Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3's Frontier August 8, 2005 | Ian Beck

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We at Inside Mac Games recently got the opportunity to talk to Johnny Watts, producer of the recently-announced-for-Mac RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, developed by Frontier Developments and being brought to the Mac by Aspyr.

IMG: Thanks to an unfortunate dearth of Frontier titles on the Mac, we Mac-heads haven't heard much about you. Could you give us a quick description of who you are and what kind of games you've created?

Watts: Frontier was founded by David Braben in 1994. David had spent the previous decade having a very successful career as a sole games developer, having co-authored the seminal 'Elite' game (one of, if not the, first 3D game), developing several hit titles such as Zarch, Virus, V2000 and the Elite sequel, Frontier. Frontier the company was set up by David as a way of building a team around him, to tackle projects with the larger teams that increasingly powerful games consoles and computers demand. Frontier received three BAFTA nominations and several awards for its recent console games "Dog's Life" and "Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo", and scored a Christmas 2004 No.1 position in the USA with its RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 game for PC, which has also been the recipient of various awards and a prestigious Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences nomination. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3:Soaked!, the first expansion pack for RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, was released in June 2005, and Frontier and Aardman Animations have recently licensed Konami as worldwide publisher of Frontier's game of the forthcoming Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-rabbit movie produced by Aardman and Dreamworks, for September 2005 release. So actually Frontier started out as a pretty "hardcore" game developer, over the past few years our output has been deliberately more "family friendly" and going forward it's likely to be a bit more balanced between the two—we've got some very exciting projects underway!

IMG: What was the inspiration to the RollerCoaster Tycoon series?

Watts: The original RollerCoaster Tycoon game was developed by Chris Sawyer who in one of those unusual twists of fate used to work at Frontier, is a shareholder, and remains a friend. He has a passion for rollercoasters and to this day is a very enthusiastic visitor to theme parks the world over. So I guess it's one of those happy instances where someone's passion and work combine. Chris did a superb job on the first two incarnations of the series, but when it became time to move the game to 3D he was working on another project and decided to take advantage of Frontier's vast experience of 3D and our in-house game engine (we've been developing / enhancing the current engine for over a decade).

IMG: What is the most amusing thing that you've had happen in a game of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3?

Watts: Hmm—it's a pretty rich game in terms of stuff going on, and of course it depends what amuses you—you may like to burst kids' balloons with your mouse, or cause your coasters to "accidentally on purpose" crash, or just watch the behavior of the crowd (couples kissing, telling jokes etc.), but I have to admit to a fondness for President Clint Bushton's (one of the games VIPs) reaction when he meets a park guest called Monica... Actually one thing you should look out for is the superb community that has built up around the game, which Mac players will be able to participate in, of course. There is so much time and effort lavished on coaster designs, parks and in-game videos it's hard to believe the talent and dedication of some of the people—their creations are seriously impressive and sometimes downright hilarious.

IMG: Are there any easter eggs or amusing tidbits in particular that you'd like us to look forward to? If so, would you care to tantalize us with some details?

Watts: There are lots! (Which I'm sure you'll find out about in due course). My favorite is re-naming a park guest 'James Hunt' and a dune buggy pops into existence in your park and you can drive it around, knocking into people and objects, jumping ramps etc.—not bad for a simulation game!

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