GeekPress Interviews: Game With – Play your way, together!

In this edition of ‘The Scoop’ we speak with the Game With team to find out more about them and their product.

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Multiplayer Gaming has been changing drastically over the last couple of years, with couch co-op and LAN play being replaced by Online Multiplayer action, mandatory subscriptions and consequently the need to rely on friends, colleagues or complete strangers to achieve a common goal in the game. However, not everyone has a comprehensive friends list on their console or PC and so are resigned to sitting and waiting in an online lobby hoping to connect with someone who shares the same goals or at the very least is sat at their console or PC when the Game starts. So in the ever changing world of gaming how is this problem being handled?

Introducing Game With, an upcoming service that seeks to alleviate gamers from the torture of empty lobbies and AFK players by providing a forum for all types of gamers to connect and arrange online sessions.

We caught up with the guys from Game With to ask them about their service, their plans for the site and, of course, find out what their favourite games are;

GeekPress UK : Tell us a little about yourselves, who makes up the ‘Game With’ Team?

So, we’re a team of four..

Dean: Hi, I’m Dean – the business guy over here, by day I work in a commercial role at a network of videogame websites.

Joe: I’m a typical marketing guy, I’ll tell you that I do lots of really important things when, in effect, I’m just letting the other guys do all of the hard work. I’m only half joking there.

Seb: Hey, Seb here. I’m the Programmer/Developer. I’ve built out the service from the ground up and applied Paul’s gorgeous design over the top.

Paul: Hello. I’m Paul, I am the designer over here at Game With, I’m responsible for all of that front end design you’ll be seeing across the service.

GeekPress UK: For the benefit of our readers please can you explain what Game With is, how it works and where the idea for the site came from?

Dean: Sure, Game With was born from me being pretty frustrated at not having anyone online or around the same level/chapter when Diablo 3 was first released on console. I know for me, finding time to game is becoming harder, between a full time job, a young child and a commute the last thing I want to do is waste any of my gaming time sitting in a lobby.

Joe: What we want to do is allow people to plan their sessions around times that suits them and have other like minded individuals join them. We feel that the traditional forum approach is pretty broken, you’ll need to be pretty lucky (and have a fair amount of time on your hands) to find someone playing the same game, at the same time, in the same way as you from the list of Gamertags or PSN IDs posted on a forum thread.

GeekPress UK: With the Beta of your site now closed and the final version due soon, which features can users hope to see that weren’t present originally?

Seb: We have been hard at work analysing how our testers actually used Game With during the open beta. It was obvious we needed to make the application more convenient and easier to use so we are hard at work on mobile applications; this will mean you don’t need your laptop next to you whilst sat at your console.

Paul: The great thing is that the Game With you see at launch won’t be the Game With you see in twelve months time, the service will constantly evolve to the needs of our users. Clan management, eSport organisation are all things that we feel could be a huge component of the service in the future.

GeekPress UK: When can users expect the final site to be unveiled for use?

Seb: We haven’t set a hard date for the launch just yet as we want to make sure that the service is as good as it possibly can be. In our heads we have this pencilled in for Autumn this year. I should also stress, there will never be a FINAL version – as Paul said; the service will keep growing with new features being added as we learn how it’s being used and what makes sense to online gamers.

GeekPress UK: Following the unveiling of the new site, if users have any further ideas for new features or find a bug what is the best way for them to get in contact with you?

Joe: As we eluded to earlier, Game With will evolve as we grow and user feedback is integral to this. If users have any thoughts on what they would like to see added to the service or anything they don’t think works so well they can contact us at feedback@game-with.com

GeekPress UK: What are your thoughts on rival sites offering the same service as you?

Dean: The great thing about there being rival sites out there is that it shows that there is a need for services like ours. We tend not to see a lot of the services out there as direct rivals, due to the very nature of their offering. The majority of sites out there in the same arena are dealing with users who are online at that very second and want someone to join them straight away, which is great. We feel that Game With offers people the ability to not only do that but also plan further in advance. If I’m heading home from work and know once I get the kids to bed, I’ll be on around 8pm and I do not want to sit there for an hour matchmaking for a very specific match – I can do that from the bus, from the train, or even at my desk, days in advance.

Seb: Personally, I’m happy about it. Competition breeds innovation. Also it shows that there are others, like us, that struggle to organise the games amongst friends. It’s clear that OUR PEOPLE NEED US.

GeekPress UK: A few months back you teamed up with Ubisoft UK to offer Game With users the chance to win some awesome prizes by setting up gaming sessions. Are you hoping to collaborate with other big developers and companies in the future?

Joe: We would love to work with all developers whether they are the size of Ubisoft or down to Indie developers who are fighting for attention. One thing that we would really like to explore is the possibility of working with developers and integrating Game With directly into their games. This could be of huge benefit to smaller developers who may have a harder time finding an audience or do not have the manpower to implement a matchmaking service.

Seb: I’d love to work even more closely with some Indies – integration with their games would rock!

GeekPress UK: Do you think Multiplayer gaming has changed over the last 10-15 years, and do you think it has changed for the better?

Paul: Without a doubt, multiplayer has changed so much in that time frame and definitely for the better! With the quality of internet connections, more powerful devices and more people making great games the options for gamers out there today are fantastic.

Seb: Absolutely no doubt about it. More games to choose from; better connections opening up whole worlds of new and exciting things to do together etc

GeekPress UK: What is your current favourite multiplayer Game and your platform of preference? Playstation / Xbox or PC?

Seb: We all play different games, I’m still grinding the weekly nightfalls in Destiny and am looking forward to The Taken King releasing in September, I am also obsessed with Assassin’s Creed Collector’s Editions. My gaming time is spent 95% on Playstation and 5% on Xbox.

Dean: I can mostly be found running around dungeons in Diablo III or generally making a nuisance of myself on a Golf Course on Rory McIlroy PGA Tour..

Joe: I’m currently enjoying being useless at Rocket League on the PS4 whilst anticipating the release of Rainbow Six: Siege.

Paul: I’m still all about the Titanfall although I seem to end up playing Plants Vs Zombies more with my boy. My weapon of choice is an Xbox One but the Metal Gear Solid PS4 may have to be a future purchase!

GeekPress UK: And finally, do you have anything you would like to add – a message to users perhaps?

Joe: We are working really hard on providing a service that we feel is going to be really useful to a whole lot of people who play video games, We’d love to chat to anyone interested in the service be it as a user or a developer. If there’s anything that frustrates you about similar services then you can let us know, we are always open to feedback and suggestions.

Seb: Oh, also, if anyone wants to buy me a beer, they are more than welcome to do so.

GeekPress UK would like to thank the entire ‘Game With’ team for their time in answering these questions and wish them all the best for the launch of their site.