Dreamlords: The Reawakening - An Interview CEO David Rosén

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Updated Thu, Apr 24, 2008 by Cody Bye

Questions by Cody "Micajah" Bye, Managing Editor

Answers by David Rosén, CEO of Lockpick Entertainment

A few months ago, the gaming industry was knocked back on its heels when the developers at Lockpick Entertainment announced that their game, Dreamlords, would be closing its doors to allow the developers to take a fresh look at the game. Although the first game was unique and evolutionary, their latest version of the game, Dreamlords: The Reawakening, looks to be even better. Currently in beta and nearing release, Dreamlords: The Reawakening promises numerous updates, new user interfaces, and an overall facelift for the original Dreamlords game. Free to play, this newest update to the Dreamlords franchise has drawn upon player feedback to help build a brand new experience that appeals not only to previous Dreamlords players, but welcomes new blood with open arms as well. To learn everything we could about the experience, Ten Ton Hammer's Cody "Micajah" Bye sat down with David Rosén, CEO of Lockpick Entertainment, to learn about the flashy new details.

David Rosén, CEO of Lockpick Entertainment

Ten Ton Hammer: Why did you decide that you needed to close down the original Dreamlords and redo some of the features in the game? When did you finally reach the decision to close down the game for a few months?

David Rosén: Dreamlords was a great game and we’re really proud of it but since it was our first game, there’s bound to be flaws and things that turns out to work not as well as expected. You just can’t simulate everything before actually putting your game out there.

So last fall we decided to develop a follow-up rather than just an update and in order to put all our energy into it we took the decision to temporarily close down Dreamlords rather than running it half-heartedly.

But guess what! All is not what it seems though and it is not only the Dreamlords that has been awakened…

Ten Ton Hammer: You’ve mentioned that the game will be entirely free to play. How is this going to work and what sort of business model are you going to use to make money?

David: The game will be entirely free to play. There will however be the option to purchase upgrades and gear for your Dreamlord and things that will decrease the need of grinding..

Ten Ton Hammer: How much of the original content is still included in Dreamlords? For example, are we still playing with the same three original races?

David: Yes, the storyline is still the same and we’ll meet old friends again. We’ve made sure to keep all the things that worked and was appreciated by the players while at the same time adding new features and make it easier to get into the game.

Ten Ton Hammer: One of the major modifications you made to Dreamlords is the addition of the new player avatars. Why did you believe that the inclusion of a player avatar was necessary?

David: That was one of the things many players asked for: an avatar that could serve as a physical representation.

Ten Ton Hammer: Did you make any adjustments to the Era system? Will the game still have Eras and is there still a “winner” of each of these time periods?

David: Well yes and no. The era system with the possibility to have a clear winner and a chance for a leveled playing ground to give masses who didn’t win a chance to get on top is a big thing for us as well as the community. However the system where a final quest suddenly and abruptly ended the era was not as thought through as it could have been so there will be something new in there too. So we have something old and something new, now we need something blue and something borrowed, or wait… was that for something else? ;)

The Dreamlords Logo

Ten Ton Hammer: What sort of communication have you had with the original game’s community? Were they involved in the process of remaking the original game? How did you include them?

David: Oh yes. The community was always an integral part of the development process and has been vital when making The Reawakening. The original players have been involved ever since we started alpha testing and their feedback on what works or not has helped us a lot.

Ten Ton Hammer: You’ve mentioned previously that many of the sounds in the game have been adjusted and/or completely redone in the latest version of the game. Why did this happen? Was the game really in bad sound shape in the previous vision of the game? Did you hire someone to remake the sounds?

David: The composer Robert F Blom was awarded quite a prestigious prize for the original Dreamlords soundtrack, and we’re really happy with the amazing work he has done in The Reawakening.

Ten Ton Hammer: Are there any changes that may surprise players when they finally have a chance to play the game again?

David: I should hope so! We’re keeping some of the features under wraps but the fact that The Reawakening is completely free should be a nice surprise. Other cool new features we’ve added is the possibility to upgrade your Dreamlord and get gear and items to boost him/her.

Ten Ton Hammer: Crafting has been a big concern for your team in the past. How have you changed this system and how does it work in its current state?

David: Someone once said that you needed a Ph D in some subject I cant even remember to be able to be a skilled crafter in Dreamlords. I don’t know about that but it was too complex and abstract ;) Our new Lead Designer, Iona, has put a lot of thought into the new one to make it not only easier to use but also much better and more rewarding, both experience wise and product wise. Different types of crafting will also suit different playing styles.

Ten Ton Hammer: In your opinion, what has been the hardest part of reshaping and changing a game like Dreamlords? Conversely, what was the most thrilling portion of the entire experience?

David: Hmm…that’s a tricky question but I think the hardest part of this was to actually close down the original game. That was not an easy decision however necessary. The actual development has been pretty forward as we knew what we wanted and had good support from the community.

And that is probably what has been the most exciting in this process: the dynamics of working with the community and making a game that we all actually truly want to play.

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there anything else you’d like to tell the Ten Ton Hammer readers and the Dreamlords community?

David: Yeah. Thanks for all the support and we’re really looking forward to see you in The Reawakening soon! … and maybe there will be a big whopping hammer for you to use ;)