Written by Mark C. Barlet, on 07-11-2007 18:50

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 Arthur Griffith (Gedden, for those that know him in game), the lead developer at PoxNora took time out of his busy day to sit down with AbleGamers and talk about his game and disabled gamers. This is one of the greatest interviews we have done, Arthur had a lot to say, and his passion for PaxNora was clear.

AbleGamers: Greetings Arthur, and thank you for taking the time to have a chat with AbleGamers.com...

Arthur Griffith: Thank you for having me, anything for an excuse to talk about PoxNora!

AG: So the first thing I want to ask you, in a world of flashy high budget games, what are you bring to the table that sets you apart?

Arthur: For starters, PoxNora is not your average game. PoxNora is a CCG (Collectable Card Game), RPG (Role Playing Game) and turn based strategy game, all in one, all online and you can play it totally for free. Players simply go to poxnora.com, create an account (which is free) and we give you 8 battlegroups, which you can play head to head online vs other players. There is no time limit or subscription, just play.

PoxNora is a turn based game, and at the start of each turn players reveal “runes” (like digital cards), and spend ‘nora’ to play. Nora is the magical power, or mana, which is generated automatically every turn. The goal of the game is to move across the map and destroy your opponent’s shine before they destroy yours. Some runes are “Champion Runes”, and when these runes are played they come to life, can move around on the board. Each has its own stats and special abilities. The more you play PoxNora, the more experience these Champion Runes earn, and you can use these “champion points” to upgrade stats, special abilities or (depending on the champion) acquire totally new abilities.

If someone playing decides they like the game, and they want to start creating their own custom groups, the ‘CCG’ aspect of the game comes into play. Players can buy random ‘packs’ of runes online which they can use to create their own custom battlegroups.

While PoxNora was independently developed, (quite literally designed on the floor of a garage) it by no means looks or feels like a ‘smalltime’ game. The artwork, game play and special effects are all top notch, and we are consistently rated 4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars. If you like strategy games, CCG and multiplayer gaming, check out PoxNora.

AG: As you know, Ablegamers is a site for disabled gamers, have you ever thought about disabled gamers, and how they may play PoxNora?

Arthur: I have personally written software in the past intended for use by those with various different disabilities. There are a great deal of very simple things that can be done which can make software much more accessible. I can’t say that PoxNora was specifically designed for play by disabled users, but I would be lying if I said the philosophy of usability did not factor into the design of PoxNora.

PoxNora is a turn based game, and that alone lends itself to those who may have mobility issues. It can also be played completely using the mouse, or in tandem with the keyboard. Being that this is an online game, I rarely get to meet our users face to face, and I could not tell you exactly how many of our users have a physical disability. I was able to meet with a few of our players a few months ago (at our booth at GenCon), some of whom did have physical disabilities. I remember meeting one of our players who boasted about using a very clever spell combo which she used to beat one of the top ranked players. She was a bubbly 13 year old girl who only had partial use of one arm.

AG: I played your game and a few things struck me, they are short “rounds” that are played on a grid. The moves can be a show or as fast as the players choose. How long is the average round, and how many rounds are played in a day in your game?

Arthur: Yes, the rounds in PoxNora are timed. These limits are, however, configurable and agreed upon by both players before a match begins. Both players get the same amount of time to make their moves.

The default time limit for each round is 1:30. However, how much time someone takes depends completely on the strategy that person is using! Someone playing a brute force battlegroup knows exactly what they want to do! Others prefer to play a chess-like game, and really think about each and every move. Once a player makes all the moves they like, they can hit the “End Turn” button on the top left of their screen, or let the time run out.

AG: Now there were a few things that were not clear to me, but I have a tendency to over complicate everything, but it there something to do when you are not fighting?

Arthur: Actually there is. One of the things about PoxNora is that it’s big. Every champion rune in the game can be completely different depending on how their owner has configured them. The game is designed to be learned while you play it. You can select any champion and you are able to see a list of their abilities. Hovering over their abilities with your mouse shows you the range of the ability, pops a detailed description of how it works.

As I alluded to before, some advanced players really like to take their time and plan their moves, a lot of this planning can be done during your opponents turn. Of course, that could lead into what I do, which is yelling at my monitor things like “No don’t move there, that’s gonna bring my assassin out of stealth!”

AG: Art Griffith, do you know anyone what is disabled? And if so, what is the nature of their disability?

Arthur:  Actually I do, the person that most comes to mind would be man I worked years ago back when I was still in college. He was wheelchair bound since birth and only had partial use of one arm. Working for him is where I learned to take into account approaching user interfaces in different ways.

AG: Could he play PoxNora?

Arthur: Absolutely.

AG: All in all I saw that PoxNora could be very disability friendly for a player who was looking for a way to interact with other, but have a hard time in a potentially very fast pace game like EQ2 or WOW.

Would you all be willing to setup some sort of email or contact for people with disabilities that can submit feedback on issues they may have in the game related to game play? A special accessibility feedback portal?

Arthur: PoxNora is a small studio, we don’t have multiple departments that shield the developers from the concerns of the community. We use this very much to our advantage, and we enjoy a great deal of communication and interaction with our community. The players of PoxNora will all attest to our constant and interactive communication with our community. After all, PoxNora is an online game, and online games ARE built around the players that play the game. We have an in-game ticket system for bugs, very lively forums and an in-game chat system frequented by player-mods and Octopi employees. We also have a support @ octopi.com address for direct requests, and an in-game ticket system for bugs or critical issues in the game.

When it comes to game design, we have a comments and suggestions forum, as well as a player design committee. This is a collection of players whom we choose prior to every expansion to further assist in giving the community a voice to the developers, designers and artists of PoxNora. There are many means of voicing concerns, issues and suggestions for PoxNora players.

AG: One last question, before we go, before this interview, had you or the developers of PoxNora think about the disabled, and how they would approach your game?

Arthur: PoxNora is an ongoing process, its constantly evolving and it gets bigger and better every day. PoxNora one year ago was very different than it is today, and one year from now it will be different still. Basically what I am saying is the approach to PoxNora is one of change, and many of our features come from user suggestions. For example, lets say so many people from this site decide they want to try PoxNora, and then like it! In a few weeks several of them come up with some really good ideas that would make the game easier for them. They could then start posting on the forums, talking to player-mods and the developers themselves. Talk to or even get on the player design committee! The ideas could work their way into the game and the result would be a better game for everyone.

Aurthur, Thanks, AbleGamers has enjoyed this interview.

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Last update: 26-02-2008 19:48

Published in : Disabled Gamers News, Game news

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