Eye on Big Time Games,
Indy Game Nominee

Article Discussion Forum

Bryan Wiegele is an amazing man. He has been in the games industry since he was 19 when he began a small company called Eclipse Software. Bryan achieved the completion of one game, Inherent Evil, before closing the doors in 2000. Shortly thereafter he worked at Westwood Studios and at Crystal Dynamics before being bitten again by the entrepeneurial bug and founding Big Time Games. He has since shipped the first in the Delaware St. John series: The Curse of Midnight Manor, an adventure game that has been entered into the Indy competition.

Q: How many people work at Big Time Games?

BTG is actually a very small independent games company where, technically, everyone is contracted so we have no full time employees. For The Curse of Midnight Manor we had twelve people work on it. For The Town with No Name we've got seven.

Q: What challenges have you faced as an independent game designer?

The biggest challenge is getting the word out. As an independent developer you have almost no money for marketing and little chance of getting on the shelf of any stores. Working crazy hours for little money and getting a quality product together in six months on a very small budget is the easy part, the tough part is making people aware your game exists.

Q: What made you decide to break away from Westwood and start your own gig?

I actually worked for Westwood Studios in 2001. I was a designer for Command and Conquer Yuri's Revenge. I was laid off after YR completed and we were working on the predesign of C&C Generals. After Westwood I worked at Crystal Dynamics on Whiplash, a PS2/Xbox platform game. In the fall of 2005 I was ready to start a new company, Big Time Games. I had an idea for a new adventure series and we put the first game together in six months. Working for yourself is ideal since you directly benefit from your work.

Q: What kind of educational background would you recommend to someone who wishes to begin their own game studio? MBA? Masters in Comp Sci? Who do you have to support you on your staff and what skills do they have?

While education is always a bonus, I founded Eclipse Software when I was nineteen and had only my high school diploma. As a matter of fact up until that point I didn't even have experience working with PC's. I knew I wanted to create games so I had to teach myself the process from the beginning. Anyone can begin their own game studio as long as they understand that game development is very time consuming and requires extreme focus to take a game from concept to completion. With BTG we've contracted our programming and art to professionals, I provide them with the details of what we need to achieve and they accomplish it.

Q: Producing high quality games is a very time consuming and expensive business. Did you need to approach venture capitalists to fund your projects? What do you suggest to someone who wishes to do something similar?

In my first venture I was extremely fortunate to find a group of guys who
believed in our project enough to raise a good amount of venture capital.
With BTG the games are independently financed. There's many ways to approach the subject of capital investment, it all depends on what you're trying to achieve. If you don't mind giving up your IP (Intellectual Property) Rights then you could always present a demo of your game to publishers. With BTG I wanted to retain our IP so going with a publisher really wasn't an option.

Q: Tell us why you think that the Delaware St John series is unique amongst other adventure games?

I'm a big fan of both Horror movies and Comedies. When I created Delaware I wanted to merge these two passions into one game that could have the player laughing right before being scared out of their wits. I think what makes Delaware stand out from other adventure games is it's a scary game that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Screenshot from Bryan's upcoming game The Town with No Name

Q: Many people who are considering a life as an entrepreneur in the gaming industry have balked at the enormous time commitment that one must sacrifice for success. Has your social life suffered being an entrepreneur in the gaming industry? How often do you have "down time"?

I don't think it's impossible to have a social life while being an
entrepreneaur in the games industry but it requires great planning. Any
company I've worked for has explicitly required 10+ hours a day, up to 7
days a week. When you're a small company like BTG you pretty much work when you're not sleeping since you're taking on a lot more work. It's a big sacrifice but I do believe you have to work very hard if you want success. If you choose a realistic project size and set realistic goals you can achieve both professional and recreational success.

Q: Tell us about the characters and storyline of The Curse of Midnight Manor. Sounds very Hardy Boys-ish.... Similar vein?

Comparisons will be drawn between the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew and Delaware because on the surface there are similarities. Youthful protagonists, haunted locations, mysteries to solve, etc. but I think anyone who plays the Delaware games is in for a treat since the fiction is about the existence of supernatural phenomenon. HB/ND always debunk the "haunted mansion" at the end of the day while Delaware has set things right by combating an evil that's holding restless spirits hostage. Delaware games are darker and scarier than any adveture taken by ND or HB.

Screenshot from Bryan's upcoming game The Town with No Name

Q: Is your main passion adventure games? Or will we see other genres coming out of Big Time Games?

My passion is games. I own every game console just to ensure I don't miss out on a game that might be exclusive to that system. We are currently working on an action/platform game for the PC that's planned for release the same time as Delaware St. John Volume 3. In the future I think you can expect more quality products as we branch out into different genres.

Q: Where do you see Adventure games going 10 years from now?

I think Adventure games have gone through their "mainstream" phase and have setttled to a point where they will always have their dedicated audience. I think 10 years from now the market will be similar but with more "crossover" games being enjoyed by Adventure Gamers.

Screenshot from Bryan's upcoming game The Town with No Name

Editor's Note: Bryan's game, Delaware St. John Volume 1: The Curse of Midnight Manor, has been nominated for an Indy award. His budget was $45,000 for a grand total of 6 months dev time. The Independent Games Festival website states that the finalists for the 2006 IGF Competition will be announced in mid-December, 2005, and the winners will be announced at the IGF awards ceremony next March 22nd, 2006.

The WomenGamers staff would like to thank Bryan for his time and effort with this interview. We wish him the very best of luck in his endeavors and at the Independent Games festival! Hope you can get some sleep soon! He has certainly inspired us---

For more information on the Delaware St. John Series, visit the official website.