Computer Games Production Interview

Please tell us a little about your background, and how you came to be involved in producing computer games:

I have a BS in Chemical Engineering, and an MBA.  I spent 4 years in the Army as a combat engineer officer, ending up with the rank of Captain.  My first civilian job was as a Marketing Engineer for a company that made computer control systems for electric utilities.  I was there for almost 2 years, before moving to a small start up company that made stereo equipment as a Purchasing and Production Manager.  They went out of business less than 8 months after I got there, and I was laid-off when they closed.

At that point I decided to see about working for myself, and started an electronic equipment repair and sales business.  I always liked working with people, so I also got a Real Estate Broker license and set out my shingle doing that.  While those endeavors were paying the bills, I started working on some game ideas I had been kicking around since I was in the Army.  I decided that is what I really wanted to do, so I got a book on C, taught myself to program, and eventually produced my first game, “Point of Attack” (POA) about 18 months later (1990).

Are you a member of related groups or organizations? If so, which ones and for how long?

No.

Tell us about your company, its history, location and size, number of employees, and your entry into the Internet:

Well, picking up where question #1 left off, once POA was published, I began working on a new idea, one that would help help me play a game of the board game “War In Europe” by mail with a friend several thousand miles away.  That’s how “Aide De Camp” got started, which has been a flagship product ever since.  It was then followed by “Tigers on the Prowl”, “Panthers in the Shadows”, and the rest of that series.

Along the way I started working with Jeff Lapkoff, of Incredible Simulations, and Frank Hunter from ADANAC.  HPS marketed their games, and provided some front line support.  At that time, HPS still consisted only of me, and my dog, Fluffy.  Frank eventually took ADANAC off down its own path, but I’m still working with Jeff, and he is doing a significant amount of code work for my current project, POA-2.

Since then HPS has grown considerably, especially as John Tiller (of “Battleground” fame) joined the team about 2 years ago, along with Jim Lunsford (a retired Infantry Lieutenant Colonel).  HPS is up to 10 people now, most of whom are part time, and all of which work out of their homes.  Which, while not impressive by mainstream standards, is pretty good for a company dedicated strictly to making wargames.

HPS first got on the internet about the time POA came out, which would have been in 1990.  At the time I was on Prodigy and GEnie, eventually getting forums for HPS as I published additional games.  In fact, I met Greg Smith (now an employee), and Nick Bell (my mainstay playtester and research consultant) on GEnie, and John Kincaid (Aide De Camp jack-of all trades, and database consultant) at this time.

Where do you get your ideas for your products?

 I make games I want to play myself.

Who are some of your major designers and artists, and what is their background or accomplishments?

HPS is comprised of a group of fantastically talented and dedicated gamers.  Rather than write ten pages here, it’s easier to go to our web site where we have short bios of everyone:

What historical era line of products do you offer?

To this point, HPS has produced games of the modern era - from late Eighteenth Century to the present.  However, in the future, we may look at earlier eras.

Do you offer other affiliated products as well, and what are they?

No.

Just how are computer games or simulations produced?

The process itself is pretty simple, really.  Somebody gets and idea, it gets translated into code, the code gets tested, and then the final product is marketed.  Of course the devil is in the details.

Because HPS is such a small company, we don’t do a lot of the things larger companies do in the way of project management.  John Tiller, Jeff Lapkoff, and Jim Lunsford are extremely talented and capable, so I try to leave them alone as much as possible to not cause distractions.  Of course, I provide support where I can, and advice.  But, other than that they do their own thing.

For my own games, well, it’s the same basic process.  I come up with an idea of what I want a game to accomplish.  For example, Point of Attack 2 I wanted to be extremely realistic and detailed so that the military could use it to accurately test all sorts of current and planned weapons systems.  Once I had that idea worked out, I developed the database structures on paper, and began programming.  Because I do the coding myself (or in team with Jeff), I can make changes as I go along, rather than trying to figure out in advance what needs to be done and producing some kind of control document or plan.  I’ve found this method works very well for detailed wargames, since once you get into actually programming a system, there are a million things that come up that would have been impossible to plan for.  Especially when trying to develop a decent AI/computer opponent.

Who does the actual product testing? And what criteria do you use for testing?

HPS uses teams of volunteer playtesters, all of whom have extensive military and/or wargaming backgrounds.

After the game is tested, how soon before it is released?

Once I am satisfied that a game has NO known bugs, and that it meets my standards for playability and realism, we can usually have the CD’s made and start selling them within a month.  Because we don’t sell though stores, we don’t need large roll-out or other marketing campaigns.

What methods of release and publicity do you use?

 We are primarily direct sales only, although a few stores and mail order outlets carry our titles.

Other comments, ideas, or last thoughts?

Overall, it’s been a great 12 years!