Interview with War! Age of Imperialism developer Doug Donohoe

Taking a Board Game to the Computer Screen
By Russell D. Carroll [February 20, 2005]

Q: For everyone reading out there, who are you and what was your involvement with War! Age of Imperialism?
A: My name is Doug Donohoe and I'm the founder of Donohoe Digital LLC (http://www.donohoedigital.com), a small game development studio focusing on computer versions of board and card games. I was the primary developer of War! Age of Imperialism. Prior to starting Donohoe Digital, I developed internet business applications at Netscape and Blue Martini Software.

Q: What do you think makes Independent games distinctive?
A: The big studios, as they become larger and more corporate, are becoming similar to the big movie studios in that they are less willing to focus on niche and/or innovative game ideas. Independent game developers have the luxury of being able to create games the big studios are less inclined to attempt.

Q: How did your studio get your start in working with independent games?
A: Growing up I spent quite a bit of time playing strategy board games like Risk, Axis and Allies, Fortress America and other GameMaster titles with my friends. Now that we are all older with jobs and families, and spread across the country, it is much harder to get together to play these types of games. Even so, we do occasionally get together and discovered a new company, Eagle Games, and its line of historical strategy board games. War! Age of Imperialism was the first one we tried and we really enjoyed it. After playing War! and wishing we could play more often, it occurred to me that there was no one in the industry developing computer versions of these types of games. Thus Donohoe Digital was born to address this need.

Q: What is the most innovative feature of War! Age of Imperialism and how is it innovative in your mind?
A: War! Age of Imperialism is a computer version of the eponymous turn-based strategy board game. It is like Risk on steroids. The most innovative feature of the game is the online component in that it supports real-time play and seamlessly transitions to off-line play with email notification. This allows a game to be played over days or weeks. Players can check in once or twice a day to see the other players moves and take their turn. It is perfect for people with jobs and families who don't have hours to spend playing games.

Q: What do gamers appreciate most about War! Age of Imperialism?
A: First, fans of the board game appreciated that we incorporated many of their house rules into the computer game. Second, they like that we expanded the original map of the board game to include North and South America. Finally, the board game requires quite a bit of accounting at the end of each turn to determine the income of your economy. The computer version takes care of this for you, allowing games to take place in less time.

Q: What was the single most difficult part of War! Age of Imperialism to program?
A: The computer player AI was the most challenging portion of the game. Developing a good AI meant we had to build a deep understanding of the strategies of the game and figure out how to make a computer player determine the best approach in a given situation.

Q: Other than your own game did any one of the IGF finalists or Student Showcase games stand out to you? Why?
A: Because we are hard at work creating our next game, I honestly haven't had a chance to play the games of my fellow finalists, so I can't comment.

Q: How do you think Independent Games will evolve in the future?
A: With easy distribution over the internet and as the cost of development tools and packages comes down, I think we will see more compelling and complex games emerge from the smaller studios. Competitions like the IGF will help draw attention to the most deserving developers.

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing Independent games?
A: The biggest challenge is finding a market for your game. Sales, marketing and distribution are all complex tasks that require significant investment of time or a publishing partner.

Q: As one of the leaders of Independent Games, what is next for you?
A: Donohoe Digital is currently working on version 2.0 of our popular poker game, DD Tournament Poker (http://www.ddpoker.com). We are also in the early planning stages for creating computer versions of some popular strategy board games, using the underlying tools and architecture we built for War! Age of Imperialism.