Interview with Supremacy: Four Paths to Power developer Thor Jensen

Interview with Supremacy: Four Paths to Power developer K. Thor Jensen

Polish makes perfect strategy
By Russell D. Carroll [March 5, 2005]

Q:  For everyone reading out there, who are you and what was your involvement with Supremacy: Four Paths To Power?
A:  My name is K. Thor Jensen - I am a writer and assistant producer for Black Hammer Game. My responsibilities included writing all of the in-game dialogue and help text, as well as the manual and additional materials. I also contributed to the game and character design, worked with the voice actors, built the Supremacy website, did the accounting and otherwise took care of the little things that keep the company going.

Q:  What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
A:  Games created from within the corporate publishing structure are all too often big-budget rehashes of whatever the hot thing on the market is - look at the wave of Grand Theft Auto imitators after that game (developed by Rockstar, our fellow New Yorkers) hit. Independent games are usually driven instead by the singular dreams of their creators - while we obviously recognize that a game must be financially successful in order to pay the bills, independent developers aren't controlled by the must-hit blockbuster mentality. And the ideas and concepts that are generated in indy games quite often develop into the mainstream hits of tomorrow.

Q:  How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
A:  Black Hammer Game has been one of New York's leading game development houses for several years. Our Game Boy Advance title "I Spy Challenger" received numerous awards and after working on several other projects for outside clients, we decided the time was right to develop our own concepts and test them in the marketplace. Supremacy: Four Paths To Power is the result of that decision, and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

Q:  What is the most innovative feature of Supremacy: Four Paths To Power and how is it innovative in your mind?
A:  Supremacy's strengths are not necessarily in innovation as much as in polish, playability and design. However, there are some interesting choices made in Supremacy's development - from our robust help system, which gives players supplementary information about the units, characters and features of the game through fully lip-synched audio, to the non-linear, highly customizable gameplay models that give Supremacy enormous replayability. These features make the game far more than the sum of its parts, in our opinion.

Q:  What do gamers appreciate most about Supremacy: Four Paths To Power?
A:  I think the greatest thing about Supremacy is that is is incredibly easy to learn - there is a robust in-game help system, the results of most actions are felt quickly, keeping players directly immersed in the gameplay, and combat is quick and decisive - but very, very difficult to master, especially in multiplayer. Outwitting our AI programming is one thing (and not easy!), but playing against a human opponent who knows their way around the game is extremely fun and rich with possibilities.

Q:  What was the single most difficult part of Supremacy: Four Paths To Power to program?
A:  Developing Supremacy posed a good number of challenges. It was important for us to provide a robust multiplayer component, and the decision to generate our own player-matching service was a difficult but important one. Synchronizing the immense amount of information generated by Supremacy's huge tactical battles was difficult, but once it was implemented we had an awesome multiplayer game that you can easily play with friends the world over.

Q:  Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you? Why?
A:  There are so many incredible titles in this year's IGF. One thing that made us happy is the renewed interest in strategy titles - games like Legion Arena and War! show that the strategy genre is alive and well. We also are huge fans of Gish, which brings a welcome spark of innovation back to the tired platform genre.

Q:  How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future?
A:  It is hard to say. Obviously, with power consolidating among a small number of major publishers, opportunities for independent game developers to survive and thrive in the retail marketplace are dwindling. However, with the increasing popularity of digital delivery, it is becoming easier for developers to reach individual consumers. We hope that game players will become more and more educated and excited about independent games and continue to support studios who make the kind of games they want to play.

Q:  What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
A:  Financial self-sufficiency. With publishers in greater numbers buying development studios outright, running a privately-owned studio is difficult, but not impossible. Independent games studios need to realize what makes them viable alternatives: their ability to innovate and create new concepts, and explore genres that the big names have abandoned. Instead of being motivated by maximum profitability, we need to make the games we love and the games that gamers love, and build a marketplace where those games are enjoyed. We're working on it!

Q:  As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
A:  Supremacy will be published this Spring. Its performance will in many ways determine our next moves. Obviously, we would love it if Supremacy found as large an audience as possible, but no matter what happens, you haven't heard the last of Black Hammer Game.