Here at Old-Wizard.com, we’ve been trying to get to know the valued readers of our small, but growing website.  As such, we recently sat down with Don from Alterverse Games, for our first ever interview.  Here’s how it went:

Q. Hi, Don.  As the first person to be interviewed by Old-Wizard, do you feel special? 

A. I actually fell very honored that you guys would pick little ole me....

Q. So what gave you the idea to start your very own gaming company?  

I used to make my own things for my gamers when I hosted games at my house, and alot of people I gamed with used to tell me I should sell "this"..... or market "that"..... I decided 2 years ago to quietly make some games, and really MAKE them.. and then see what my friends think. So I did. And I on a whim sent REALMS to another game company. They offered to purchase it based solely off of the sample I sent them. At that point I felt I might have something. 

And I also found that I really enjoyed the process of designing and putting together a game so that is how Alterverse games was founded.....

Q. Awesome.  So what goes into founding a gaming company besides just coming up with an abstract idea? 

A. ALOT of research, and thinking..........lol... 

A game company is a funny thing I have found, as you have such a broad audience...to satisfy....such as kids, adults.. so many types of people.  I found that one of the hardest parts of the founding of the company is the outside talent that you need to make it work. Artists are the biggest hurdle we have had in this.... Then comes the "product"... Saying you own a game company is the easy part..... but ya have to have the games and products to back it up. And those products and games have to be SO Innovative that you can compete. And MOST importantly of all is the ability to be able to take criticism........ the ability to be told your idea is garbage and use it as not an insult, but constructive criticism, and use that criticism to make the idea better..... 

Also comes a very important part.... Protecting your products, such as with Copyright protections, Trademark registrations and the like. Trust us Lawyers have no problem doing this for you, but the invoices can kill ya...lol...........

So founding Alterverse Games and game company period is very multifaceted, and we have experienced such the learning curve from it...

Q. Are those coconuts your carrying?

A. No they aren’t coconuts, these are my huge D20's

Q. Okay.  Thanks for clearing that up.   That was really bothering me.  Can you tell us a little bit about your company?

A. Alterverse Games is a small operation that is located in South West Michigan. We are made up of 2 people, both of us have Graphic Design experience, and have been long time gamers. I personally am the Founder, and have almost 30 years gaming experience. We have been quietly developing four main game lines for two years now, and have decided that it is time to actually launch the company. 

Our games will be released in limited form in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana in the fall and spring of 2008. We hope to have a larger launch as more word spreads about them, and our customer base grows.

Q. Which game will be the first game to be released?

A. The first game to be released will be REALMS, a Collectable card Game. REALMS we hope will take gaming to another level, as we have tried to look at what WE as gamers wanted, and what our fellow players and friends wanted. 

REALMS uses a D20 to determine the outcome of combat, magic, and all other interactions. We also have introduced level cards into the game. Like with a RPG when you get higher in level you will gain additional Modifiers. So as you gain level cards, each level you then will gain modifiers to your D20 rolls. 

We also have integrated spell component cards, and multi part cards into the mix, along with Teleport cards. These cards will take each player to the card location and that location will have specific laws and rules of play associated with it. 

We do not have mana in our game, instead to power cards innate magic, we use the five Elements. Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Spirit.......... And we have integrated NPC cards (hirelings) and many other card functions and effects....... 

We hope this will become a multi expansion game,

This is our first game to be released.....

Q. Could you elaborate on the back story of the game?  Will it be an adventure based RPG, or more of a duel based game like Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon?

A. REALMS will be a duel based game, where one player battles another. This is the classic way the game was designed to be played.  However the cool thing about REALMS is due to its heavy RPG content, other game modes can be played. Such as two or more players can build decks that mirror classic PC... spells, armor, weapons, actions etc,...... and someone can play DM by using cards such as Creatures, NPC's, traps, events etc..... 

The overall theory of the game is of classic adventuring, however you are competing against another adventurer...... sort of each player is there own DM / PC combined. We have plans to release small expansion, that will introduce pin point rule expansions and new rules.......

Q. Will all the traditional character classes be represented?

A. Most will be represented, however we are introducing a few of our own..... The classes that are going to be represented are.

Fighter, Mage, Healer, Paganist, Thief, Crusader, and some other ones that we are keeping a tad hush hush... 

A note on the NPC Classes.... we will not have FIGHTER per se.... instead we wanted to give the class a bit of individuality.... so it will be Kord (Fighter)... thus each fighter although a NPC will be unique. And this will apply to all classes we bring into the game.

Q. What about races?

A. There are racial cards that do specific things, the races that we have included in the base set are..

Elves (3 types), Humans, Fairies, Orcs, Ogres, Neandermen, Catlings, Draconics, Wildlings, 

We will be releasing other races in our mini expansions coming soon.

Q. Are all these races playable?

A. Per se' yes. The player does not take the guise of a specific race.... instead these racial cards infer bonuses and special abilities to other cards on the table. Similar to other ccg games..... Also the race card itself will perform a specific action and will have specific powers and abilities.

