by SealWyf, HSM Editor

Game Mechanics, LLC, is a Home developer based in San Diego, California. Although the company is small, and technically a recent arrival, it is headed by Home development veteran John Ardussi. If you have played Cutthroats: Battle for Black Powder Cove, you have experienced John’s coding skills. Game Mechanics is now specializing in some of Homes most unique and innovative furniture items.

John Ardussi, CEO of Game Mechanics, has fielded our questions.

HSM: Game Mechanics’ presence in Home is still modest, but includes some very interesting virtual items. Looking through your section of the Home store, one sees that your specialties have been automotive-styled furniture items, active furniture item-groupings that combine chairs, tables and lamps, and customizable furniture. A subspecialty has been simple items in many colors, such as the two styles of canvas chairs.

Are these going to remain Game Mechanics’ signature products and styles, or will the line be expanding?

JA: We started out of the gate early this past Summer with nothing. There were a lot of established Home developers already, some of whom had been doing this for years. To find a place that we could make things that there were not a lot of, we choose sports and specifically racing. Our goal with the Contender Series was to make furniture items that seemed well suited for a tailgate party or for watching the game on the big screen.

But then there were these items that I just wanted to do after being frustrated for years. I wanted tables, a picnic bench and a desk that I could sit at normally. I wanted clocks that did not take up 22 slots. I wanted to make configurable furniture where I could change the color and other aspects without having to remove and add items from my inventory.

The canvas chairs of many colors were an experiment on our part to see if people wanted the many colors or just one particular color. So we sold them individually and as a bundle. And the answer so far is both. Overall they sold equally well. Which is good because we followed up with our bug car chairs and sofas, our tailgate chairs and we did the same thing. We have not seen any numbers on those yet, but we can expect good things.

Getting more specific, the automotive themed items are distinctive, but are so far not allied with any specific Home public or private space. Do you plan to produce a complimentary space, or will these items continue to stand on their own?

We have an apartment in the pipeline. Part of the issue as a startup is resources. You never have enough. For instance, I design a majority of our items, fill out all the paperwork for Sony approval, QA, and sales, plus code the items that are active and as such have programming associated with them. This is in addition to eating, sleeping, and every once in a while, going outside to see the Sun. We have been working on an apartment for almost six months along with everything else. It is a great location along the same lines as our furniture – fun and surprisingly different.

BUT I must say that people have found great places for our furniture. We just ran a contest where Home users sent us pictures of our furniture in all sorts of apartments and while distinctive, it looked like it belonged. We got shots of our furniture on the beach, on boats, in the Hollywood Hills apartment, and the Tycoon Penthouse (which is fun for me since I did some work on that). I think it is about the look you are going for more than the apartment. While I would agree that our items are probably not the first choice of what to put in the Cutthroats apartment, the opposite is equally true. Pirate furniture in the Hollywood Hills apartment would not be my first choice.

By not obviously blending in with the other furniture I think we have issued the designers a challenge and made it so they can be more creative. Interestingly someone recently listed their top ten apartments of the year and in two of the images of the apartments, our furniture was there. I think we are winning!

Combining chairs with tables was a win in at least two directions — the combination generally took up fewer furniture slots, and the programming allowed more realistic seating arrangements and avatar postures. Adding lamps to tables was also a great idea. Is Game Mechanics exploring other active furniture items and combinations? What other kinds of furniture might be combined to make an active package?

We tried to create a wall hanging lamp, but that did not go well. It took up more slots than we thought people would want in a lamp. But we venture on, undeterred.

Our next focus, other than our apartment, is games. When I worked for Sony, I was involved in making solitaire, chess, checkers, liar’s dice, and the big one HORSE Basketball. Oh, and I did work on a little game called Cutthroats. My belief is that people would play more games if it were easier to play with their friends. I believe this is why there is such a clamor for clubhouses. They are a place you can go meet up with people with similar interests and even if the owner is not there, hang out. We are giving you something to do while there. We will see if they catch on.

Being able to put your name on the back of a chair was a major advance in Home furnishings. Everybody loves customization. Was this a one-off product, or the beginning of a whole line of customized virtual items? Can you give us some hints of other ways this technology might be used?

Personalization was and still is important to us, but we will pick and choose our battles. We are not going into the personalized item business. Honestly, because we have limited resources. We are not abandoning it. You will see it show up. We are just not specializing in it.

But that said, we are hoping that others see it and think about ways of adding it. I see it as a powerful way of creating a bond between players and the world. We will use it. I hope others do too.

The collections of brightly-colored chairs reminded me of the marketing strategy of Benetton, which creates a simple garment and offers it in many colors. Have the colorful chairs been successful? Do you have other plans for this strategy?

This was an experiment and it was successful. But what if you could buy one chair and get all the colors, like the Elegant Dining Table? I think that might be a good future direction and it is certainly possible.

We see only the end product, when a new item finally appears in Home. But we’re aware that it’s the result of a complicated development and testing process. Could you please describe this process, from the initial idea to release in Home? How long does it generally take?

My business partner and I each bring ideas to the table. We talk them out and try and stay true to the items. So far, no floor waxes that are also dessert toppings. Once agreed upon, we have to get approval from Sony that it is okay to make the item. So far we have not had any items rejected which is great. Then we make the item. Once the item is made, it gets sent into QA. Once QA clears it, the item can be sent out for sale any week after that. An item takes 3-6 months from idea to release. Our apartment more like 8-9 months.

Being a “new kid on the block” has to be a challenge. You’re up against established Home developer titans and rising stars. How does a startup development company make a name for itself in Home? Is there still room for the “little guys” among the bigger houses? Is being small sometimes an advantage?

The thing is that people do not really know us yet. Even though I have been creating things for Home for 3 years, it was behind the Sony label. Other companies have more fans and more resources. And rightfully so. We are the new guys and people will learn to trust us.

Being small helps us in that we can do anything. There is no approval process. We want to make a coffee table out of an engine block, we do it. No one stops us. But I have to say, while at Sony, Foster City was pretty good at approving most of what we wanted to do. I was sure they would say “No” to the Mysterious Doll. The only thing they did was to take the knife out of his hand (which I feel like would get approved now).

Lately, some of the major Home players have been hedging their bets by developing for other platforms, such as the Vita. Do you plan to take Game Mechanics in this direction? Or do you see your company exclusively developing for Home?

Committing 100% to any platform is long term suicide for any business. All platforms eventually go away. At last count, I am expecting 5 new consoles coming out in the next 2 years. That on top of all the tablets, phones, and eventually TVs themselves, the competition is heavy. So we have projects we are working on for other platforms. We also do work helping companies use game mechanics to increase sales. We created a virtual garage for the website of a car kit company Factory Five. What is funny about that is that they had us disable the order submission button because they were flooded with orders. They are just now asking us to re-enable it. We have also done work for NASCAR Driver Bobby Labonte’s team and other companies working with NASCAR.

We love Home and spend time on it ourselves. We have all sorts of plans for our future in Home. As long as people are supporting us, we will stick around. I guarantee it.

Thank you, Game Mechanics!

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