Horizons: Warcry's Exclusive (short) Interview With David Bowman

Hi David, and thank you for this opportunity.

What is your current role for Artifact Entertainment?

I'm the President/CEO of Artifact Entertainment.

Horizons launched on December 9th and had a pretty good run, hitting #3 on the charts for selling copies. Are you happy with how Horizons performed with sales? How has the retention been? What do you see for future growth?

We are very pleased with the success we saw at launch. I'm even happier with the continued steady sales that Horizons is experiencing. We saw the expected dip at the end of the first free month of play and have seen consistent daily gains ever since. Horizons is finding its audience and the players are learning that we are delivering a steady stream of new experiences and improvements. We expect the current positive trend to continue with an increase likely due to the overwhelmingly positive response to players being able to become Adult flying Dragons. Horizons is on the way to a long and successful future.

There has been a lot of change recently at Artifact. Rumors have spread that James Jones has left the company and you are now completely in control. Also, more rumors spread about layoffs and paycuts. Would you like to confirm or deny any of these rumors and talk about how that may affect the future of Artifact?

As with most rumors, these are a mixture of misrepresented truths and pure fiction. James is still with Artifact Entertainment. He is playing an important role in the growth of the company by helping us reach our next stage. I'm not going to steal his thunder, so I'll let him make the announcement when it reaches completion.

We have made some significant changes to staff since we launched, but this is fairly typical. Some members of the team have been working on Horizons for four years. Now that it has gone public, it is natural for many to evaluate if they want to continue to work on the same product, or pursue new projects. Artifact Entertainment is focused on the Horizons franchise so we respect their decision to pursue other opportunities.

You were a very visible spokesperson for Horizons prior to its launch, but since then have been pretty quiet. Is there any reason for this?
During the creation of Horizons, I was entirely focused on making the game. Now that the game has launched, there are many other duties to which I must pay attention. Horizons needs a company to grow, support and nurture it and I have to focus on the needs of the company at this moment. I still find time to play the game every day, provide recommendations and suggestions, and discuss the future direction of events and features.

Is Horizons what you hoped it would be by this time?

Horizons is a game that I'm very proud of. It doesn't yet have all of the features that I know it will, but that was inherent in its design. The team is dedicated to its success and their talent, skills and creativity guarantee that it will continue to evolve and broaden. Due to the technology and design, I will get to see many of my favorite "ponies" in the game in due course.

What is the future for Artifact? Do you think another game is in its future, or will Horizons be its one product that is continuously improved upon with expansions?

Artifact is focused entirely on the Horizons franchise at this time. Horizons will continue to be our high-fantasy role-playing product far into the future. We will be approaching other genres beginning next year, but we understand that these are generational games. My children are already learning to play Horizons, and I expect their children to love it too.

Anything you'd like to comment on regarding the state of the game or that you'd like the audience to know?

We do not think that Horizons is perfect. The team is the most critical audience for the game, and often, due to their responsibilities, focus singularly on the flaws. But everyday sees improvements in Horizons and in Artifact Entertainment. Today Horizons is already an amazing game, tomorrow it will be better, and will continue to evolve long into the future.

Thank you for the opportunity.