GR: What about casual gamers? Console gamers? Anyone who isn't addicted to MMOing?
DJ: Whirled is very much geared towards giving the casual gamer a fun experience with a minimum of commitment. We expect a lot of the popular games in Whirled will be "casual," from puzzle and card games through to dancing games etc.
Consoles? We'll have to wait and see what the consoles support. Roll on Flash 9 on the Wii!
GR: How will Whirled differ from Bang! and Puzzle Pirates?
DJ: Whirled is a web-based social network without a strong theme. Although there'll be lots of multi-player gaming in Whirled, there isn't the same strongly themed track of core gameplay that Puzzle Pirates and Bang! Howdy have. We expect a real plethora of different interests and associated games and activities to bloom in Whirled, and we have no real idea what those might be. It'll be exciting to see!
GR: What are the strengths/weaknesses of using the free-to-play business model with sales of virtual items?
DJ:The strength of the free play and virtual currency model the way we implement it, with an exchange between time or attention based currency and "hard" currency, is that it allows everyone to enjoy the full depth of the game without necessarily paying. Players with more time can trade their efforts for the money they need, and vice versa. This is very powerful.
The drawback of the model is that one could argue that wealthier players can buy their way to success. We don't really see it that way, as in Puzzle Pirates and Bang! Howdy skill is the ultimate determination of success, not purchased items. It remains to be seen what constitutes success in Whirled, but I think it will be creativity for the win, myself. Making cool stuff should also work out to be pretty lucrative.
