Interview: Faisal Ahmed talks Kicks

By Andrew Knight | October 15, 2007 | | Filed under: Features

We sat down with Faisal Ahmed from Gametribe to discuss their upcoming game; Kicks -

The MMO Gamer: Please could you tell us a little about GameTribe, where you’re based, how long have you been around, how big a company you are and how GameTribe is related to Game Media Networks?

Faisal Ahmed: We’ve been around for a few months, mainly beta testing KONG KONG, DOMO and KICKS. Gamemedia Networks is the company that owns gametribe.com and we are also a sister company to 505 Games, which has published gaming hits across Europe, including Cooking Mama, Bust-a-Move and Armed Assault.

The MMO Gamer: GameTribe’s current list of games are all from Asian developers, is this a conscious decision or do you plan to publish games from other geographies as well?

Faisal Ahmed: We are currently looking for hits from the Asian market and then we’ll fully localise each game for European players, however we’re constantly looking for great games for our players so maybe in the future you will see games from European developers. That said there will be a good selection of games from causal to hardcore RPG games.

The MMO Gamer: With Kicks being a free-to-play game how do you intend to support the game financially?

Faisal Ahmed: The game will be free-to-play, it’s a first for Football in the European market, however we will be bringing in micro-payments for skills and celebrations in the future.

The MMO Gamer: Will players play through a central server or will it operate on a peer-to-peer basis?

Faisal Ahmed: At the moment, it’s through our central servers.

The MMO Gamer: Kicks isn’t the only football based MMO in development at the moment, for example Monumental Game’s Football Superstars, how do feel Kicks will fare against the competition? Or do you feel that you’re targeting a different market?

Faisal Ahmed: It’s great to have a variety of football games for gamers. Our game is totally different to anything in development; it’s more based on futsal football which originates from Brazil and we’re focused on street style football where players can show off their skills and have crazy celebrations.

The MMO Gamer: Will Kicks feature any persistent areas away from the pitch where players can interact with each other?

Faisal Ahmed: Through the lobby system you can chat to other players, along with an instant message system built into the game, however we have had many focus groups with gamers and football fans so there will be new enhancements every month to keep improving the game and concentrating on what the gamers are asking for.

The MMO Gamer: Can other players watch matches without playing?

Faisal Ahmed: At the moment the games you play can be recorded so you can watch again, and we are looking at launching spectators watching the games.

The MMO Gamer: How do players progress in the game, in terms of levels and/or character skill increases?

Faisal Ahmed: We have two options: either pay for extra skills, or the more you play the better you do on the pitch and the more points you collect to redeem against skills and items for your Avatar. We’re looking into the better you play the more you get noticed, so you could have rival teams trying to pinch you to play for them. We’re also looking into a scouting system where good players get called up for a national type team to play in a super league.

The MMO Gamer: Will there be player/team leagues or cups for people to compete in?

Faisal Ahmed: For sure, we’re looking to launch a Champions League-based system soon, where you have leagues and a knockout stage, you can also set up your own league systems for yourself and friends, and we’re looking into launching a super league system.

The MMO Gamer: What kinds of rewards will players get for winning them?

Faisal Ahmed: Various prizes, Man of the Match awards and special items.

The MMO Gamer: Will players be able to design or customise their team’s strip at all?

Faisal Ahmed: For sure. At the moment we’ve given the closed beta testers their own strip with their name printed on it, and we’re looking to expand this as much as possible.

We’d like to thank Faisal for his time. If you’d like to learn more about Kicks you can do so by heading to its official site.