Ron Corse

AncientRein Gaming

Posted by Philip Jong.
First posted on 15 March 2007. Last updated on 21 October 2008.
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Ron Corse
Ron Corse is an indie adventure game developer and founder of AncientRein Gaming.

Among indie adventure game developers, Ron Corse (better known by his moniker R.P. Corse) has earned the rare distinction as a developer who has successfully produced a commercial game title for profit. In 2006, his company, AncientRein Gaming, has published its first (and so far only) game title commercially—a first person point and click adventure game called Lunar Deep (also known as Lunar Deep: The Adventure Below). True to the spirit of an indie game developer, Corse and his one-man company have also single-handedly handled all the distribution of this game online. Moreover, Corse has just released Lunar Deep: Special Edition which features additional story details, improved graphics, and a new alternate ending to the original.

We are privileged to have this exclusive interview with the talented game designer and a rising star in the indie game developer community. In the interview, Corse speaks of his inspiration to develop adventure games, the trials and tribulations of being an independent game developer, the philosophy he follows when designing his own games, and what holds in the future for him and his company.

What inspired you to become an independent game developer? What attracted to you to the adventure genre as a developer?

I have always enjoyed the creation process. Whether it was creating artwork or coding a program and watching it run. In the early days movie developers would sometimes include clips on making the movie. Now it is quite commonplace but this wasn't always the case. I loved watching the creation of miniature models and background sets. Creating artwork using a computer seemed like a good way to go. As you can see I go back a few years. Adventure style movies and games were always at the top of my list.

What past experiences have most benefited you as a game designer? Who are your role models as an adventure game designer?

One of the things I enjoy to do is to go hiking in the woods. All the beautiful scenery, the different places, wonderful. Just by looking at real life objects helps a great deal when designing on the computer. We have all looked at trees, houses, etc. Try building them on a computer. You never really look at objects the same way again. Teaching myself how to write code has been an ongoing process but necessary of course. As far as role models, I'll always remember that making of Myst movie with the Miller brothers, great stuff.

In 2005, you founded AncientRein Gaming to focus on developing point and click graphical adventure games. What is the origin of this name? How difficult has it been to start your own company (we notice that your company's website has not even been registered with its own domain name yet)?

The name and concept goes back to my childhood. Many a Saturday afternoon was spent watching creature feature matinées. Horror, adventure, Sci-fi, I loved them all. The name AncientRein came from my daydreams (or perhaps nightmares?) of when ancient and mysterious races ruled the earth. One of my inspirations was a man called Ray Harryhausen. He is a stop motion special effects expert. He worked on films such as Jason and the Argonauts, Mysterious Island and Clash of the Titans just to name a few. I so looked forward to all of his movies. It's been a challenge putting it all together here at AncientRein gaming. It's a tremendous amount of work and just being able to find the time to do it all while working a standard 40+ hours a week job has been difficult. I really do enjoy the creation process though. I have just recently registered my domain name, something I kept meaning to do between all the work.

Most indie game developers release their games, particularly for adventure games, for free to the gaming community. How do you answer to your critics who argue that your games should be released for free?

Ah yes, the eternal critic. I had toyed with the idea of releasing the game for free but I spent quite a long time working on it. All developers need to pay for software tools. The 3D design tools and good graphics programs are not cheap. Perhaps the critics should spend a little time with a developer to see how much is really involved. I do have some free games I plan on releasing just for the love of the game. Halloween is my favorite time of the year so you might see one then. Lunar Deep had just too much work involved in it not to get something in return. No one is forced to buy a game. You can always find plenty of information at the gaming sites about any game you would like to purchase. If I could forget everything I learned as a developer, I would make a great critic.

Lunar Deep is your first commercial game released under AncientRein Gaming. What was the inspiration behind Lunar Deep? From what graphic adventure games of the past, such as Myst, did you draw your influence?

When I was a little younger I enjoyed writing short stories. I still have many ideas and stories swimming around in my head. Lunar Deep was one of those stories. Great adventure movies like Jason and the Argonauts or Clash of the Titans have been an inspiration to me. The Journeyman Project was the game that really opened my eyes to adventure games. I remember seeing the box in the store and being amazed by the graphics.

