CR: Can you tell us a little bit about your background: Who are you, and why are you making casual games?

MR: Rock Solid is currently four people – Rod, Neil, Pedro and myself – brought together by a passion for making quality games. We are making casual games because they gel with our philosophy that games should focus on a distilled and polished gameplay mechanic over masses of content, be easy for anyone to pick up, and shouldn't need a lot of time investment to be rewarding.

CR: We had a great time with Inca Quest, and especially enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek story. Can you tell us a little bit about the creative process of making that game?

MR: Thanks! We had a great time making it. We started Inca Quest without much idea how it would turn out, way back in late 2004, working on it in our spare time. A lot of the additions were spur of the moment things – like the comics – where we were playing it and thought, hey, wouldn't it be cool if...? We worked under the rule that if we weren't happy with something, it had to be redone, and I really believe that shows through in the end result. We never left part time, though, so it took a very long time!

CR: You guys are located in Waiheke Island in Auckland, New Zealand – to which many of our readers will respond, “Huh? What? Where?” Help ‘em out, and tell them a little about your home.

MR: Yeah, I imagine not too many people have heard of it! Waiheke is a small island just off of Auckland, New Zealand. It really is a beautiful island, beaches everywhere. Working on a computer all day often gets a bit repetitive, but having an amazing view helps.

CR: You are working on a new side-scroller, “Darwin the Monkey”. Do you find it interesting that the “latest thing in casual games” is often a design that we remember from ten years ago or more? How do you freshen up these old game designs?

MR: I think the reason that so many cool gameplay types emerged in the early days is that there just wasn't the hardware available to create an immersive atmosphere. If your core gameplay wasn't as tight as possible, nobody would play the thing! These days many games for the core market (Xbox, Playstation, retail PC) are built largely as interactive stories. They are fun to play, but I think casual gamers are looking more for a quick fix from a solid game, so it makes sense to borrow from the classics.

CR: Tell us a little bit about your users. Who is playing your games, and why? How do you target your games to these users? How do you know when you have it right?

MR: That's a difficult question! The casual market is huge, and one that we were looking to tap in to with Inca Quest, but we only ever work on games that we ourselves would want to play. Casual games as a whole get so many things right – easy to understand, well thought out instructions, tutorials and difficulty curve. The ability to pick up and put down a game at any time is, I believe, extremely important. It makes it much more accessible to people who don't have a lot of time. So even if we make games that are more arcade in the future, we will incorporate those elements.

CR: Tell us a little bit about life as a casual games developer. What is a normal day in the life of a Rock Solid developer like? What do you think is different about your life than that of, say, an Xbox developer in Redmond? Would you trade places with them?

MR: There's no real typical day at the Rock Solid office, we are very flexible with the hours and work. Games and movies make a frequent appearance. We play our own games a lot, and when are working once we are in the groove of things the hours fly by. Being an Xbox developer in Redmond would be a cool job, but it's not really my thing – I enjoy being my own boss too much!

CR: Since you started making casual games, what have you learned about the casual market? What are you changing about your games, and what do you think you still need to change?

MR: One thing we've learned about the market is that while so many companies are focusing on match 3 and other simple puzzle games, the market often suddenly heads in a direction that surprises a lot of people (us included). Platypus, Mystery Case Files and Virtual Villagers are great examples of this.

CR: What does Rock Solid have coming up in the future? What’s your next hit going to be, and what should we know about it?

MR: We've got two cool games coming up that we can't wait to release: Darwin the Monkey, which is coming really soon, and Sphinxed. More about that one later!

CR: Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers?

MR: Yes! We would absolutely love to know what you think about our games, so head over to www.rocksolidgames.com and let us know!

You can see more of Rock Solid at their website, www.rocksolidgames.com. Be sure to stop by and have a look! Check back at Casual Review soon for more developer interviews, features, and reviews.