GDC '08: Puzzle Quest was deemed too risky

Publishers didn't want to take a chance on Puzzle Quest, says Infinite Interactive CEO Steve Fawkner; sci-fi themed sequel Galactrix announced.

SAN FRANCISCO--Just like the Beatles, Puzzle Quest was turned down many times before D3 Publisher took the game on, Infinite Interactive CEO Steve Fawkner told the audience at his Game Developers Conference session.

Fawkner said that the pitching process was incredibly frustrating, which he illustrated with a cartoon. He said, "because it was deemed an 'innovative product,' it was difficult to sell the idea. We had one publisher who said they loved it, but they wouldn't publish it because they had no idea how many copies it would sell." A while later, the same publisher asked for more copies of the game, and Fawkner presumed this was because it had changed its mind on publishing the title. "They said no," he laughed. "They just wanted more copies because everyone was playing it in the lunchtime in their office."

Fawkner said that he had been asked many, many times how the company came up with the idea for Puzzle Quest. He said, "It was actually a happy accident."

The first name that the company had for the game was Warlords Champions, but Infinite Interactive decided that it made it sound too much like a fighting game. Puzzle Quest was chosen, revealed Fawkner, because, "We wanted one word that said casual game, which was 'puzzle,' and one word which said hardcore/RPG, and that was 'quest,' and we stuck them together."

Originally the game only had a male character to play, but through focus testing the company found that female gamers were turned off by this, so the company added the option of playing as a female character. Explaining why this wasn't originally in the plan, Fawkner said, "We wanted to avoid the whole masculine/feminine/neuter thing in European languages, which would basically add a load of text."

As to why he thinks that Puzzle Quest was so successful, Fawkner thinks it's because gamers who had previously only played either role-playing games or puzzle games got to see the other side of the coin, and found that they liked that too.

He finished off his session by showing a short demo of the next Puzzle Quest, Galactrix, which will have a sci-fi theme. A few things will be different in the new game, Fawkner explained, including a better scaling down of difficulty. "If you start to lose a few games, the AI will pull itself back," he said. Gamers can also look forward to more variety in missions, and a more dynamic world.

To find out more about Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, check out GameSpot's full preview.

33 Comments

  • drummer131

    Posted Mar 3, 2008 1:19 pm PT

    i never played the original, i only saw someone play it once. i don't plan on picking it up ever, but i am looking into this sequel. The sci-fi thing seems to have me intrigued.

  • Santhin

    Posted Feb 26, 2008 9:58 am PT

    I hope publishers like my hybrid Fighting game/City Builder 'Sim Slasher'.

    Seriously though, the next generation of consoles better have solid digital distribution, because that allows for games like this to get a much better chance of being released. And think of all the great titles like Puzzle Quest (And yes, it is a wonderful, wonderful game), that probably never got the luck it did.

  • Vash67

    Posted Feb 25, 2008 5:39 pm PT

    I think i should get around to getting a copy of this..

  • Skreb-Masters

    Posted Feb 24, 2008 8:47 am PT

    I could understand why some publishers wouldn't want to publish it, in the world of sequels, franchises and yearly updates. But I'm always glad to see innovative titles getting the praise they deserve. Totally looking forward to Galactrix.

  • Nexeus

    Posted Feb 24, 2008 1:59 am PT

    all I have to say is Im really bad at bejelweld but Im really good at rpgs, hence my aweomeness at puzzle quest lol

  • -HCMF-

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 6:43 pm PT

    goes to show that any crazy idea could be a best seller, the down side to this philosph is you get lots of crud - i.e. the wii has a host of subpar crud that someone is hopeing for a hit...

  • yoyoman10

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 10:48 am PT

    why is makeing a simple, low budget, popular puzzle game "too risky"? too lazy sounds more correct.

  • XaosII

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 10:44 am PT

    Why the heck is everyone asking for it on the PS3? Just get it for the PC. There shouldnt be anyone on this site that doesnt have a PC capable of playing.

    Trust me, your precious little PS3 and its much overhyped Blu-Ray isnt going to use the Cell and create a version of Puzzle Quest that far superior to any of the ones out there.

  • tclvis

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 10:33 am PT

    It probably isn't on PS3 because of the price of the dev kit when they started developing. Sony has since lowered it, but perhaps not enough to make a difference to a smaller developer? Or maybe Sony is saving it for their online service when they start it.

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 10:27 am PT

    meh give it time. they want the money so they will enevitably do it for sequel. its a given notion in these era of gaming, as consoles become unified.