Q. Was collectability weighted as much as the gameplay development?

A. In regards to REALMS we centered on game play first and foremost. Without a good solid mechanic behind the game, it won’t matter its collectability factor we felt. Then after we got the game down to what we felt was a cool and fun rule set, we set out to think of how we wanted this to be, would this be a one time deal, one set and that’s it.... or would it be something with expansions like other card games out there.... we opted to go with a mix of both, so we set our minds on making the initial set an introduction so to speak to the basic rules, knowing players would be demanding more..... thus we can then incorporate the collectability with the playability, so make it a solid game.

Q. Can you tell us a little about the other 3 games that you’re developing?

A. We have allready developed actually 3 games besides REALMS and several products for gamers. 

Our first is a RPG using a new system called the Task Level System. We have figured a way to handle all Combat, Magic, Saves, and Actions that a player can make using only a D20 and a simple table. Thats it. The mechanic follows the bell curve accuratley, and this RPG has over 20 unique races, and 16 unique classes. We have done away with alignment, and the game centers more on actual Role Playing performance, and in game action and play when awarding experience.... We are in the middle of play testing on this as I type. 

We also have developed a Board game that we call Dungeon Crawl. In it each player is given a series of map tiles, that they at the start of the game in turn lay to construct their own dungeon, all players are connected to one central tile in th middle. They then have pieces that denote Warriors, Archers, Mages and a Commander.... they then have to use these pieces with the pieces unique powers and abilities to capture their opponents chest piece and get it back to their start square. There are cards that they pick during game play that will give and take powers, and have effects on game play. We have completed game testing on this and have had a good response. This will be release about the time REALMS is released. 

We have developed a series of gamers aids.... 

The first I cannot talk about as we are in the process of getting a patent on it, however I can say with utter confidence that this we feel will hit players and gamers Big.... This "thing" is something we think most every gamer will want to get their hands on, and it is something that has wide appeal. Players of CCG's and RPG's both will want this. Thus until we gat the Patent information back, and can claim it patent pending, we cannot disclose anymore... But we will make sure Old Wizard is the first to know..... 

The second is a product line we call Deck O'. These will be a series of card that give a DM handy resources for game play, their will be decks that have Room descriptions, Room lay outs, Traps n Tricks, Items, and Creatures... along with some other things that we are going to release by surprise. 

We are introducing the book of lost languages, in which we have developed alphabets and basic terms for over 100 fantasy languages. This tome will have in it racial descriptions, information on social aspects of the race, the written alphabet, and translations of 50 common words for each one. 

We are coming out with what we call the mythology manual, wich will contain over 700 mythological creatures, and beings complete with stats, and descriptions. 

We are coming out with the Gamers Tome of Ideas, which is a manual that is designed to inspire ideas for gamers, in it we have placed, sections on Props, Adventure scenarios, Heraldry, Sieging and mass combat rules, Sections devoted to Calender making, Moon phases for fantasy settings, 300 different male and female fantasy names, A fantasy periodic table of the elements, using fantasy elements and items.... plus a whole lot more... 

A game sounds CD which will contain preset sounds for DM's to use in game. Over 50 sounds and tracks will be on each CD. 

A gamers receipe book, which will contain over 75 player a game table friendly recepies for gamers. Plus these recepies will be book friendly... nothing worse than greasy fingers on a new manual...

We will also be releasing a campaign setting for our RPG once we finish it, and there is a whole list of products we have in the plan mil for that......... 

And we have several other things in line that we honestly do not want to disclose at this point....

Q. What advice would you give to someone trying to start a gaming company based on your experience?

A. The best advice would be four fold... 

ONE

Make sure you have the resources available to actually make games. Being creative is great, but make sure you have the tools in regards to computers, software, and people that can make it all come together via their talent and creativity, and imagination. Also it takes a fair investment to get things to print..... 

TWO

Be able to take criticism. This is SOOO important. You have to be able to let YOUR idea go and let others look at it and then take their opinions and advice and accept it.... A lot of good ideas could have been made better, but the person was not flexible and wouldn’t take advice. You have to understand that IF you get your game out there it WILL BE taken apart... Gamers myself included are particular and are not afraid to give an opinion. Be prepared to hear good... but also be prepared to hear bad.. 

THREE

Understand that a game is not something you sit down and make in a day or a week, it is a process and one that takes many steps from concept, to rough draft, to final draft, play testing, re drafting and writing, re-play testing, then once it is finally all done.... just the way you want it... something will make you change it... then ya have to get artwork, then package design, marketing, and I am forgetting many steps in between.... so basically be prepared. The most important part is passion for games. A game business is not something you start to make a million, it is something you start because you have a passion for the game, and a desire to create something that others will admire and want.red to invest time and effort... alot of both.... 

FOUR

And the most imprtant part is passion for games. A game business is not something you start to make a million, it is something you start because you have a passion for the game, and a desire to create something that others will admire and want. 

Q. Who would win in a fight between Superman and Batman?

A. Superman, unless Batman had Kryptonite

Q. Bing tiddle tiddle bing?

A. Bop ipple bing bing....