Published 22nd of September 2003

We speak to Judy Elam, part of the publishing team for One Must Fall: Battlegrounds. She talks about how important the fanbase is to the game's development, the game's strengths, and what the future may hold for the One Must Fall franchise.

Judy Elam is part of the publishing team for the upcoming game One Must Fall: Battlegrounds by Diversions Entertainment. She’s actively involving herself in the community, and we thank her for spending the time to speak with us!

White_Pointer: Okay, first things first, how long have you been working with Diversions Entertainment on games?

Judy Elam: About 3 years.

White_Pointer: So have you been working with them since the team started work on One Must Fall: Battlegrounds?

Judy Elam: Not officially. I started working as a publisher after the engine was well on it's way and the game was started. I knew the first game was a success, and wanted to be part of the company, so I agreed to publish the game.

White_Pointer: Diversions have really gained a large fanbase since they announced Battlegrounds, and there's no doubt they have built up a community of very loyal fans. How important do you think this fanbase is to the game's development and overall success?

Judy Elam: We feel that the fanbase is a big part of the success of OMF series. People all over the world played the first game and loved it. So when it came time for OMF: BG, it was easy to start a good fan base. We also knew we needed some good input from the players. So we started the beta testing in the early stages of development. We had thousands of applicants, but only took a few to start with.
This built up excitement when the beta testers began to post how much fun the game was. It is their word of mouth that has also prompted the website to grow. We have not publicly announced the limited test on any major online magazine, but the website has grown tremendously since the announcement of the limited test. This is just fans telling their friends about the game.
Anyone that comes to our website will soon find a lot of friends to talk to. Our own IRC is a place where all meet and discuss the game, and set up the gameplay. It is also growing. Our moderators keep the message board very exciting to all the fans. We also get lots of support and help from many of the technical guys that are fans.
We find that because "WE CARE", the "FANS CARE". Many developers and publishers do not try to use their fanbase to make their games better. However, our motto "We make the games you would make if you were us" stands true. We listen.

White_Pointer: Battlegrounds is certainly what many consider to be a risky venture, it's a fighting game on the PC, for one, and it is also not a traditional fighter that bares little resemblance to the original game. On the other side of the coin, it's time for a change and Battlegrounds is certainly looking very innovative. what do you perceive to be the game's strengths, and which aspects do you think gamers will have to spend the most time getting used to?

Judy Elam: First of all we call the games we make in the OMF series a series, and not a sequel. It is because we are making different games with some of the same characters. The engine from OMF:2097 is totally different from the present engine for a 3D game OMF: BG. So it warrants a whole different aspect of the game. Sure there will be some people missing some of the aspects of the first game, however, this game has so many new and exciting aspects of a 3D fighting game for the p.c. It is 2 different worlds working in 2D as opposed to 3D. So the gamers will need to understand that and just enjoy this new style.
The biggest challenge for the gamer is getting used to the controls. They have been used to First Person Shooters for so long that getting used to a keyboard and/or gamepad without a mouse is new to them. The game just simply can't be played with a mouse. Our experience is once the gamer gets used to either of the keyboard or gamepad (which takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour) he/she is quite pleased and enjoys the game.
We are known to take on a challenge, so this is no new thing for DE. It has been pioneers that set the pace of this world, so being known as one of the first in anything gets notoriety. We are not afraid to do something no one else thinks will work. In the end, the game is fun and the people will play it and enjoy it. Word travels very fast in this industry, so we are confident that this game will be played for years to come. Just like OMF:2097, it will be enjoyed by the fighting fans.

White_Pointer: It certainly has the potential.
The fact that it will support so many players is a feature that is no doubt one of the most appealing factors of OMF: BG, so how early in the development cycle was this decision actually made? Allowing the game to support so many players is obviously a big decision due to potential lag issues.

Judy Elam: Yes, the lag will be part of a players decision to how many players he/she can allow on their particular server. The game allows each person to set up their own server with a predetermined number of players. We have also implemented for those that can't play online successfully, a very good single player. So no need to worry if you can't play online.
We decided on the multiplayer early in the game. Most games in the future will be played online, so we wanted to be the first in a fight game.

White_Pointer: OMF: BG is really slated to set the standard for PC fighters of the future, being the first PC fighter for quite some time and also being the first one that allows so many players. Obviously it's important that the game is quality that will be able to set the standard. You mentioned that you've had a huge response to the limited test for OMF: BG. Has the feedback you've received been helpful as a whole and allowed the development team to improve certain areas of the game?

Judy Elam: Yes, in fact we received from the limited testers some great ideas. For example, we discovered that we needed a trainer arena, so we hopped in and created a good trainer arena for those that want to learn and practice.

White_Pointer: Which no doubt proves your commitment to creating a great game that people will enjoy...you not only listen, but you take things seriously.

Judy Elam: Yes, we have to, they are the purchasers.

White_Pointer: So with all these improvements and fine tuning that is going on with the game, do you envisage that the final product will be the benchmark PC fighting title? That OMF: BG will be the game future developers look at when creating their own games?

Judy Elam: Yes, for sure. Of course we will also be polishing it and adding new things even in the future. The game will have many new additions, so the game will never get old.

White_Pointer: Which is another advantage by creating it for the PC platform, it's something the console fighting games currently can't do.
Well, the game's release has unfortunately been delayed, but it's still due out before the end of the year and currently has a large community quite excited. It's certainly shaping up to be a great game, and we hope it's success matches all the work and support that has been put into it.
So when is the new projected release date?

Judy Elam: Early November.

White_Pointer: The team is obviously working extremely hard on the game as we speak, would you say that we haven't seen the end of the OMF franchise once Battlegrounds is released?

Judy Elam: Absolutely not. We plan to publish on all platforms. We will continue our series. There will also be many mod games out, because we plan to release the mod tools to all gamers of OMF: BG.

White_Pointer: Well, I thank you very much for taking the time out of your schedule to speak to us here at Blood-Sports.net, and hopefully we can speak to you again in the future.

Judy Elam: Ok, great, thanks too for thinking of us.