WC: Goon World was announced in 2006. Where are you currently in the development cycle?
JJG: From a business perspective, we are still early in development concerning any type of release. However, we are progressing quickly and efficiently in all areas of development. We have had a few minor and major bumps that we have had to smooth out, but these types of setback are inevitable in this kind of project. We are very pleased with our progress thus far, and hope to provide information and media samples to the public strategically as we move forward.
SG: From a developer's perspective we are progressing. As Justin stated we have had a few challenges that set us back, but overall we have overcome them. One of the early problems that we have faced was finding the technology required to create an MMO, but after many painful months of testing using various engines and hybrids we made the ultimate decision to build our own game engine. And thus the Nemesis Hybrid Engine was born.
DK: In addition, all the challenges that set us back gave us major experience in some areas of development. We experimented with a lot of different ideas to make our character system and game engine more flexible and well balanced. For example, the character system will give great freedom to players. They will be able to change many properties of their characters, like body type, head, clothing, changing colors etc. We are working on new technology that gives a lot of freedom to players, so it is proving challenging and very time-consuming.
WC: Add any other information you'd like others to know about the studio, the development of Goon World, the developers or the game.
JV: With the addition of our new composers and sound designers we have an incredible audio team. All of our composers and sound designers are extremely talented and they all have a special skill-set that is fulfilling the needs of an extensive project like Goon World.
What we want with the sound of Goon World is for people to see it as a natural thing. Not something that is irritating, that you will turn off to put on Winamp with your own music. What we are trying to achieve is a dynamic audio environment that will cover all the needs of the game and drag you into the world with the feeling that this sound has to be there. The sound of Goon World is not just the icing on a cake. No, it will be an essential part of the cake. Sometimes you know it is there and sometimes it is so well integrated that you don't even notice it - but it adds to your experience all the same.
Besides good functionality, we want the music to be fun, something you can also play with. I can spoil one little feature and that is that you will be able to use instruments in the game. Even if you don't play a musical instrument in real life, it will be fun to play around with one in the game. I cannot go into much detail for now, but you will be able to use this system as a functional part of gameplay.
BW: The art side of things is taking great strides. We overhauled a big chunk of tech and we're still optimizing and testing new systems. Right now we pretty much have the fundamentals in place and are working them out where needed. The character system is turning out to be amazing, and will allow for great freedom. Players will have a blast with their characters. Next to that we're unifying the overall style, making sure everything will be consistent so players will enter a seamless world where everything is a whole. A breathing, living world. All in all the progress is amazing and we're moving full speed ahead. We're expecting great things to happen.
ISA: I've managed to put together a small but versatile and capable team of talented writers, so the literary side of Goon World is coming along well. As a gamer myself I firmly believe in the primacy of gameplay. However, I hope that the characters, locations, and storylines we are creating will enhance our players' enjoyment of the game.
SG: All I can say in closing is that I am delighted and grateful to be a part of this talented team, the Nemesis Family. All of our developers have proven to be dedicated and passionate, and those key elements are what mold a great project like Goon World: Organized Crime Online.
DK: All that I can say is thanks to the whole of our team for their amazing work. You just need to listen to the music or the ideas of our developers and you will be enlightened. I hope that people will like to play this game. We are working on the game day and night so that one day our vision will come to life for all to see.
CZ: Thank you for taking the time to interview our team. I look forward to showing our continued accomplishments to our fans, and finally giving them a solid game that holds up to their highest expectations.
JJG: We would like to close by thanking you for this interview, and for giving us the opportunity to tell our fans something about Goon World and about ourselves.
