EgoAnt:

When did you first start working in the games industry?

Alex:

I started back in the mid 90s at a company now called Blitz Games, owned and run by the Oliver Twins.

EgoAnt:

How did you get your start working in games?

Alex:

I made that decision at around the age of 9, and stuck to it!

EgoAnt:

What projects did you work on before BattleMail?

Alex:

The project I worked on right before BattleMail was Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge over at Blitz.

EgoAnt:

How did the whole BattleMail idea come about?

Alex:

The initial idea was that of my lifelong friend and now business partner Paul Gouge. Together we fleshed out the idea more and more until we boh gave up out jobs to start the company.

EgoAnt:

How many people developed the original BattleMail?

Alex:

There were around 5 or 6 people on the initial team for Kung Fu. One client coder, me as the artist and designer, a couple of server guys and a website guy.

EgoAnt:

Who were some of your team-mates working on the first release of BattleMail?

Alex:

Andy Eder was the programmer, Adrian Hall was the server architect, Nathan Fuller was on website integration and Stephen Nash was the website designer.

EgoAnt:

What was your role in the development of BattleMail?

Alex:

I was Creative Director - which basically covered all game design and graphics.

EgoAnt:

What were some of the challenges you faced getting the game up and running?

Alex:

Probably the biggest challenge was designing the system which would automatically deal with the email attachments and build new attachments as they passed through the server. It was the first time such a system had been built, and we had a lot of help from some very experienced telecoms people. The client side was also tricky, because the game itself was actually a little email client that could read and create new email messages. The technical hurdles were pretty huge, but it paid off in the end.

EgoAnt:

Did it start with Kung-Fu, Soccer, or was there another game that got the ball rolling?

Alex:

Kung Fu was the first game, Soccer came second.

EgoAnt:

With that many people coming together in a competitive environment, did you have many issues dealing with cheaters?

Alex:

Yes we did. As with all online games, you are bound to face cheaters at some point and BattleMail was no exception. Whenever a hack came out, we'd be straight onto it and plug the hole as quickly as we could.

EgoAnt:

What sort of marketing did you use to promote the game, did you put a lot of money into advertising, or was the very nature of the game fairly self promoting?

Alex:

We did zero promotion of the game, and let it spread itself virally. The day we launched was a very exciting time - we would all sit round watching the servers add more and more users, and each day we'd all be bowled over by how many new people were playing the game.

EgoAnt:

The BattleMail site branched out, as I recall there was Kung-Fu, Soccer, Joust, and a Turkey game. How many games in total were released under the BattleMail banner?

Alex:

That was it, just 4.

EgoAnt:

The service grew rapidly, soon everyone I knew was either jousting or slapping each other silly by e-mail. How many people were using the BattleMail service at its peak?

Alex:

We clocked over a million users pretty quickly, and at it's absolute peak there were over 10 challenges being played every second, non stop.

EgoAnt:

At its peak, how many people were employed by BattleMail?

Alex:

16

EgoAnt:

BattleMail even branched out and released a mobile version for the Siemans C45 handset. Could you tell us a bit more about this project? Was it well received? Was it difficult making the transition into the mobile world?

Alex:

Critically it was a hit, and was BAFTA nominated. Commercially it was not successful, largely because it was only released on one type of phone which made it difficult for players to find friends with the same phone.

EgoAnt:

What is your favorite memory from during the BattleMail heyday?

Alex:

Joust, without a doubt. The community around that game was awesome, and there were some really good times had by a lot of people playing that game. During the game's life we would run storylines and plots that would band the community together to fight a common enemy, which was a really fun thing to watch.

EgoAnt:

What is your least favorite memory?

Alex:

The end I guess.

EgoAnt:

I've looked around the web trying to find some indication of what happened to BattleMail, but there doesn't seem to be much information. When did the BattleMail service officially shut down?

Alex:

It shut down in Christmas 2002.

EgoAnt:

Was it an idea that had simply run its course, or were there bigger issues surrounding the close?

Alex:

There were some bigger issues but I can't really comment on those. If it were up to me the game would still be alive and kicking today.

EgoAnt:

It must have been tough to witness the end of something you had worked so hard on. Were there any regrets?

Alex:

Yep, some big regrets, but it was a learning experience as well.

EgoAnt:

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

Alex:

Yes, but I can't really say what that would be.

EgoAnt:

Often when a game shuts down there are offers from the fans to set up their own servers, was that the case with BattleMail?

Alex:

If it was possible it would have been, but the sheer complexity of the servers made this nigh on impossible. Since the closure some pet projects have been started out there that simulate the Joust environment.

EgoAnt:

If so, what prevented it?

Alex:

See above :)

EgoAnt:

Overall, would you say that the BattleMail experience was a positive one for you?

Alex:

Absolutely.

EgoAnt:

So, in my research I found that you are currently creative director at Rockpool games, how long have you been with them?

Alex:

Rockpool is a company I started right after BattleMail with Paul again.

EgoAnt:

Rockpool has built a name around wireless games, what led you to the wireless market?

Alex:

BattleMail led us there with the Siemens project. We took a look at wireless, saw the potential and thought it was a good time to get into it.

EgoAnt:

What are the plans for the future, any big releases coming up?

Alex:

We have many games coming out, some I can talk about some I can't. Worms, MotoGP3, SpongeBob Golf, Ronnie O'Sullivan Snooker, Fruit Fall - all should be hitting the wireless shelves soon.