The Making of The Palace Builder

Angel, the game producer of The Palace Builder, shares what it was like making the game:

I love simulation games and that's why it was a treat to work on The Palace Builder. One of my favorite simulation games is the Westward series and I’ve also played most of the Build-a lot games. What I like about The Palace Builder specifically is its ambitious design – it has more story and really lets the player feel like a designer. PlayFirst has a sweet spot for making fun time management games, so we also aimed to appeal to fans who like making quick trade-offs.

The result was a romantic, design-oriented, simulation game with time management flavoring. I acknowledged that was a complicated set of goals to communicate so we brought in real casual game players to see if our design was clear to our fans. I was so gratified in our second round of testing when one player said they liked the game. She summarized, “It’s like Pride and Prejudice meets Sim City.” She nailed it in one sentence. We’ve got drama – secret identities, blackmail, kissing and a love story -- coupled with keeping nobles happy by building the most beautiful estates with limited time and money. The Palace Builder is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The game has some pretty moments. I would pass by screens of people playing the game and stop in my tracks. I saw some beautiful, unique designs especially in the later levels where you can add lakes, huge gardens and build some vibrant palaces. I’d like to see what our fans create. We implemented a feature so they can post a screenshot to Facebook. I hope it encourages creativity and gets the word out about this game!

As in every game we produce, there were hiccups along the way. One time I remember was when we were getting ready for a milestone in which we check and re-check the game for errors. We reviewed every inch of the game. (I swear our testers can play it blindfolded.) Often, it is at this time Murphy’s law likes to toss a gremlin into the code.

It was two days before the deadline and we found a problem. It wasn’t gremlins in the code -- we found skunks! My testing lead, Adrian, called me on the phone and said we had skunks in level 13. “Skunks!” I exclaimed. I thought he was joking. There were no skunks the day before, and it was not in the documentation. Oddly, a little skunk would appear on the screen and you had to beat it with a broom to go away. I contacted Joju, the developer of the game, and reached the designer in Argentina. I asked, “Did you know we have skunks?” He explained there was a mistake, but that they did intend for skunks to appear later in the game. Joju was so passionate that they added an extra feature! Throughout development, Joju was continually open to ways to improve the game.

The Palace Builder is a result of many creative people. When I joined the team I suggested we change the story. Originally the main character was a man named Michel who became an architect and raised a family of sons. We thought a female lead would be more appealing. The next proposal was to create a character named Gabrielle who was married to an architect and did work through her husband. The story I felt was strongest was to put Gabrielle directly in the hot seat and challenge her to succeed. I won’t spoil the end, but here is a tip - you can watch the title screen as you play each area of the game and visually see how Gabrielle moves from the sidelines to standing proud with her hopes and dreams shining around her. Isn’t that what we all want in life? In The Palace Builder players experience transformation and success vicariously through Gabrielle.

Do you have any questions for Angel? Write us in the comments below if you do, and tell us what you thought about The Palace Builder.

Written by: Angel
Games in this post: The Palace Builder