An Interview with Ingenious designer Reiner Knizia
Reiner, as the most successful games designer in the world, you have now also become quite prolific in iPhone games. What do you think about the iPhone as a gaming platform?
I am fascinated by the opportunities the iPhone offers for exciting games. Over the last 12 months, I have created a number of fascinating new iPhone games, some already on the Apple Store, some more to arrive there soon and some others still looking for a suitable publisher. With the Apple Store, Steve Jobs has created a very easily accessible marketplace that draws in a lot of enthusiastic developers and therefore offers a wide range of different applications at a very competitive price to the iPhone users. Of course, in such a marketplace, it is vital to differentiate oneself from the crowd.
Reiner, one of your most successful games ever, Ingenious, is now also available on the iPhone. How does Ingenious on the iPhone look to you?
I am delighted with the presentation of Ingenious on the iPhone. As just indicated, with such an appealing presentation and a strong and successful brand, Ingenious will certainly stand out from the crowd as a very successful iPhone game. Playing Ingenious on the iPhone is an enjoyable challenge and a lot of fun.
Reiner, what do you like best about the Ingenious implementation on the iPhone?
Of course, you can play Ingenious as usual, either against the computer or against other human players. We have even introduced a number of tournament modes and timed modes to spice up the original game. My personal favourite mode, however, is the solitaire play which I believe is most suitable for the iPhone. This mode does not depend on any artificial intelligence or any other human counterplayers, it is just about me and how I play my pieces best to achieve the highest possible score. I find this very addictive, and looking at the high score list always tempts me to play ‘just one more game’ to do even better….
