Great games aren't created in a vacuum.
Being successful in the games industry requires a strong understanding of the medium and the market, and playing lots of games is inevitably a part of this.
Given how crucial this can be for insight and inspiration, and just how passionate this industry is, it's about time more people started openly talking about the games they play.
So PocketGamer.biz will be regularly reaching out to key figures in the mobile games industry to ask them what game (other than their own) is currently keeping them busy after hours. You can view all entries here.
This time, it's Matthew Wiggins with his playing habits in the spotlight. Wiggins, a member of our Hall of Fame, is the former GM of Zynga UK, now focusing on games for messaging apps as CEO of his new studio MojiWorks.
PocketGamer.biz: What mobile game (other than your own) are you currently playing the most?
Matthew Wiggins: Reigns.
How long have you been playing it, and do you see yourself continuing?
I’ve been playing it for about six months, and I’ll be eagerly continuing once the new content arrives.
What do you enjoy most about it?
The ease of interaction, discovery of new situations, impact of meaningful choice, and the sense of humour.
What does this game do that makes it especially unique and innovative?
It takes an extremely simple interaction - swipe left or right to make a decision that can make or break your game - and uses that as the basis for endlessly replayability in which the player ends up creating their own mini story each time. I love it.
If you could change one thing about the game, what would it be?
More regular content updates, akin to a CCG's live service model.
It’s a reminder of how important elegant interaction design is on mobile.Matthew Wiggins
I love to see timed content, maybe even reflecting time of day. Anything that leads to new story combinations with surprising outcomes would be great.
Have you learned anything from this game that could impact your own work?
It’s a reminder of how important elegant interaction design is on mobile.
More generally, how important is it for those in the industry to actively and regularly play other people's games?
Very. I’m particularly interested in looking at other games to understand the feelings they evoke in their players (both good and bad).
It’s also a chance to learn from the design decisions (and therefore compromises) that were taken, and think about what the ramifications of them were - in a much less painful way than when doing that to your own game!
