Could you give a quick introduction - who you are, what you do (and why)?

My name is Georgina Okerson, and I create and sell downloadable computer games at Hanako Games. I'm also a big fan of anime, and that influence shows in my work. While there are a lot of anime-inspired games on the consoles, there's not so much on the PC.

What got you started on developing your own games?

Like a lot of people in this business I have been trying to make games since I was very young. I spent many math classes in high school programming simple games on my graphing calculator. Whenever I've come across new tools, I usually think "What can I make with this?"

What game(s) are you working on at the moment?

My current project is a puzzle-solving adventure game called Fatal Hearts (http://hanakogames.com/fatal.shtml). Like many of my games, it has multiple endings. It's up to the player to decide who their friends and enemies are.

It's much darker than something like Cute Knight - the story is a blend of romance, mystery, and horror. Also, there will be vampires.

I don't think anything quite like it has been done before, but it's an experiment I really wanted to try.

What would your perfect game be like?

The perfect game for me is something like Planescape: Torment. A strong story, with enough variation in it for me to feel like I'm really exploring and shaping the storyline instead of just being led along on a rail, plus fun gameplay in-between the story developments. I mostly play RPGs and adventure games - that is, when I'm not just looking for a quick fix of bubble-popping.

What's your favourite part of being an indie developer?

Being in control. Being able to work on what I want, when I want.

Conversely, what part is the worst?

Having to wear so many hats. Programming is only the beginning. Even if you don't make your own art and music, you need to know something about art and music to get what you need and fit them into your game. Then there's websites, marketing, sales support, tech support, paperwork for deals with other companies… Some tasks sound very simple but can burn up a large amount of time when you have to do them all yourself.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start their own indie business?

The most important thing is determination and being able to complete something, anything. A lot of people have trouble slogging through the "boring bits", or even getting past the idea stage. They give up and come up with another idea, then never finish that one either. You have to learn to make plans you can follow through to the end.

What was your inspiration for creating "Cute Knight"?

There's a series of Japanese games called Princess Maker in which you play an old retired soldier who's been given custody of a young girl. You make decisions for her, sending her to school, changing her diet, giving her jobs, and so on. This series is still popular in Japan but it's never been officially released in English, so the only way for me to have more games in that genre was to make them myself.

The most obvious difference is that unlike the parent-child setup in Princess Maker, in Cute Knight you are the character. It's much more of a role-playing game. There's also a storyline involving the player-character's hidden identity and secrets behind several other characters. Unlike Princess Maker, Cute Knight isn't just about raising your skills and seeing what career you receive.

Roughly how long did Cute Knight take to create?

A little less than a year.

What was the hardest part of creating the game?

Testing. With so many possibilities and so many secrets, it takes a lot of attempts to get a real feeling for how difficult anything in the game is.

Which feature(s) are you most proud of and why?

See next question.

If you could do anything differently, what would it be?

Actually, these are related. With the Wizard's Challenge minigame, I created a magic system so complicated even I have trouble with it. I'm proud that the complex rules work, but the actual minigame is just too hard. It just goes to show that sometimes the greatest programming achievements are not the greatest game achievements.

Think you'll ever do a sequel?

I do intend to make a sequel but not until after Fatal Hearts is finished.

So it won't be any time soon. The general plan is to make a game with a larger "world" - multiple villages you can travel between and so on. Beyond that, it's too early to say.

I'd like to thank Georgina for taking the time to answer these questions, and wish her all the best on Fatal Hearts!

It's only fair that I mention Sonic, even though it wasn't the first game I ever played. The whole series of Sonic games had such a unique feel to them, and the sense of speed and fun really stood out to me.

The gameplay isn't particularly complex, but perhaps its sense of simplicity is what inspired me.

Elite series is perhaps the closest most of us will ever get to being astronauts. Owning your own ship, and being allowed to fly around and do what you want was an amazing experience at such a young age.

The ability to choose your path, and the exploration of other worlds couldn't help but ignite a passion.

I still find Populous fun to play after all these years. The game captured the feeling that you're a powerful being looking out for your little guys, as you build the land for and bring death to their enemies through volcanoes, earthquakes and swamps.

What stands out most is that you don't control your followers, so they will build towns and castles all on their. Seeing this example of artificial life really made an impression on me, and sparked my interest in the subject.

I love NiGHTS. It's one of my favourite games of all time, and doubtless I could write pages and pages about it.

Technology wise, the dynamic music and artificial life was a real achievement, even by today's standards. Guarding your Nightopians and watching them flourish adds an extra dimension to the gameplay, as does mutating them into weird and wonderful creatures.

From a creative point of view, flying through the vivid dream world was simply sublime.

Although I enjoyed playing it when was younger, it wasn't until I was older that I learnt to appreciate the strategy elements that went with it.

The game puts you in the role of Captain Stark, a freedom fighter on an island that has been taken over by a mad dictator. In order to free the island, you must recruit the residents to create your own freedom force. Each member of your team has their own slice of time, so the more you recruit the more you can do in a time period.

The 3D graphics were good for the time, and although the landscape was almost entirely barren you still felt as if you were exploring a snow covered island.

Perhaps the most innovative feature was the role that friendships played into the game. Some people would only join your team if their friends spoke to them, which could mean skiing across the wilderness, dodging rockets and mortars only to find the ungrateful git didn't like you. At least you could blow up their house with dynamite.

Time Bandit was billed as an "action adventure" game, and mixed various elements quite well.

The most interesting thing for me was the mixture of shooting, collecting keys and diamonds, and puzzle solving using a text adventure like system. The extra descriptions of places and items helped flesh out the various stories taking place, and the action helped to keep things interesting and entertaining.

There were plenty of worlds to explore, from a starship clearly inspired by Star Trek, to a castle with an enigmatic hermit with a penchant for cards.

A common theme I've noticed running through all of these games is that they succeed in engrossing the player in another world. This can be a powerful influence when you're growing up, when you haven't yet gained the freedom of a car or being allowed to do what you want.

It's worth mentioning that playing both SF3 and BG&E for the "Game Design Lessons" series really brought a dumb smile to my face. It's the kind of smile you get when you realise that you're making the right decision by developing games.

So, what games inspired you to choose your path? Have you ever been inspired to do something just from playing a game?

This article is part of the "Game Design Lessons" series, and is an in-depth look at the videogame "Beyond Good & Evil".

This is a joint project between myself and my brother (over at Prosody.co.uk). My articles will take a more analytical approach, whereas his will focus on the game from a player's point of view.

You can read the other half of this article at: "Player POV – Beyond Good & Evil".

This article is also part of the October edition of the "Carnival of Gamers", which you can find at "Man Bytes Blog".

You can read the other half of this article at: Player POV – Beyond Good & Evil. It takes a look at the game from the player's perspective, and looks at how the different game elements fit together to create an immersive and enjoyable experience.