[GDN] Is there a single thing that makes all casual games successful aside from simply being fun?

[CO] Fun is obviously the most important ingredient, but what makes a game fun? How do you quantify ’fun’? For PopCap it’s about making the game experience as good as it can be. We prioritise a very high quality bar and as a rule look to make the games easy to pick up and play - but simultaneously, tough to master. We believe that everyone is a potential player of our games so the challenge is to appeal to as diverse an audience as possible. We do this by packing lots into our games so there’s literally something for everyone and by bringing them to as wide a range of platforms as we can, we ensure that our audience of everyone has the opportunity to play, however they wish to.

[GDN] EA recently said that 25% of a game’s budget is development the rest marketing, but I can’t see that as being the case at PopCap. How does PopCap remain successful in such a crowded market space?

[CO] I can’t speak for EA but that certainly is not the case at PopCap. We actually have a relatively small marketing budget. PopCap are of the opinion that if you create a good product, it will largely speak for itself. Most of the awareness around our games has been generated by a small PR team of three who supply games for review - the rest of our awareness is achieved via word of mouth.

I would estimate that most of PopCap’s budget goes on the long development process around our games - we have spent up to three years developing titles, which is eons in casual game development terms. It’s important for us to ensure our quality bar is met.

[GDN] Finally, who would win in a fight: Pirates, Ninjas or Unicorns?

[CO] Knowing Bjorn [the unicorn in Peggle] personally, I would have to say unicorns...they represent as cute and colourful but underneath that fairytale exterior, he’s a pretty tough guy. There’s a reason that he is Peggle’s poster boy...he packs a punch!

[GDN] Speaking of that, how come there aren’t so many pirates or ninjas in PopCap Games?

[CO] Never say never!  [winks]

GDN would like to thank Cathy for her time and insights into the development at PopCap. We wish them continued success and hope to see some great new games soon.