9 Dragons Interview with David Demers Associate Producer

Gameogre.com had a chance to talk with Gamersfirst about acquiring the game 9Dragons from Acclaim and what the future holds for 9Dragons!


Gameogre.com: Gamersfirst recently acquired 9 Dragons from Acclaim. What drew your company to this game and why did you decide to publish it?

David Demers: We had been scouting 9Dragons as a potential for the GamersFirst portfolio as Acclaim's contract was expiring with Indy21. A major draw for us was established community within 9Dragons. GamersFirst's games have a strong and loyal community and the existing community for 9Dragons seemed to fit the mold of interaction, similar to that of our other titles. In addition, we believe that with the community's support we can improve the game and experience.

Gameogre.com: I know the transfer of the game didn’t go as smooth as planned with Acclaim. The first question that struck the players immediately after the news was whether or not their accounts are going to be erased. How did GamersFirst handle this concern?

David Demers: We communicated the news to the community as soon as we discovered what was going to happen; this was as shocking and unexpected to GamersFirst as it was to the 9Dragons community. We have tried to be as honest with them as possible. The news of the sudden server shutdown also triggered the discussions for the transfer of the user account database to be canceled from Acclaim to GamersFirst.

As more updates become available from Indy21’s efforts to retrieve the Database, we update the community. Our primary concern right now is to get the game transitioned and up and running so that the community can continue to play again.

Gameogre.com: Are the players coming over from the transition going to lose their items and experience?

David Demers: As we do not have the account user database it would be accurate to say that they have already lost those things. It is our hope that the actions Indy21 is taking in regards to this issue will result in the delivery of the Database back to them so that we can recreate the characters in full.

We will be making several adjustments within the game and holding promotions in the early phases to let the community know we are doing everything we can do, however, the majority of re-creation of characters is really out of our control.

Gameogre.com: Some old players may have ill feelings towards the game with everything that happened. How are you going to show them, that this acquisition was a positive one and the game will only be better from now on?

David Demers: Most of the 9Dragons community feels pretty jaded and upset at Acclaim for the way things turned out. Unfortunately, because Acclaim doesn’t exist anymore as the publisher of 9Dragons, GamersFirst is taking the brunt of the rage in the community.

We have been very communicative to them about how much we emphasize the importance of the community and how they will be an active part of the game’s development in the future. The only way we can show players we are different is by consistently developing positive changes in the game and community.

Gameogre.com: Will 9 Dragons be as exciting and action-packed as before? Will it have the same features?

David Demers: The current client that is up and running consists of all the action, excitement, and features that Acclaim’s version ended with. We will be rolling out new features and changes incrementally over the coming months to improve the player experience and introduce new items in the game.

Gameogre.com: If GamersFirst are to make changes in the game, what kind of changes will it be?

David Demers: That depends on community feedback. Currently we are working on developing changes to the experience system that we will present to Indy21 in hopes to revamp the way characters progress throughout the game. The community is our best resource and the true game experts, so we will be relying on them to guide us with priorities for the game.

Gameogre.com: I have heard some rumors that there may be some new maps and Kung Fu patterns, is there any truth to these rumors?

David Demers: Yes, details will be released later on to the whole community when we have accurate dates and timelines to give.

Gameogre.com: What is the GamersFirst future plans for 9dragons?

David Demers: For now, we are digesting a lot of information from the Live servers and from the community forums. We are actively planning to introduce new features and content updates, roll out new servers, remaster the game lore, improve the integrity of the client, and conduct fun and exciting new events (as well as updating some of the older events).

Gameogre.com: Any message for the dismayed fans out there to get them pumped up for the re-release of this game?

David Demers: Come back! You left your favorite shirt on the floor, and I have your CD’s still…plus we still need to decide who gets custody of our pet puppy who has been crying all day since you left.

Seriously though, come back, engage with the community and you will be playing your favorite game again soon; as well as have the ability to influence the future of the 9Dragons development. We will send out e-mails regarding new developments with the user database and content updates, but the forum community will be the first to hear about it.