Reflexive’s CEO talks with GameZone about the company and gaming
By Michael Lafferty

There was a time when simple little arcade games could consume hours of playtime with their addictive gaming formats. Anyone could play, and the head-to-head competition was simply who could record the highest score.

With the advent of more powerful systems, games have become much more complicated. The old games just don’t seem to have the same luster – unless, that is, you are talking about a game like Ricochet, developed and published by Reflexive Entertainment, Inc.

But Reflexive is more than just a developer of seemingly simple games based on arcade classics. Reflexive has also developed and published Swarm, as well as developing games for Activision (Star Trek Away Team) and JoWooD (Zax: The Alien Hunter). This is a company that seems to have a solid feel for gaming and game players.

Lars Brubaker, CEO of Reflexive Entertainment, Inc., took some time to talk to GameZone about the company, the latest game published, and what may lay ahead for the company.

Question: Tell us a little bit about Reflexive Entertainment Inc.

Lars: “Reflexive officially became a California corporation on October 15, 1997. We had all worked in the industry and were looking for a way to break out and do our own thing. It came together when start-up capital was secured in the form of a loan from Microsoft veteran Marlin Eller, author of 'Barbarians Led by Bill Gates' and quite a bit of GDI 1.0.

“The fledgling company set to work immediately to make its first product, Swarm. Swarm was released some five months later in March of 1998 receiving strong customer reviews and high critical acclaim, including ZD Net's highest 5-star rating and placement on their launch page.

“Throughout our history our goal at Reflexive has been very similar to many other small developers, to build great games. But we do this in a way that we feel is a bit unique. We measure great games by our own interests and our own passion for games. We build games that we love and then hope that the gaming community will feel the same way. After all, we can only really ever know what it is that we ourselves like.”

Q: Can you tell us the direction that Reflexive is heading? What do you see for the company's future?

Lars: “We have a few goals here at Reflexive. Our first goal is to make games that we love, but on top of that we want to give the customer the best possible experience that we can. We want to be to the game industry what Disney was to the carnival. When a customer sees a Reflexive game they should feel confident that, not only is it worth the download, but that after it is purchased it will continue to increase in value. That there will be patches, enhancements and add-ons to make the game even better than what they initially purchased. The customer should know that we care about every game that we make and that we are always trying to make them better.”

Q: While looking forward, where do you see the gaming industry heading?

Lars: “I see the online component of the industry becoming ever more important, not only in game play, but also in distribution. Consumers are becoming more and more comfortable using and buying goods on the Internet, and we feel that eventually that will be the place to get just about any software product. It's just natural for a consumer to have the opportunity to try before they buy, and the Internet is a perfect way to give them that opportunity.

Q: Let's talk a bit about the newest Reflexive release - Ricochet. Can you give us an idea about the time frame for the game's development? How many people were involved? Where did the idea for this style of game come from? How did you realize the vision of the game with the final product?

Lars: “Ricochet was originally conceived about two years ago by James C. Smith (Ricochet's producer and lead programmer) and Jeff McAteer (Lead Artist). They worked on it in their free time for about two years and eventually got it to the point were it was obvious that it should be brought in-house and finished off. The rest of the company helped pitched in and within three or four months it was done. In all about 12 people worked to get the game out the door.

“As to realizing the vision, that is probably the most important part of any game's development. The way we do this is we make sure that the game is allowed to become the best game that it can be. By ensuring James had both the power and responsibility to make Ricochet great, we ensured the game would reach it's full potential. It was his vision to begin with and it was his responsibility to take it across the finish line.”

Q: What were the biggest challenges in creating this game? What has provided the greatest sense of accomplishment?

Lars: “The biggest challenge for us is almost always finding enough time to make a game really great. Most games are shipped as soon as they get 'good,' but the time between 'good' and 'great' is what is always very hard to come by. During that intermediate time everyone who sees the game asks why it's not out yet, and the budget limitations of any small developer start to become more and more oppressive. The greatest thing about Ricochet, and Swarm for that matter is that we did find the time to finish them. We got to put in that one last day, that final testing, and we got to do it over and over until it was just right, until it had no more rough edges.”

Q: This game is to be released exclusively online according to the accompanying press materials. Will that mean a download (if so what minimum system requirements will be needed, what is the file size, et cetera), or can people actually order a disk? Why did you decide to go in this direction?

Lars: “The game is currently available online at our, and many other Web sites, but it can also be found on cover mount CDs, and soon may even be on the store shelves. We like to ship online because it lowers the cost to the consumer (Ricochet is only $9.99) and means the game is always available, but we don't discriminate against any other form of distribution. We feel that everyone should be able to play the game. Ricochet's minimum system requirements are a Pentium II 233 MHz or better and 32 Megabytes of RAM. The online demo is only 6.8 Megabytes and can be found on our website at www.reflexive.net” 

Q: Can you give us a bit of your background in the gaming industry)?

Lars: “I am one of the cofounders, and current CEO, of Reflexive. In the last four and a half years we have published four games: Swarm published by Reflexive in Q1 1998, Star Trek Away Team published in Q1 2001 by Activision Inc., Zax: The Alien Hunter published in Q3 2001 by JoWooD Productions, and Ricochet published by Reflexive in Q4 2001. I have also acted as Producer on Star Trek: Away Team as well as programming on all titles developed at the company. From 1995 to 1997, I held the position of Producer and Senior Software Engineer at Logicware Inc. During this time I designed, produced and programmed AstroRock published in 1995 by Atlantean Interactive and produced and co-programmed Defiance published in 1997 by Avalon Hill. From 1993 to 1995 I worked at Interplay Inc. contributing to Battle Chess Enhanced CD-ROM, Out of This World 3DO, SimCity Enhanced CD-ROM and an unpublished title Cyberhood, in roles ranging from quality assurance to lead programmer and producer. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California Irvine in 1993.”

Q: What is next on the Reflexive horizon?

Lars: “Here at Reflexive we intend to continue making great traditional in-store games such as Zax and Star Trek: Away Team as well as smaller online games such as Swarm and Ricochet. We are currently working on a new distribution of Swarm with both graphical and game play enhancements and a new title, Demolition League, an online multiplayer action experience. As for Ricochet, we are putting the finishing touches on a new level add on pack (40 additional levels free to registered owners) and a level editor is in the works for a future release.”  

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