What third-party development tools did you use to develop Lunar Deep? What were the benefits and challenges in using these tools?

I used Bryce and Real 3D to create the graphics for Lunar Deep and they should be mentioned. Adventure Maker was used as the game engine. All great tools. Adventure Maker was created by Giovanni Albani. It's really come a long way and continues to grow with every release. It's quite capable of turning out professional results and quite easy to use. Like most great game engines it's up to the developer to get the most out of it.

What kinds of puzzles are in Lunar Deep: The Adventure Below? From a design perspective, what types of puzzles do you consider to be fair and unfair?

Lunar Deep has an assortment of puzzles. Some are inventory where you find necessary objects that can be used somewhere else in the game. It also has some thinking puzzles where a little knowledge or even a little common sense can help. A door puzzle at the game's beginning is relatively easy if you have a little knowledge about astronomy but not so hard that a little trial and error wouldn't get you through. As far as unfair puzzles, I am not very fond of timed or maze puzzles but maybe that's just me. I decided not to include any in the game regardless.

What has most surprised you among the reactions (both good and bad) from the gaming community to Lunar Deep? What criticisms about the game do you consider to be unfair?

This is a good question. The gamers that purchased Lunar Deep for the most part seemed to like it. You buy something because you seem to like it and want to try it for the most part. Criticism is great when its constructive. It will help you create better games in the future. I truly relish comments from game players as they buy for the fun and the love of the game. Game reviews for Lunar Deep have gone both directions, like everything else in life some people like and some dislike. But there are some game review critics that only seem to like certain things, for instance third person perspective games or first person shooter games and prefer them. These people may not be the ideal candidates to review a first person adventure game. Objective criticism is the most beneficial.

Advertising and branding are among the most difficult tasks facing an indie game developer. What are the lessons (good and bad) you have learned so far in dealing with the business side of game development?

Indie gamers are somewhat more fortunate these days. There are some wonderful gaming sites out there that are willing to help independent game developers. Both JustAdventure.com and Gameboomers.com have helped me immensely and I thank them for that. I think being a small independent developer allows you to get more involved with your customers and keep them updated on new developments. They get to know you which is nice.

What are the challenges of distributing a commercial game?

Doing it all by yourself is a tremendous amount of work. Having an electronic download can be a big help. Some people though still prefer to have a disk in hand and of course burning CDs and mailing everything out takes a lot of time and was a challenge to get it all done. Perhaps with my next game I'll shop around for a publisher. I'm not sure just yet.

What factors do you consider when pricing your games? What has led to your decision of charging $6.99 USD for Lunar Deep?

I thought about the price for the game quite a lot. It was my first release and Lunar Deep was supposed to be a few fun hours of playing. It was never supposed to some great epic. I had to learn new skills to finish and although I spent a lot of time on it, I thought the release pricing was very fair compared to other adventure games being released. Many things can factor into pricing a game but ultimately you want it to sell.

How long did the development of Lunar Deep take? What were the major development milestones you most remembered about the game?

It took about a year and a half to finish it. I work another job during the day and worked on the game weekends and as much as possible. When I first started out I wasn't sure if I could put it all together. At some point when the work starts coming together and you see the results you realize that yes I can do this. It's a great feeling.

How do you describe the current state of the adventure genre? How do you see the adventure genre evolve in the near future?

I think in spite of what critics may say it is alive and doing quite well. There will always be a place for a good story. One good thing about the point and click style of game is that the system requirements are usually quite modest. In the future as tools and game engines evolve they will continue to push computer systems limits. I think many might object to paying for these continued computer upgrades. I for one would not want to buy a new computer just to play a game.

Aside from Lunar Deep, what other games are currently in development? How far along is the development of these projects?

I'm currently working on a horror adventure and after that a science fiction game. Information and images can be found at my website, www.ancientrein.com .

What holds in the near future for you and AncientRein Gaming?

I can't wait to release my next game. I think adventure game fans are going to have as much fun playing my games as I have making them. Look for occasional free games to pop up at my website as well.

Thank you so much for this interview. We look forward to hearing more about your future endeavors.

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