HomeStation Presents: An Interview With Digital Leisure’s Paul Gold
by tdarb, HSM guest contributor
Since their introduction into PlayStation Home, Digital Leisure has quickly made a reputation as one of the top developers of content for the platform. Their newest space, The Paradise Springs Casino (a.k.a. The Casino) is easily one of the hottest spots in Home at the moment. I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to ask a few questions of Digital Leisure’s Paul Gold recently. Here’s what he had to say.
HomeStation: For those that don’t know, could you briefly tell us who Digital Leisure is, and what you guys do?
PG: Digital Leisure has been in the interactive gaming business for almost 15 years. It all began in the summer of 1997 with the notion of bringing back some of the greatest classic arcade games to the latest consoles and PCs. Since that humble start, we’ve broadened out to develop and publish a variety of games on almost every major platform in the last few years. We have a great team here that work very hard to create the best interactive gaming experience possible. If anyone wants to know more about us they can visit our website to check out everything we do.
HomeStation: How did you first become interested in developing for PlayStation Home, and what has that experience been like?
PG: Well, I was first introduced to PlayStation Home at GDC a few years back now. I thought it was a really cool environment and something completely unique among all of the consoles out there. Right away we started to brainstorm ideas we could do for the platform and we decided to start slowly by creating rewards and items for our PSN release of the arcade classic ‘Dragon’s Lair’. We received some really good feedback from Home users and Dragon’s Lair fans, so we started becoming more active in PS Home and decided to begin development on a large scale social gaming space, which you now know as The Casino. The experience developing for Home has been really awesome. We had no idea how truly passionate the community was and we can’t thank everyone enough for the support and feedback.
HomeStation: The first items you guys released in Home were taken from characters and games you guys have redone that many of us older Home users remember fondly from childhood. I remember standing in the arcade in awe at Dragon’s Lair, so some of these items hold a special place for me. Are there any other similar releases that we should be looking out for?
PG: We love the classics here, and we’re always looking to remaster arcade titles of the past. We recently released ‘Fast Draw Showdown’ which is a PlayStation Move enabled title on PSN and Home users might not be aware, but there are a whole bunch of PS Home rewards that you can earn in-game.
HomeStation: You released your first public space into PlayStation Home. Congratulations on its success. Could you sort of take us through the layout of The Paradise Springs Casino, and what’s currently available? Was there any real property in mind when designing the layout?
PG: Thanks, it was great to finally see it launch and everyone having a fun time playing. For those who haven’t checked the space out we have a bunch of different casino games. Currently we have Texas Hold’em Poker (Tournament Style), Blackjack, Casino War, Big Six Wheel, Slots and Keno! If that wasn’t enough we have even more games scheduled for release this year including the most requested, Roulette. Regarding design and layout, we looked at a variety of real properties to get a good feel for what makes a truly elegant playing experience and I think that comes through.
HomeStation: Since the launch of The Casino there have been a few tweaks here and there; specifically with the availability of free chips. Was this something that was planned all along, or was it partially in response to user feedback?
PG: We definitely planned to give away free chips each week, but users said they wanted even more chips to start with – so we listened! We also plan on having a variety of special ‘Double Chip Days’ and other promotions, so stay tuned!
HomeStation: Are there areas where user input has helped shape what we see today in The Paradise Springs Casino, or are there any plans that you can speak of that may have originated from user interactions?
PG: Absolutely! We’re taking all of the user feedback seriously and we have pages of ideas and recommendations. But things you can already see are extra Poker tables in the VIP and even the extra chips given away – all was from user feedback.
The Great Casino Flood of 2012
HomeStation: When you guys released The Casino you gave away a free personal space. A few days ago there was a message posted in the casino, and on the forums, apologizing for the flooded rooms. It was quite a fun surprise to see the rooms really were flooded. Was this something built into the long term plan of the casino from the start, or something you guys came up with later?
PG: Well early on we knew we wanted to give away a space for people coming to The Casino for the first time. We threw around some ideas, and we all agreed it would be fun to make a really cramp, cheap, ‘worst hotel on the strip’ kind of room. Let’s put it this way, the flood was only the beginning!
HomeStation: The response to the flooding of the hotel room has been very positive. Can we expect more things like this in the future? Have you noticed any impact on the number of people visiting The Casino because of it?
