"But I think we've sort of been looking at it as a whole mini collection of games and how we could kind of be bringing on new exciting things while also making sure that we're allowing our older games to sort of live and grow up, not having the same sort of frequency of updates forever." At some point we will be looking at as the games get older, what does that lifecycle look like? What does that sort of retirement age, I suppose, of our games look like and how do we support that? Bringing Mini Motorways to life was a very interesting journey of us discovering more than Mini Metro. "We're always looking at what the future is for the mini franchise of games. However, after a major update for the game's 10th anniversary, Cole knows they need to be clear on any roadmap for the future as well as understanding and working to the concept that older games can't be maintained forever. While understandably coy on the future of any "Mini Game universe" entrants, both Cole and Fitzgerald reveal they're "currently working on prototyping in the Mini space" as well as looking at developing something outside of their traditional digital playgrounds. Part of that journey was planning essentially for a year how we would do things like communicate with people if we had an extra day where we weren't essentially online."Īs for the game's future, it's something the Dinosaur Polo Club team are actively considering now. "We're trialling the four day work week at the moment. So those are the times when you stop and realise how much these things that you do actually become a part of peoples' lives and experiences in the world."īut as the game grows and continues to develop in its 10th year, the company is also adapting how it works and juggling its community's needs as well as those of its own staff. It was one of the few things that he could do well and that I suppose helped. "We had a person reach out to us saying that this father, during the last few months of a terminal illness, played the game every day and he got really good. "It was a good thing that the answer was yes," Fitzgerald added, laughing.Ĭole said most of their interactions from around the world have been "humbling". "But during the pandemic, we had a lot of people reach out saying that our game was the only thing that helped with their anxiety, and we had another person propose to their partner through it and we produced a special level built for them." It's really easy when you're working in the entertainment space to undervalue your work and how it affects people in their lives. "So for us, part of this 10 year celebration has actually been reflecting on some of the ways in which our community has reached out to us and shared their stories. "Because the game is so wholesome and accessible, our community is very much the same," Cole said. The game recently celebrated its 10th birthday with a massive "Mini-versary" update to thank players for their ongoing support.Ĭommunity has been massively important to the Mini games (a second, Mini Motorways launched in September 2019, giving people the chance to develop motorway systems) and there is a dedicated Reddit forum r/MiniMetro discussing tactics on how to cope with the sublime subway simulator.įor the team of 30 who work within the Dinosaur Polo Club walls, it is a hard - but rewarding job - to service the community, and their constant feedback throughout the game's 10 year life cycle. There's something about it that I think people really latch onto and kind of just get a lot of fulfilment and enjoyment from," she laughed. "Every time, whenever they find it, they start playing it and then they keep playing it and they come back and talk about it later on saying things like 'I'm just on this level of on this map, I've just unlocked Osaka and the Shinkansen, the bullet trains' and all these things. It is now localised in over 20 languages and with 27 real-world cities to design subways for including London, New York City and Paris.Ĭole believes that success came because "the idea behind the game is that you play it to the level that you like", but that its simplicity hides a complexity that gamers become addicted to. The game has been a smash hit since its inception. "I think because this game is inspired by an everyday concept that people can relate to public transport, it's inspired by concepts that they want to see to get their hands on and make better!" It was really engaging and it developed quite a cult following and ended up getting nominated for a BAFTA. "At the end of that weekend, they felt like they had something that was really fun. "It was inspired by a visit to London going on the tube, seeing the London Underground that was designed by Harry Beck in the 1920s, and it has been iconic ever since," she told Newshub.
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