Talk With The Developers : The Gameplay Designer/ Beta Tester

I caught up with one of the guys behind making flash games tick-tock and asked a few questions.


Sean: Hello Dabor!, First - Can you tell me what you do in the flash game process?

Dabor: I started out as a late stage tester, and now I'm moving to design with a few projects on the way. I suppose I can even be a bit of a coding consultant at times when I discuss certian features, but I can't code. I just make ideas.

Sean: Nice, Can you give any tips to anyone who wants to test and help out in games and where they should go to start?

Dabor: I was just rolling through the Kongregate "New Games" section, bumped into a new multiplayer game, got into playing it, met the developer, and a nice chat and a few random ideas later, we started developing a relationship.

 Eventually, as she got busier, she just invited me to FlashGameLicense.com so I could do the same for other developers. They liked what I did so it caught on. As long as you have enough ideas and throw them at people often enough, they'll hit a developer. But there isn't really a perfect way to get attention. Too many people want to be testers to let the few with good ideas to get through without a fight.

Sean: What is your favourite flash game, and why do you think it's so good?

Dabor: Starfighter: Disputed Galaxy, back when it had multiplayer. The first reason it's good is just the ability to interact with people. Simple being able to do things together offers a lot of new gameplay options.

Second, it has some amount of random generation. You'll get into different fights, some of which will go swimmingly, and other times you get swarmed. Third, there is a lot of raw content to begin with. Lots of ship classes, weapons, and a lot of combinations to use them in.

Fourth, a solid, soft soundtrack that never gets annoying and immediatley reminds you of the comfort of the game, as well as solid graphics. Just having good colors on an explosion adds a lot to the satisfaction of a kill.

It isn't the best short expereince out there, but all of these traits combined make it playable for a long time, and keep it memorable. You don't really ever forget those lazy evenings trying to suck your friends into a black hole.

Sean: What is your single most hated cliche you find in flash games?, And what can you say to improve it?

Dabor: Starting in an overworld, a series of menus, or anything else that stalls me getting to the gameplay. The actual gameplay is what motivates me to upgrade, explore, or keep playing in general. Expecting me to hold D and talk to some villagers before I get to kill things doesn't add to atmosphere, just frustration.

There are ways to motivate people much deeper than the upgrade screen 15 seconds away. A long term goal to accumulate money for a cool sword works, the important thing is to make me care. An RPG game can work in flash, but the first thing I should see after pressing play is myself. Preferably armed. Preferably with some cool weapons.

Just get the gameplay to me, and make me like it. Never try to do it the other way around. Seeing is believing.

Thanks Dabor, Good talk. Moral of the story is - Make good games!  
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That's the first interview done, Expect a nice chat with a programmer next and plenty of tips!
-Sean Parnell