PG: We have a whole host of things we’re preparing for The Casino. PlayStation Home is a living environment and I believe updates are what users want. People change their avatars clothes on a daily basis, so why wouldn’t developers update and alter spaces – it only makes sense. When the complimentary hotel room was updated there was certainly a bump in traffic to the public space and we definitely want people to make The Casino their favorite hangout!
HomeStation: It is mentioned in your FAQ that there are more games that will be added soon. Will these games be in addition to the currently available selection, or will there be a rotating choice of games as time goes on?
PG: Any games we add will certainly be in addition to the current selection. As you’ve seen in our FAQ, we do have Roulette in the pipeline as well as a couple others, but you’ll just have to wait for our official updates
HomeStation: I’m sure you get this question a lot, but I think everyone looking at this would shoot me if I didn’t ask. Are there any plans to make the chips redeemable for items in your gift shop?
PG: We definitely want to make this happen, and we are looking in to it. If we can get approval, we’ll definitely make an announcement.
HomeStation: Do you guys have any other, non Paradise Springs Casino, related projects that you are working on for Home that you can speak of?
PG: Just last week we teased our upcoming release of our Old West Saloon private apartment. It includes three games and a whole bunch of reward items! It should be releasing very soon!
The Old West Saloon
HomeStation: I guess that about wraps it up. Thank you again for your time, Paul. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions, and I’m sure our readers do as well.
PG: Any time, thanks for having me!
It will be interesting to see what Digital Leisure has coming up for us. Just the things mentioned here are all very exciting. Their community mindedness, and openness have certainly made them an asset to PlayStation Home. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed making it!
If you would like more information about Digital Leisure, or would like to keep up on the latest news, their website can be found at http://www.digitalleisure.com. They can also be found on Twitter at @digitalleisure, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DigitalLeisure.
February 29th, 2012 by tdarb | 9 comments
tdarb is a member of LAIR, a group that creates user-generated games for Home. He can sometimes be found wandering around Home taking pics and looking at the sites. he likes to write words that say things, and is also quite fond of cheese.
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Awesome job on this, tdarb. I’ve known Digital Leisure since about 2000, when they first released Dragon’s Lair on DVD. I even got a chance to beta test Space Ace for them.
Their commitment to the source material on those discs was excellent, and I see the same quality in what they’ve brought to PlayStation Home. Looking forward to that Saloon space.
Thanks man. I only heard of Digital Leisure when Dirk costume hit Home. I’m sure I’d heard of them before, but until then the name hadn’t really stuck.
You’re absolutely right about their commitment to quality. I was running around the Dragon’s Lair apartment the other day in the Dirk costume, and was amazed at how well it came off. They really did a great job of transitioning that franchise into something visually appealing in Home. All of their work has been great.
wish there was a way to edit. Meant to say “am still amazed”.
This was a good one.. Tdarb..
Great article, Tdarb!! You were extremely thorough, and nice job getting the goods on what’s coming next! Well done! It seems like DL really listens to their audience, and I can’t wait to see that saloon and all that they are planning for the hotel room and casino next!
Nice interview Tdarb. I for one am looking forward to seeing what the new personal space will offer. The games might convince me to buy it if they are user and friend friendly. I am being picky about buying personal spaces now as I have several I don’t even go to anymore for one reason or another.
I like the idea of trading in gaming credits you win at the casino for something in the gift store. That will be a great way for them to extend rewards without integrating them into the games themselves. We all know that upgrades are what bring people back to spaces they have already won everything at.
Thanks guys, it was a blast to do, and Paul was really accommodating.
@Anamri and @Burbie. It seems like it will be a cool space. One of the games in the new personal space has been confirmed as Liar’s Dice, or some variation of it. I’d have to look up the tweet again though. That is what is shown in the picture.
I’m really excited to see how the casino goes as well.
Excellent work on the interview tdarb, well done. It sounds like they have alot of commitment towards home. I’m looking forward to seeing the new personal space and future updates to the casino. Since the space was released i’ve spent most of my time in home in that space.
I love this Casino! I am in there every day -- for hours -- and it is impressive. I especially love the hotel room saga -- what a great idea! I can imagine this evolving as it captures the imagination of the ‘creative’ folks who hang out in Home. There’s already a series of pics in the Forum of that hotel room as a crime scene. Can machinimas be far behind?