Thrillville - Developer Diaries Week Two

Last week, we heard from Producer Shara Miller from LucasArts. This week, we'll be hearing the cotton candy-laced words of Senior Producer Jonny Watts, about how it feels to see someone play the game you've created - and how it makes you feel when they don't play it the way you intended.

Jonny Watts, Senior Producer at Frontier Developments

Weaving all of the elements of Thrillville together into one cohesive experience has at times been one of the most nerve-wracking processes in developing the game - but also the most rewarding. It's the time when all of your work starts gelling, and your true vision for the game either comes to life... or falls flat.

Above: This screen is from the PS2 version of the game

Even with the best-laid plans, you can often find that you've made all kinds of assumptions about the way people will play or enjoy your dream theme park that don't end up coming to light. Sometimes that comes as a pleasant surprise (for example, I never imagined I'd sink so many hours into selling people goofy hats and then making them flirt). But it's equally likely that you'll watch someone play Thrillville and realize that they're missing out on little features and jokes that you thought tied the game together so brilliantly... which means you gotta go back to the drawing board.