Today we’re talking to Miguel Tartaj of Katgames, makers of 5 Spot and other interesting casual titles. He discusses his background and making casual games in today’s market, as well as making a few predictions about what to expect in the coming years from casual and indie development.

CR: Tell us a little bit about your background: Where did you come from, and why did you decide to start making casual games? What’s special about games from Katgames?

Miguel: I started developing games in 1994 with a group of friends (initially called Chaos Effect and lately called Xpiral). We developed games for the commodore Amiga, but unfortunately the system was dying by that time. So we had to find a more stable system and started making games for the PC. We made a few racing games (Bettle Buggin, Beetle Crazy Cup, Speed Demons, Radical Drive) and some puzzle games. By the year 2000 some of my old partners simply wanted to leave the gaming space to start other activities and I had to start my own company. It was a hard time because they didn’t want to simply leave the company; they wanted to make it disappear, so even if I had contacts and knowledge I almost had to start again from zero.

I made a new development team and started a 3D minigolf game (Golf Adventure Galaxy). At first we planned to sell it through small publishers from different countries, but soon I found out that things were changing fast and it was not going to work as before. Traditional publishers weren’t looking for original titles to push, and they only wanted huge games based on established franchises or known licenses. I knew Real Networks because we launched one of our puzzle games with them, so I contacted them and started to modify the minigolf game to adapt it to the “casual gamer”. The game wasn’t a big success but we learned a lot from that experience and started planning other games completely adapted to the “casual” audience. The games we make now are focused to the “casual gamer” and we are very comfortable making these games.

CR: What’s special about games from Katgames?Miguel: I’d say several things: First, we love these games (fun and easy games for everybody). Second, originality: we always try to be original even with projects based on other concepts. We firmly believe on making clear distinctions. Third, we carefully listen to our users, we respect the time someone spends on giving suggestions or opinions, and we try to reply and address them in our games. Finally, we have a strong technical knowledge and skills (we can make very complex 3D games and almost any kind of graphic style). This helps on making things smooth (development tools, ways to tackle a new concept, etc) and try new things and different concepts. As a result we make very diverse types of games: racing, puzzle, action, etc.

CR: Tell us a bit about the “game development scene” where you are. How is this different from being a studio elsewhere?

Miguel: Hard to tell. I’ve been always working in my own company. One of my biggest concerns has always been being happy with what with do, I’m not sure if everybody else does things this way.

CR: We really loved Zulu Gems, especially the maps and story. Tell us a little bit about making the game, and what your big challenges were.

Miguel: The biggest challenge on Zulu Gems was making intense and original levels with a proper learning curve and “topping” everything accordingly (maps, worlds, story line, and adding new features bit by bit to make sure the user understands and enjoys them). We spent a long time tweaking, adapting and thinking about nice features the game needed to make it attractive not only from the beginning but also when you advance to higher levels.

CR: How about 5 Spots? Why are there so few games that use this simple but classic gameplay? And when do we get a new one?

Miguel: There are (and have been around) many games based on the same concept, but if you don’t find them easily it’s simply because they didn’t attract people. Not every game based on a simple concept has that power of attraction. I guess there is a general assumption with games that is not right: simple means easy to make. I personally believe simple concepts need a lot of imagination, deep thinking, and hard work. I believe that’s where the fun part of casual games is… but I have the impression most people do not respect this much.

Also, we are working on a new version of 5 Spots with a big surprise. I’ll keep you informed.

CR: You guys have a long history in games. Looking forward into the future of casual games, what are going to be the biggest challenges developers face? What kind of games are our readers going to be downloading in another 2-3 years?

Miguel: This space is exploding and many things are happening at the same time and very quickly. It starts to remind me the “traditional games” space in middle 90’s (a lot of clones and very similar games, many people interested in entering the scene, a lot of money to push new things, etc) so maybe the challenges will be the same as then: make a strong studio and cultivate your publishing options or die…

However, there are some major differences than can make the situation very different. For example; in casual games the final user is the boss while in the traditional distribution space the channel is held by publishers and their decisions of what is pushed and launched is subjective and usually only based on what previously sold well. If someone makes an original casual game that people love, it will sell very well no matter if a portal or a distributor wants to push it or not. Everyone wants those games so making a good entertaining title will always work. If a game is fun and addictive (no matter how nice, deep, or technically advanced) people enjoy and buy it (no matter if you spend millions or hundreds of dollars). So let’s see…

In 2 or 3 years… hum. I guess production values will keep going up because that’s the easiest thing to do. However new original concepts will enter the space and will surprise and hook more and more people no matter if they have or not good production values. I hope the war between clones and originality is won by the second one, I guess this is not a strong bet because is a lot safer to bet on things that already worked and most people will tend to rely on “previous sales” to make decisions as games are more expensive to make.

CR: So what have you guys got working now? What’s the next big thing from Katgames?

Miguel: One of our major projects is being externally funded and can’t say a word about it. The next months are going to be exciting for us and this game can be a great surprise.

CR: Well, we’re certainly looking forward to it! Thanks again for talking to us today.

You can see more of Miguel’s work and of Katgames at http://www.katgames.com/. Be sure to stop by and have a look! Check back at Casual Review soon for more developer interviews, features, and reviews.