In Part 2 of my interview with Ron Rejwan from Wargames 2.0, we focus on the development process and background of the game as well as the development team. It is nice to know that in a world where video games are rapidly approaching 5Gigabytes or more and require the latest and greatest hardware there are still people dedicated to making quick, light games that can be played from anywhere without the need to install a piece of software or expensive new hardware.

GUI design

6) What is the basic interface of the game like, how graphic is the interface?
Ron:I wanted to give the game online lightness, with an offline feel. Meaning you can play it from anywhere in the world, no matter what browser you are using, as long as you have a minimum of 1024x768 screen resolution and a decent internet connection, you can play it. I feel that most gamers these days use this resolution, so I decided on leaving out the users with 800x600 or lower. And by offline feel I mean that the graphic design is incredible, I am absolutely in love with my graphic artist's work, she's the best! Besides that, everything in the game has a "Loading" standby effect, buttons disable themselves and tell you to "Please wait", and the help system which pops using an amazing free Ajax based control I've found called ThickBox. All of the things above give a very offline, professional feel to the game, enhancing the player's experience. The game won't be too graphic; besides the amazing GUI, certain aspects of the game will be graphic as well. But due to some design schedule issues I am considering releasing the beta with a less attractive design. Here is an example screenshot of the beta version GUI. Here is an example screenshot of the public release version GUI.

Ron Rejwan

7) How many people are working on Wargames 2.0 and what are each of them doing?

Ron:This may surprise you, but it's just me, my graphic designer and 2 other people that help me with the general concept of the game. I thought of the idea, and developed the entire engine (It's entirely written in ASP.Net 2.0).

Design studio logo

Eilona, my excellent graphic designer, works on the GUI. I can't quite compliment her enough for her amazing work.The other two people are friends of mine that help me out with general ideas and concepts for the game.

8) How long have you been developing Wargames 2.0?
Ron: WarGames 2.0 actually started a few years back when I wrote the first WarGames, which was played in my office network. Unfortunately, people got so addicted to it; I had to remove it due to management issues. That's when I discovered I love making games, and I love getting feedback from people on my games. So after taking what I've learned from the first game, the entire development is at around 5 months already.

9) How long do you expect the beta-testing phase to last before the game will be open to the general public?
Ron:In a perfect world, I'd have enough time to run the beta version for a month, close the game, add my modifications then open a second beta for another month, re-modify the game, and only then open it for the public. Unfortunately, this is only a pet project of mine, and not a full time job, so I only have time for a single beta period, which will be around two to four weeks, and only then will the game be open to the public.

Tomorrow: Part 3. We wrap up our time with Ron and he lays down some teasers for us about the game and the future of Wargames 2.0.

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