Wits and Wagers Preview

At GDC, I was able to interview Hidden Path Entertainment for some upcoming games. However, we had to hold this video… until today! So, let us present the exclusive footage of Wits and Wagers!

We were also able to get a follow-up interview with Mark Terrano, the Design Director for Hidden Path Entertainment. Hit the jump for an inside look at the achievements and the thought process behind it.

We have a slightly different approach to Xbox Live Achievements in the Wits & Wagers game.  In a typical ‘core gamer’ experience we would use the achievements system to highlight extreme skills and recognize completion of major portions of the game; Wits & Wagers is a different game – designed for a casual and family audience…and we want our achievements to reflect that.  

The trivia questions in Wits & Wagers are intentionally very tough compared to other types of trivia games – because the game is the most fun when nobody knows the exact answer but people have a good idea what it ‘might’ be. When you think about it – by making the trivia questions very hard we make it more competitive for everyone.    Wagering on answers is about what you think the other players know and how those answers stack up with the odds (the more ‘out there’ an answer is the higher the jackpot if it is in the right range). 

Since anyone with access to a search engine could quickly become a ‘trivia master’ with near-perfect knowledge I thought rewarding that ‘skill’ with achievements would be going against the player activity we wanted most.  The best online experience is like the living room experience you have with friends – you learn a few facts, laugh at the ones you got wrong, and you cheer each other on.   Our achievements are more social, recognizing that you got online and played, or that you made the game more fun for others.

Some typical Wits & Wagers achievements:

House Party – Playing local with 4 players

Body Movin’ – Danced through all the rounds of a single game

My Favorite – Getting an MVP (Most Valuable Player) award in a game

Friendly – Play 50 games online

Sure, for those core gamers with a rocking Gamerscore and a few pages of achievements to their name the Wits & Wagers achievements might seem like cake (so delicious and moist); but for casual players who have never invited friends into a game or played online at all, these are just as challenging and relevant to their skills as gamers.  If you play a lot of games, make friends, offer a little help to those that need it, laugh out loud & enjoy yourself – you will quickly be on your way to all the best things in life and have the achievements as a bonus.