INTERVIEW: Legacy Interactive’s Ariella Lehrer

CG.biz:  It’s commendable that Legacy Interactive tend to build games around less than obvious licenses. How do you choose the licenses you take on board?
 
Ariella Lehrer: What does "less than obvious" mean? You mean like ‘Murder She Wrote’? That is actually the perfect license for women 50+ who play on many of the downloadable portals. It will be successful, we hope, just like Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes are successful with that crowd. Our goal is to try to match the appeal of the license with the intended audience with the distribution channel with the platform. You must get them all right to produce a great game.

What are the challenges in creating a workable game that captures the essence of a license?

So many challenges...where do I start? It is important that key people on the team really are knowledgeable about, and hopefully fans of, the license. This definitely includes the producer, game designer, and writer. I am certain that Legacy spends more time, effort and money on the story writing that most casual game publishes, and we always either hire writers of the TV show or popular fan fiction on line (in the case of Sherlock).

How do you find working with large corporations as a small independent?

I assume that it is a waste of time to fight them. Ultimately, it is their license and usually one in which they have millions of dollars invested. If they want the character to look 20 years younger than their actual appearance on the show, who am I to argue?

Is the perceived increase in licensed games in the casual sector a good thing, or something that should be kept contained?

I have not found licenses to be an impediment to designing a fun or innovative game. Licensors tend to care more about the actual appearance of the characters and the script than they do the gameplay, which they assume we are expert in. Licensors certainly don't hand over their very valuable intellectual property and tell you to make a bad game. We should just let the marketplace dictate whether there are enough licensed games or not.

What make the casual audience so suited for licensed product?

Licenses are useful as a way to get the customer's attention. They help the customer differentiate one product from another, particularly in today's world of almost unlimited content. They help the fans of the license generate expectations of what the story, gameplay and quality will be. Developers will be punished if they don't meet those expectations.

If you had to offer one piece of advice to a developer about to start work on a popular license, what would it be?

Here's two, for the same money. Don't rush the development process and don't spend too much money on the license. You'll regret both.

What are you most proud of with your licensed work?
 
Until this year, I was most proud of our four Law & Order games. We were the first company to sign a TV drama and turn it into a murder mystery game, and the games sold really well.
 
Does Legacy Interactive have any plans to return to licensed games? Perhaps you have projects already underway?
 
What a leading question. Yes, in November we are launching Murder She Wrote, and in December we are launching a House game and The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 2.