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Interview
with Michael B. Clark
by Jim Saighman
June 15, 2004
Interview
with Michael B. Clark:
Jim
Saighman (Bacardi Jim) got a chance to sit down with Michael B. Clark,
creator of Harvest and The Arrangement to discuss the announcement that The
Arrangement would be self-published by Mr. Clark rather than
distributed by Got Games Entertainment, as had been previously announced.
BJ:
Got Game is getting a reputation for taking a chance on unknown (or
near unknown) developers, with games like Conspiracies
and Alida. Can you tell us how you came to get involved with them
in the first place? Who approached whom?
MBC:
Got Game Entertainment and myself were brought together via a
mutual acquaintance.
A
friend of Howard Horowitz told me that he was interested in my game and to
contact him. I did, and he asked to see a copy of my game. At the time,
the game was halfway completed. I sent it to him, and he said he wanted to
publish it.
The success of Harvest I think
is what prompted it.
BJ:
Some publishers are known as being more "developer
friendly" than others. Can you comment on your working
relationship with Got Game?
MBC: They were absolutely terrific! Since this was a brand
new experience for me, they were very patient with me and answered all of
my questions. It was a sheer delight working with them. They
truly have the independent developer’s best interest at heart.
BJ:
While game cancellations are becoming more and more commonplace,
these cancellations are almost always the unilateral decision of the
publisher. I understand that this was not the case for The
Arrangement. Can you give us any details? Was the decision
yours or Got Game Entertainment’s? Were the early negative reviews
a factor in the decision?
MBC:
The
possibility of cancellation was NOT their idea - it was mine.
However, this
was a mutually agreed upon decision, based on the reviews, and we both
realized the game would do much better as a self-published entity - geared
more towards the existing Harvest
fan base. I view the whole game making process as a huge learning
experience. Fans of Harvest will
clearly see the advance I've made in The
Arrangement, but unfortunately, this is not good enough for the
commercial market. But trust me; I'll get there one day!
BJ:
You have announced that you will self-publish The Arrangement through your own website, the same way you did for Harvest. I assume this would maximize your per game profit, even if
you sell far fewer copies. Can you give us an idea of whether you
expect The Arrangement to come out as a financial "success?"
MBC: Well, if it sells at least as many copies as Harvest, it will be more than a success.
BJ:
So what's next
for Michael Clark? Should we expect another game in the next couple
of years? If so, what lessons have you learned from The Arrangement
that you can apply to a future project?
MBC: I will most definitely make another game. The graphics
and puzzles are the funniest part of the creation process for me - and I
will strive to improve upon those areas, as well as all the other areas of
game development. I think the biggest lesson I learned from this is
that it might be better to self-publish my next game first, and see how it
does, before entering into an agreement with a publisher. That way
the publisher will know beforehand if the game has a chance at success or
not. All of Got Game Entertainment's recent successes, Rhem,
A Quiet Weekend In Capri, and Alida
were all self-published games first - so Got Game knew they were successes
from the start. Even Dark Fall
was a self-published game before The Adventure Company published it.
The Arrangement was such a gamble for Got Game Entertainment - and I
really give them credit for that. It was a risky move, and a vote of
confidence in me that I won't soon forget. |