  • VagrantChild24

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 9:49 am PT

    It does seem odd that PS3 seems to be the only thing getting the proverbial shaft. I'm curious to see how Galactrix turns out considering how much I love the original. It does bother me though that all the companies had passed on the game and then anytime you hear them make a press conference they say they are trying to innovate and what not. That can't be done without risking a bit on a game that's a bit different. Bravo D3. Way to have the guts to release a fantastic product.

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 8:46 am PT

    Why the F won't they release any of this on PS3? I LOVED Puzzle Quest!

  • jakob_187

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 8:42 am PT

    I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with Puzzle Quest (I've got it for the Wii). I'm hoping that if they bring Galactrix to the Wii, they fix the figgity controls, but the content was so worth it. It's crazy, because even though the single player game is relatively finite, the multiplayer between me and my family has been intense every time (although paladins are relatively overpowered compared to the other classes in the game).

    I'm really looking forward to Galactrix, and I have to thank D3 for publishing such an awesome game in the right place!

  • smadiso1

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 4:02 am PT

    I about wet myself when I saw this come on in the GDC. The first puzzle quest was definitely a sleeper hit sensation and I know everyone I've introduced it to has been hooked from day one. This sci-fi sequel looks great though I hope the new hexagon playfield doesn't make planning future moves too hard. Darn AI ALWAYS cheats as it is!

  • Erebus posted Feb 23, 2008 2:38 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Erebus

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 2:38 am PT (hide)

    My crystal ball tells me the sequal will have problems.....

  • greater_bird

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 2:20 am PT

    It's bad when a hybrid of two well-established genres is considered too innovative to sell... Sigh...

    What chance does that give any gameplay that's genuinely *new*??

  • Ra-Devil

    Posted Feb 23, 2008 12:54 am PT

    I played the demo a bit and was slightly un-impressed. Did the demo of it do the game any justice?

  • AZisBack

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 10:55 pm PT

    The only reason why I played (or heard) of this game is because it was up for awards. I didn't think I would like it but I loved it. This is the most addicting puzzle game I have played in years! The AI is cheap sometimes but it goes both ways. It is a blast to play verses two people.

  • Warchief_Zuljin

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 10:37 pm PT

    Great game, but the one thing I can't stand about it is when your computer opponent just keeps chaining extra turns, while dealing damage, just from one move that seemingly wouldn't have done anything since you don't know what gems are going to descend.

  • Adam_the_Nerd

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 10:01 pm PT

    This game rocks man.

  • ocdog45

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 9:40 pm PT

    how many other gems are out there?

  • Nintendo_Man

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    AI cheating? If you struggled with the game then you just going on about it the wrong way since it gets easier after you get past the early stages. The comment mention in the article is true, i am a puzzle fan but not a RPG one yet i thought it is the best puzzle game i played in years.

  • OfficialBed

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 9:09 pm PT

    i still have to pick up puzzle quest

  • MikeySSH

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 9:07 pm PT

    i love puzzel quest from XBLA!

  • PEELEDbanana

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 9:00 pm PT

    I still feel kinda bad that i didn't but a copy... guess i will got buy the new one. Played the demo on Xbox live, just never actually got any points to buy it. Shame on myself.

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 8:38 pm PT

    great game...I never ever would have thought you could blend tetris with a rpg and have it make any ind of sense...yet...great game

  • jrhawk42

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 8:18 pm PT

    Glad somebody picked it up. I can see some developers not taking the plunge, but eventually somebody was going to pick this title up.

    Glad to see Galactrix is sticking with innovation. Hope it works well for them the production looks great so far.

  • Bgrngod

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 8:12 pm PT

    How about instead of scaling back the AI when someone starts loosing they make the opponents play differently? And write a better random generator. There is no reason a rat should be making the perfect move EVERY single time.

    The AI in this game was a joke. Bordering on cheating. It totally ruined the game. Took a great concept and turned it into trash.

  • jdubb831

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 7:54 pm PT

    MaxPower15

    There needs to be a 360 version released.
    http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/galactrix/index.html

  • MaxPower15 posted Feb 22, 2008 7:45 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    MaxPower15

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 7:45 pm PT (hide)

    There needs to be a 360 version released.

  • usagi704

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 7:32 pm PT

    Vegeta187-13 wrote:
    Just imagine how many "innovative" games have never seen the light of day because they are "too risky". Pretty sad.

    Yeah, it is.

  • Vegeta187-13

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 7:24 pm PT

    Just imagine how many "innovative" games have never seen the light of day because they are "too risky". Pretty sad.

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