was a great oppotunity.

How much did mochicoins affect the sponsorship of Shadez?

SC: In the end, no. But Kongregate are not taking it with the coins in it (i.e. hosting). Wwe will spend some time working that out.

How did you choose the prices of the items in Shadez, and do you have any advice on mochicoins in general?

SC: I let Mochi choose the pricing MochiPrice*0.66 = Price in game.

Can you share some stats about Shadez 2 sales so far?

SC: No. Classified. In 6 months we will release the data to the public.

With Shadez 2 as an example, as it’s quite deep, how much of the 6 months did you spend play testing your own creation?

SC: Too much.  40% of the time is spent playing.  I mean testing, and then it turns into playing.

Jameson: When we were working with Sean, he kept telling me that he was playing more than working. But that’s a good thing.

The Business & Industry of Games

For new developers who know how to code but are making their first 2nd or 3rd games, what would you recommend is a good way to start to make money as a beginner, Sponsorship, Advertisements, or MicroTransactions?

SC: I started with Sponsorship. wOne = $1500, which was pretty cool?  Then the next was $3000 and so on, you will just get better as you go… never except the first price and always have an expected amount!  Advertising was CPMStar on Zombie Wars – they have a set deal, easy. Mochi Coins now that is a different beast. You have to think slightly differently. Design this in at the start and not half way through, it will make it easier.

You were involved in PC gaming from the early days when genres were first being defined. Will you / EA ever revive and port some of the massive archive of great old PC games to Flash.

SC: Yes. Oh, what fun they would be to make. FUN is the big word today.

How many copies of Powermonger were sold? Any idea?

SC: 1.1 million copies on PC, I think.

None of your games are available through Mochi distribution that I can find. Is that part of your sponsorship with CrazyMonkeyGames?

SC: For now yes, it will be available. we are in Beta testing.

With Adobe strengthening their support for more social and mobile platforms for flash, such as facebook and cell phones, do you think these types of different environments will require you to develop future games with these types of features and platforms in mind, or how do you see your games being affected by these changes.

SC: Nothing changes. However, we should consider these tools to expand our users. To me social gaming is ’self marketing’ product. It’s just a tool. You still need a great game, so the same.

I’m working on an iPhone game now..and every time I start i think am I wasting my time..cause most aren’t succsessful..how do you avoid that?

SC: You sit yourself down, and explain to yourself that you will succeed… it is a tricky process working on your own.

How is it to work independently in comparison to working in the game industry. Creative freedom vs. big budgets and technological progression? You miss the old game industry and why you have decided to go indie?

SC: I had had enough. The FUN had been removed. It happens when you get older. You know turning 30, divorce, etc. The mind starts to think what the hell I am doing? Well, why not just write a Flash game on my own… bingo… and here I am.

Do you use FGL? If not, why not?

SC: I do, Adam is a close friend. I do, however, prefer to do this process in a more personal fashion – i.e. talking to them directly – FGL do managae this process for me. And they do a really good job.

Can you share what experiences working at EA or in the console industry have you implemented into your flash development, and do you think differently when developing for the flash industry?

SC: No, I think in the same way – that would be best right? It is the same however the limitation, the audience, the money are all different but the game still has to be FUN.

Do you spend time distributing your games or do you only distribute your games to your sponsor and then they distribute them?

SC:I spend as little time distributing my game as possible. If it doesn’t distribute itself then what does it say about the game? My wife does some uploads but not a lot. We should spend more time doing it, but it should be viral.

How do you hope to see the Flash game development space evolve in the near future?

SC: The space will evolve… the amatuers will disappear and will only leave the people that can compete with the big publishers.

By disappear do you mean they will no longer play a role as major blips on a big publisher’s radar?  Will the long-tail model no longer be applicable then?

SC: Once the economy of the industry grows, it will become extremely hard to compete, please see iPhone. They [amateurs] no longer play a role… again see the iPhone.

What kind of games and genres would you like to see more of in the Flash space and implemented better? Or rather do you feel any types of games feel/seem underrepresented in terms of content and quality?

SC: I like 2d shooters. Most flash developers create games that have nothing unique about them… it is a little boring when you have seen the same thing over and over again.

So as to not divulge all your secrets, can you please name one thing that you think makes a gaming experience “unique”?SC: Something someone else has not done. Fancy Pants could have just been a traditional Platfomer… but it was fairly unique