A look at PlayFirst

I met with Craig Bocks, the Senior Director & Executive Producer for PlayFirst. PlayFirst is better known as the publisher of such games as Diner Dash and the more recent Chocolatier series of games. Their games can be found on various sites that are available for limited 60 minute play with the option to purchase the game after the trial period is over. Bocks said that the real strength of PlayFirst is their ability to develop very rich story worlds that allow their players an immersive experience. Since they have well developed story worlds, it also allows the game players different types of game play experiences in familiar environments.

Another element to the PlayFirst on-line presence are their forums which allow players to interact with each other. Developers also use the forums for players to give them feedback. Players can learn about new games and when they'll be released. A new beta site has been developed which is geared towards educating inexperienced players. It is informally called “Tips” and is an answer to a problem that occurs when a player is stuck and has asked for help in the forums. It's very easy for the answer to become buried in a forum thread. The idea behind "Tips" is to have a place where a player can specify a problem and have other players answer their question. When the most succinct answer is found, the topic is closed. The beta site will allow a player to earn an elevated status through the awarding of points on the site based on the how much content is contributed to the site.

PlayFirst is located in San Francisco and has three design studios. There are around 5 to 6 game designers, who are essentially like the authors to a book. They come up with the game story worlds. A producer is the person who makes sure the product is finished, or the project manager. And there are various art teams and engineering teams that work on parts of the product to make it whole. Not all of PlayFirst's production is done in the design studios. They also hire third party companies to help with the pieces. Company sizes that they've used in the past vary from a small 2 to 3 person company to one that employs over 100 people.

Recently, PlayFirst released The Great Chocolate Chase (TGCC). It takes place in the Chocolatier world, but the game play for the TGCC is a time management style game, while the first two Chocolatier games are tycoon style games. This is the first time I've seen a casual game keep within a storyline with familiar characters and successfully change up the game play mechanics. I suspect we're going to be seeing more of this go on in the casual game industry.

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