Successes & Challenges Making the ‘Sweetest’ Game of 2007: A Chocolatier Post-Mortem

Successes & Challenges Making the ‘Sweetest’ Game of 2007: A Chocolatier Post-Mortem: Slide audio & slides(55 MB)

You’ve just made a hit product that casual gamers and critics alike are raving about when you get the urge to make the sequel. That should be easy, right? Same formula all over again, improve some things that didn’t go so well the first time, and more riches and rewards will follow, right? If only it were so easy! Join Michael Wyman, CEO and lead game designer for Big Splash Games™, and Craig Bocks, Director of Publishing and producer for PlayFirst™, as they share the secrets of working together on Chocolatier™ and Chocolatier™ 2: Secret Ingredients – the mouth-watering economic simulation franchise of the casual games market. When early sales data from the launch of Chocolatier confirmed what Big Splash and PlayFirst had suspected during development – that the game would indeed become one of the biggest hits of 2007 - the companies embarked on the challenge of immediately developing a sequel. But several hard questions would have to be answered:

• what had been learned from the experience of making the original game
• what new features could be added to the core simulation engine to take it to the next level
• how should the saga of the Baumeister family continue in a new set of quests and adventures
• what could be done to enhance the factory mini-game, art, and audio from the first product?

Presented in post-mortem style, Michael and Craig will talk about the process of working together to bring Chocolatier to market, the unique challenges of making the sequel of a hit product, and the key learnings that both companies unearthed during the creative process developing this well-loved and groundbreaking franchise.

Delivered at Casual Connect Seattle, July 2008

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Craig Bocks (email)

Craig Bocks is the Director of Publishing for PlayFirst, where he oversees all 3rd party production for the company. He has worked with talented developers from around the world to bring such hit product lines such as Chocolatier, Dream Chronicles, and Wedding Dash to market. Prior to joining PlayFirst, Craig worked at Trymedia Systems and The Learning Company, where he served as Executive Producer on classic children’s brands such as "Carmen Sandiego", "Oregon Trail", "Scooby-Doo," and "Arthur." In 2001 the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awarded his "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" Title of the Year.

Michael Wyman (email)

Michael Thornton Wyman is founder and CEO of Big Splash Games, makers of the hit casual games Chocolatier and Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients. Prior to starting Big Splash Games, Michael worked as a Producer and Project Leader at Electronic Arts Canada, Lucas Learning and Maxis.

HOME \| LECTURES & ARTICLES \| REFLECTIONS & POSTMORTEMS \| Successes & Challenges Making the ‘Sweetest’ Game of 2007: A Chocolatier Post-Mortem audio & slides(55 MB) You’ve just made a hit product that casual gamers and critics alike are raving about when you get the urge to make the sequel. That should be easy, right? Same formula all over again, improve some things that didn’t go so well the first time, and more riches and rewards will follow, right? If only it were so easy! Join Michael Wyman, CEO and lead game designer for Big Splash Games™, and Craig Bocks, Director of Publishing and producer for PlayFirst™, as they share the secrets of working together on Chocolatier™ and Chocolatier™ 2: Secret Ingredients – the mouth-watering economic simulation franchise of the casual games market. When early sales data from the launch of Chocolatier confirmed what Big Splash and PlayFirst had suspected during development – that the game would indeed become one of the biggest hits of 2007 - the companies embarked on the challenge of immediately developing a sequel. But several hard questions would have to be answered: • what had been learned from the experience of making the original game • what new features could be added to the core simulation engine to take it to the next level • how should the saga of the Baumeister family continue in a new set of quests and adventures • what could be done to enhance the factory mini-game, art, and audio from the first product? Presented in post-mortem style, Michael and Craig will talk about the process of working together to bring Chocolatier to market, the unique challenges of making the sequel of a hit product, and the key learnings that both companies unearthed during the creative process developing this well-loved and groundbreaking franchise. Delivered at Casual Connect Seattle, July 2008 DOWNLOAD Craig Bocks (email) Craig Bocks is the Director of Publishing for PlayFirst, where he oversees all 3rd party production for the company. He has worked with talented developers from around the world to bring such hit product lines such as Chocolatier, Dream Chronicles, and Wedding Dash to market. Prior to joining PlayFirst, Craig worked at Trymedia Systems and The Learning Company, where he served as Executive Producer on classic children’s brands such as "Carmen Sandiego", "Oregon Trail", "Scooby-Doo," and "Arthur." In 2001 the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awarded his "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" Title of the Year. Michael Wyman (email) Michael Thornton Wyman is founder and CEO of Big Splash Games, makers of the hit casual games Chocolatier and Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients. Prior to starting Big Splash Games, Michael worked as a Producer and Project Leader at Electronic Arts Canada, Lucas Learning and Maxis.