Update: See the cartoon version here

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Sean Cooper, the mastermind behind Shadez 2: Battle for Earth. If you are just getting into game development this is someone you should keep an eye on. He has been creating games for a long time and he does everything from the graphics and interface to the audio to the programming. Enjoy!

GT: 1) Which game(s) inspired the Shadez series?
Sean Cooper: Command and conquer obviously and Total annihilation (original versions only), just a big fan since 1995. I think movies inspire me more, I.e. we were soldiers, independence day, etc. also the art style helped to inspire
the game. So inspiration comes from every media type, small things and details.

GT: 2) Are you the sole creator of the Shadez series or do you have help?
Sean Cooper: Yes I am. Art/Audio/Programming. I do everything (only because I can and I have a lot of fun doing them all). However Jon Chang from Echelon software helped me out with the Front end, he produced the concept.

GT: 3) What is your favorite aspect of flash game development?
Sean Cooper: I really like the way the whole system allows me to take a quick idea and code it up very quickly to produce something. I can do this all in one file, every other programming tool you would need to create a series of files to do something.
So I think the Program Flash CS4 is my favorite aspect. Coding is the one thing I really enjoy, when I think of something, I can’t wait to code it. I really like taking a small idea and making it work: interactive, fun, style, etc.

GT: 4) If you had the budget to hire 2 additional developers to join your team
what skills would you be looking for?
Sean Cooper: A games artist and system programmer. I find it really hard to visualize graphics, sure enough I get there in the end but it doesn’t come naturally like the game design. Also I would say I am a good programmer and I know some awesome programmers who could really help me deliver faster projects and less bugs to fix.

GT: 5) How many hours per week do you spend gaming?
Sean Cooper: Not enough but probably 1 hour a day, looking and studying more so than
playing.

GT: 6) What is your take on MochiCoins? Do you think they will completely change
the way online games are monetized or are they overrated?
Sean Cooper: I really like the idea behind it; I think the numbers are there to achieve something with them. Mochi is a great company and they have really good goals. At the end of the day, for the Flash business to grow we need to deliver better content and the only way to achieve this is too earn more money to fund larger teams. So it is the future.

GT: 7) If you could be any character from the original NES who would you be and
why?
Sean Cooper: KING KOOPA… he’s always looking for ways to destroy stuff.

GT: 8 ) Your website says you have been creating games since 1987! 22 years is
quite a run. Do you see yourself slowing down any time soon?
Sean Cooper: No… I hope not. I am just starting again and relearning a lot of stuff (and having fun doing so). So no slowing and getting faster.

GT: 9) What is your favorite game that you didn’t help create?
Sean Cooper: DOOM 2. This was the peak of my gaming days - the double-barrel shotgun…
sneak up behind some one… blam BATTLE ISLE: When I was twenty, I locked myself in my bedroom over XMAS and played the game for a whole week non-stop. More favourite times and than favourite games.

GT: 10) How do you see the gaming industry changing over the next 10 years?
Sean Cooper: The big trap… “You’ll never need more than 32k”. It is just going to be more fun for me and as the industry grows so will my company.

GT: 11) You launched Shadez 2 with a video trailor on YouTube. On a scale of
1-10 how effective would you say that trailor has been in promoting your
game?
Sean Cooper: I release a trailer to start talking about ideas around the game and see if people get excited, this helps me raise my excitement and take the game to the next level. When I produce the trailer the game is not finished but close. A by product of this is that it does promote the game.

GT: 12) Would you still create games if they didn’t make money?
Sean Cooper: Yes.

GT: 13) Do you have a tight feedback loop with your players or do you kind of
just build your ideal game and not worry so much about what people think?
Sean Cooper: I do look at trends and look at a market… I create the idea in complete isolation; I try not to look at too many games as they tend to influence your decisions too much. Once I have the idea worked out and have some example, I then test the idea with a group of peers (other companies) and get feedback. What do you like or hate? Listen and then make my own decision to what I think the changes are. Design by committee never works, right, if it does then someone out there please teach it to me. From my experience 4 man teams are good amount of people to have on an idea, but one person needs to own the vision.

GT: 14) If you were to go back in time and rebuild Shadez 2 what would you do
differently?
Sean Cooper: Too much to list - but this is the great thing, just think how much learning that gives me… mistakes or doing things differently has to be the meaning of life, for me. However the biggest thing I would change is make the game 20% of the size for the initial release and then release 5 or so more versions with new levels, structures and units. It is too big for one mind; it needs a team of 5 to create this game properly.

About Sean Cooper: I started out in the Games industry in 1987 (all those
years ago). I led, designed and programmed many hit titles for Electronic Arts and they collectively sold 20 million copies plus. Now I enjoy writing games for the online casual gaming market! Follow my tweets at twitter.com/seantcooper or visit my website, games.seantcooper.com for more…