* First, please give me the “pitch” — you know what the game is, who it appeals to, that sort of thing.

Sure. Heartwild Solitaire is a crossover between solitaire and Mahjong. A relaxing pleasure when you want to unwind after a long day. It’s also the first such game to include a romance story (written by Neale Sourna).

We created it for women who like romance themes and this community was our focus from the start. The game is very easy to get into. Sometimes harder to get out of Age doesn’t matter — I’ve seen teenage girls as well as 60 or more years old women enjoying it just the same.

* So, you finally made a Mac version of Heartwild, and I have to tell you — it’s gorgeous! Can you tell me a little bit about how creating a game differs from platform to platform, if at all?

Doing it for both platforms is not that hard, provided you think it through from the beginning. Which we didn’t . Most of the stuff is shared between versions. Granted, the pieces differ are the hardest parts to program, but once you’re done you can carry the work on to next projects. So it’s like an investment.

With Heartwild Solitaire you were the first to point out the lack of Mac version and that got things moving. We went back to the drawing board to rethink and rewrite most of the stuff. It was tough but it paid off. The big bonus is that now we have a solid base for our next games which will be released on both PC and Mac at the same time.

* Game players I’ve spoken to all say the same thing — Heartwild’s soothing, beautiful, fun and addictive. It’s got the added fun feature of including a short, romantic story. Do you plan to release different versions of the game with different stories, or update the existing game with new stories based on levels?

We will be releasing extra addons for this game, including free theme and level packs, but the real juicy part is that next month we’re also starting work on a full blown sequel. Neale is already working on story for that game and it will be bigger than the first one.

It will also be a pick-your-story style, with branching points and multiple, varied endings.

* Can you tell me a little bit about how players “compete” against each other for slots in the top ranks?

The game gives you score points for matching cards and extra bonuses for various achievements, like being super fast or building cards in sequences. With skill and some luck you can get a very good score, which the game then offers to post to our website. Then you can compete with players all over the world. And some of them are real tough cookies.

* Can you describe a bit about you and your team, if you have one — what’s a typical day like where you are.

The typical day is rather… typical. We hate 9-5 though, so we keep very flexible hours, sometimes skip the commute entirely and work from home and one of our guys is 100% virtual. Errr.. I mean he’s based in a different city. We saw him only once in last 3 years. Seriously The team is four men strong, all 30-something, which is kind of old school in gaming business.

* How long does a game like this take to get from concept to finished product?

This cookie was different, since it was a side project for us and you know how fast these move . It took about 2 years to finish. But usually we do them in 3 to 6 months, depending on complexity. Some people are surprised with these numbers, but if you consider that games for consoles (Xbox, Playstation) often take 2 years, 50 person team and millions of dollars, it doesn’t look that bad

* Where can interested people buy a copy of Heartwild?

Come grab a free demo here:

If you like it, the full game costs $9.99. You can purchase it with a credit card and be playing within minutes.

* Anything else you’d like to share?

Just that I’m really loving the romance community. The people here are so warm and fantastic. We already plan out next games for you guys, so it’s gonna be a lot of fun!

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Thanks again for this opportunity. You rock!

Darek