Review Fix Exclusive: SomaSim’s Matt Viglione Talks ‘1849’

Review Fix chats with SomaSim’s Matt Viglione who discusses, “1849,” the developers’ new simulation title that takes place during the Gold Rush of 1849. Discussing everything from the development cycle to his eventual hopes for the game, Vigilone gives us an inside look at what appears to be one of the deepest simulation games on the iOS.

Review Fix: How much historical research went into the game?

Matt Viglione: Quite a bit, actually – especially in terms of art direction. Everything about the visual and scenario design of 1849 is directly inspired by the California Gold Rush. Since the Gold Rush is in many ways seminal founding event of California, 1849 is in many ways a California simulator. Visually we were inspired by the vistas and views of Northern California and by the towns and cities that descend from the Gold Rush. From Victorian workers’ cottages in San Francisco to the mines of the Mother Lode to the vineyards and wineries of St. Helena, we tried to capture the essence of 1850s California in the buildings and characters of the game. For a game with a concrete historical setting, it’s essential that the visuals of the game reflect that inheritance.

We also did quite a bit of research on the Gold Rush itself, looking through census records to get a sense of what kinds of people were coming to California and how our NPCs should look. Also, because there are 20 different cities, we looked into what each of those towns and cities did during the Gold Rush. Some towns were lumber towns, some were supply points and some were focused on producing food and drink for the miners.

Review Fix: What has the development cycle been like thus far? Any triumphs or challenges?

Viglione: In a word, fast. We started in April of 2013 and we released on May 8, 2014. Our biggest challenge has been to remain focused on what can be done in that relatively short development cycle with a limited team of just two full-time devs and two part-time artists. When we thought of a new feature or a new piece of UI or a new element, we had to be hyper-realistic about our ability to do it in our timeframe. And that challenge really became an asset to us – it kept us really glued to our original vision and prevented too much feature creep from cluttering up the game and getting in the way of our vision for a rather pure management sim.

Review Fix: What do you think is the game’s most endearing quality?

Viglione: I really enjoy the visual activity of a large, developed city. There are NPCs going every which way with carts, sheriffs walking around town, saloon keepers outside their establishments sweeping up, teachers calling students to class, preachers stand in front of churches and lots of people are about mining, farming, hammering and working. It’s fun to just watch the activity that you built from just a few shacks into a bustling settlement.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite platform to play the game on? Why?

Viglione: I’ve been really enjoying playing it on our new iPad Mini. Not sure if it’s because it’s a new device for us, but it’s been a lot of fun to sit on the couch with the game. I thought that I would end up with shorter play sessions on the tablet compared with the PC, but it seems like that’s not the case and I’m playing just as long if not longer on the tablet.

Review Fix: What do you think you’ve learned while creating the game?

Viglione: Since our main skill sets before creating 1849 were in making things, I think we were surprised by how much time things like store set-up, marketing, PR and other things take. There’s a whole set of skills that are necessary to game development that go beyond design and coding and I think we’ve learned how much time those take and the need to plan for them and hopefully how do it better for our second game.

Review Fix: What are your hopes for it?

Viglione: We hope that the game sparks interest more simulation games. We vividly remember a time when there were a lot more simulation games available – when Railroad Tycoon and Caesar II and Zeus were big titles. We’re hoping that a lot of people play the game on tablets and PCs and demonstrate that there’s a demand for this type of game. Specifically for this title, we’re hoping we can support a few rounds of expansion content that would take players to a few other places where similar rushes occurred.