After playing Warhammer Quest, I decided to reach out to Rodeo Games and learn a bit more about them.
Q. Tell us a little about your company
Rodeo Games was set up three years ago by myself and three friends, with one goal… to make the coolest turn based strategy games the iOS platform had ever seen. We all hailed from the AAA games industry from places such as Criterion, Lionhead and Sony, so this lofty goal seemed vaguely achievable. Anyway, here we are, three years later, still striving to reach the stars; and that initial driving statement.
Q. What games do you guys play? What is your favorite?
Wow, well we play all sorts. The other day we had “Civ Day” in the studio. Warhammer Quest was in review at Apple, and we all decided that taking the day off to play some multiplayer Civilization would be a relaxing break. Twelve hours and much border defending later, we realized relaxing wouldn’t be on the cards! Other than that, I’m playing Star Command and Frozen Synapse on my iPad right now, with Baldurs Gate somewhere on my list of “I really should play this at some point”.
Q. Can you provide a little background on the whole Warhammer fantasy?
Warhammer Fantasy Battle is traditionally a table top game where players build vast armies to battle one another. It’s full of Orcs, Goblins, Undead, Beastmen, Skaven (nasty ratmen things), and all sorts of outlandish races. From that setting there are many variants and games, from the Civ style “Mighty Empires” to the American football spin off “Blood Bowl”. As a youngster I was into the whole lot. My Chaos Army dominated the battlefield, Empire army fought bravely for the realm, and Dark Elf team scored touchdowns in the Blood Bowl arena. So, when it came to working with the Games Workshop IP, it was a bit of a no-brainer.
Q. What does the future hold for Rodeo Games?
Good question. We’re going to continue updating Warhammer Quest for the foreseeable future. Other than that….well now, that would spoil the surprise!
Q. Where do you see mobile gaming going in the next couple of years?
I can see it hitting the living room. Hard. Everything points to Apple unifying all their devices. It won’t be long before most causal users will be using their iPad / iPhone to play games through their TV’s. I mean, yes you can already do that, but few players do. In a couple of years time, it’ll be as natural as playing on your iPhone is right now. This’ll have a knock on effect on the game’s we’ll hopefully see.
They’ll start to resemble deeper experiences, more like a hobby. During the day, players will play the “meta” game and prepare for the evening’s activities. For instance, in a game like Warhammer Quest, you’ll visit settlements during the day buying armour and weapons, maybe completing some easier dungeons whilst making plans with your friends about which HUGE dungeon you will all be tackling that evening. Then, when you’re at home, in front of your TV and online with your friends, you’ll be taking on the dungeon you’ve been preparing all day for.
Larry-Thanks again Ben for your time and we look forward to seeing what Rodeo Games gives us in the future.
