INTERVIEW: The doof is on fire

Sounds like an impossible task? The company’s head of games John Ng doesn’t believe so – especially with a sexy new Beta version of the site up and running. Here, Ng describes the website’s vision to CasualGaming.biz…

How does doof differ from other casual games portals out there?
There is a competitive edge to our gaming environment, for example: members can play the game on their own, but when they feel they have mastered it then they play against other people for credits.

It's fun to win credits to spend on the site. If a member loses there’s also the chance for a rematch - this brings back happy memories of strangers challenging you to Streetfighter 2 and the seeing them walking away shamefaced after losing their 50p!

This mechanic ensures higher replayability with the games on the site. Also, members know who they have played against and the richly featured social networking facilities makes it easy for you to make new friends, brag and trash talk, etc.

How do you see the casual gaming space maturing over the next few years?
The market will continue to become a mainstream leisure activity for a very wide spectrum of the online population, and there will be consolidation of the portals. Also, you'll see production values of games improving as the browser platforms get more powerful.

Is it perhaps easier to be a successful start-up in that sector than the more traditional games space? Why?
Our focus is on the value we put around the game - competitive, social, interactive - so we are not judged solely on the game itself - which you are in the more traditional games space.

More generally it is easier to develop and source games. Readily available SDKs means anyone with a computer and talent can start tinkering. The enthusiast developer is making a revival. Also, casual games have a much broader appeal; they are non-violent and stress relieving. There is also a school of thought that this type of quick burst of mental and physical dexterity is good for the brain and the brawn.

What do you make of traditional publishers such as EA, Take Two and Midway all rushing to start casual gaming divisions? Are these companies a threat to what you do?
It is great that the big players coming into this space, they obviously see the value and they bring a lot of game development expertise. They will raise awareness of casual games even further.

It was inevitable that they would become involved – no-one can ignore the fact that the two leading consoles, the Nintendo Wii and DS, are the market leaders because of casual games. Traditional publishers getting involved are not a threat to us, we are quite established now with a strong community. We wouldn't mind licensing their content in the future though.

Is the ‘social networking’ aspect to what you do a unique advantage to PC gaming?
Unique in as much that there is a large group of people who can easily join and help build the community. It's also much easier to interact with others through a keyboard and mouse than with a joypad.

In the future, online interactions will not be based on platforms or OS’s, so whether someone is connecting via a console or a computer will make no difference, the end consumer will always have an appetite for casual gaming, and the short sharp diversion from everyday life it offers, along with the added convenience and interactivity that the social aspect offers will be as popular as ever.

Would you consider moving doof's reach to the likes of Xbox Live and WiiWare in future?
We would love to, but all in good time. Our first venture into the offline world would probably be the iPhone. Again in the future, it won’t matter what platform a consumer is using, the line between online and offline is going to be blurred.

Who owns the games you put online? Where do they come from?
Ownership varies from game to game. We have a small and dedicated in-house studio, but also work with developers across the world.

We’d be thrilled to hear from anyone who wants to showcase his or her games to us, and would be excited to hear from you. We are always on the lookout for engaging and high quality games. It’s an exciting proposition for designers to see their game showcased in front of at least 400,000 users!

Can you see them eventually making their way to boxed PC titles - or even DS console games?
It may be something we think about it in the future, but at the moment that is perhaps not even a twinkle in doof’s eye. The future is almost certainly online for doof.

How important is in-game advertising to the online casual space - and how can you use it to your advantage?

Advertising, its placement and its use can be really beneficial if used in a sympathetic way that is still benefiting the advertiser.

What is your advertising model at doof? Do you charge consumers subscriptions?

We will run fantastic targeted rich media ads that our audience will have an affinity with. We don't want to just place any advertiser on the site or any partner for that matter; the doof environment is a dynamic one and therefore needs advertising content to reflect this.

Being dynamic means we can offer sophistication and exclusivity, a good example of this is the vip club which gives subscribers access to exclusive games, competitions, promotions. The subscription is flexible in that you can pay weekly, monthly or yearly and for that you are exposed to a higher level in doof, this will be compelling for those virtual world individuals whom will benefit from being loyal and unique.

JOHN NG BIOG:

John Ng is a games industry veteran with more than a decade and a half of service. He started his career in the industry with SEGA Europe as a Third Party Account Manager. He then moved into games development securing Producer roles with companies such as Eidos Interactive, Acclaim Entertainment, Pure Entertainment and Codemasters Software. He now heads up the Games Division at doof.com