“dream interview’ with Cara Ely
Posted by debbie on August 6th, 2008
I was lucky enough to get to interview Cara Ely, producer at Oberon Games, and the creator and developer of Dream Day Wedding: Married in Manhattan and the rest of the highly popular Dream Day series of casual games: Dream Day Wedding, Dream Day Honeymoon, and Dream Day First Home . The cool thing about Cara Ely is that she is not only a woman working in the male dominated world of game development, she’s created and is creating a series of casual games that are one of the most popular among women.
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MCG: What does a game developer do exactly?
Cara Ely (CE): Game development teams typically include software engineers, artists, game designers and producers. I work as both a producer and designer, so I create and document the gameplay experience (design), and/or manage the development of the game design from start to finish. That includes scheduling, budgets, contracts, and making sure the team has everything they need to make the game.
MCG: What is your background, specifically relating to gaming? Do you have programming experience, writing experience, etc?
CE: I spent many years in the entertainment industry as a talent agent, and then a casting director. I started in games in 2000, as an Associate Producer at Sierra Online; I wrote scripts, hired and directed voice actors, and helped manage the development process on a variety of casual games. I also worked with small teams to help design new games, or new features for existing games.
MCG: Why do you think that these games are so popular with women? I know why I like them (easy to pick up and put down, clearly defined goals, a storyline and progression, ability to play with my kids), but is that the norm?
CE: I think all of the things you’ve mentioned are keys to the success of the Dream Day games. But I also think the visual style is appealing – we really focused on making the backgrounds look sophisticated and beautiful. We also injected a bit of humor into the games, especially with the “crisis” levels; I think users like the fact that we aren’t taking things too seriously.
MCG: The games have themes that a lot of women identify with (marriage, honeymoon, first home). Do you plan to continue to more themes (Baby, Job, etc)?
CE: I can’t go into detail about the upcoming Dream Day games just yet, but I will say that there are a few surprises in store! I don’t think people should make too many predictions just yet.
MCG: How long does a game take to produce from start to finish?
CE: Dream Day Wedding took about 12 weeks to produce, which is a very short development cycle, very unusual. We really wanted to launch the game on Valentine’s Day so the team did a lot of extra work to make that happen. A more “normal” development cycle is four to six months, depending on the game.
MCG: With the many similar games being made, how do you differentiate yours from the others?
CE: As I said, one priority for us is the quality of the artwork; we try to make the Dream Day games as beautiful as possible. We also try to create something a bit new and different with each game; for example, the dual-path “choose a house” mechanic in Dream Day First Home. I also think the amount of time and care we take with each game comes through in the final product. Every background, every “crisis” letter, everything the player experiences in the game, is something that the team brainstorms about, experiments with, and plays over and over again until we feel it’s just right. There are definitely a lot of great games out there, but I hope the fun and passion we put into the Dream Day games gives them that little something extra.
MCG: Have you ever thought of doing games for teens (my first date, first day of high school, graduation, college, best friends, etc.)? I think the Dream Day concept would work very well for younger girls. I have a young son who enjoys playing the Dream Day games with me. We look for clues together, decide how the story goes, etc. I spend time with him and he gets to use his brain on a non-violent game. It works for us. You may be able to appeal to girls the same way. It would be great to have a game that mothers could play with their daughters.
CE: We do hear from a lot of players that they play the Dream Day games with their spouses, children, even co-workers! You are definitely not alone in enjoying that cooperative play. At the moment, I am not focusing specifically on making games for teens, though we do have many Dream Day fans in that demographic. That may be something we explore in the future, though; I think players of all ages look forward to their own particular “Dream Day” events.
Thank you for your questions! I am thrilled to be able to make these games, and hearing from the people who play them is one of the most satisfying parts of the job.
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Thank you, Cara, for a great interview! If you would like to download or buy the Dream Day series, click on the links below. And go to Oberon’s website for more information on the games.