Interviews

Donna Johnston antes up on World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions
By Michael Lafferty

“What makes the World Series of Poker video-game franchise stand out from our competitors is realism”

Without a doubt, poker is a video-game phenomenon, a card game rich in nuances that has spawned many titles on a wide variety of platforms.

Activision’s World Series of Poker franchise is certainly one that strives to be both entertaining and informative, and with the pending release of the next title in the series – World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions – the dev team promises to make the game even stronger on those two fronts.

Not only has the AI been upgraded to increase the challenge, but the game features Chris Ferguson who presents a guide to strategies of the game, and then gives players the opportunities to test that, not only in the single-player arena, but online as well.

Donna Johnston, producer of World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions, took GameZone on a tour of the title.

Question: The game sports a new story mode. Tell us about it?

Donna: The story begins in the player’s basement, where a weekly poker home game has taken a bit of a turn – Chris Ferguson, after losing a bet, has agreed to be the dealer. Chris offers to take the most promising player under his wing, and sponsor them through Circuit Events to earn points towards the Tournament of Champions (TOC).

The story really brings together all of the top elements of the World Series: the Circuit, which winds through top Harrah’s properties such as Caesars Palace and The Rio in Las Vegas; the top pros, who show up to block the player’s path to the TOC; and the advice and training pro poker players need from top pro Chris Ferguson. So this game has it all: the locations, the pros, and the ability to learn from one of the best!

Q: It seems evident that being such a cerebral game that have to have a solid AI scheme in place. How have you improved the AI in the game?

Donna: The biggest improvement this year has been through the implementation of pro profiles. We sat down with each of our pro players to conduct interviews about their playing styles, including everything from general play styles like pre- and post- flop aggressiveness to specifics such as their favorite semi-bluff hands, or hands they tend to overplay. These profiles help give a real sense of style and individuality to the pros at the table, and of course, utilizing that we developed our own profiles for the non-player characters. Fans of the game will spot general improvements, as well; these include improved stack protection and more frequent use of probe betting.

Q: How much has changed in the game's graphics department?

Donna: A lot! What makes the World Series of Poker video-game franchise stand out from our competitors is realism – the real, true to life tournament rooms, our pros, and even commentary from Lon McEarchen and Norman Chad. To further complement that, we’ve spent a lot of time this year improving the look of our characters – and it shows! Everything looks smoother, sharper and more true-to-life than ever before. We 3D scanned the live faces of each in-game pro. The result is that you’ll really feel as if you’re sitting across the table from Phil “Unabomber” Laak or Joe Hachem! Lastly, to ensure people not only look good, but also move realistically, we captured hundreds of movements in a motion capture studio, including everything from the way characters react to a bluff to yawns, stretches and even sneezes.

Q: Why do you think poker is such a hot game genre at the moment and what elements do you think need to be in place to make it a viable video-game experience?

Donna: I think part of the appeal is how approachable the game is: you don’t need to be a trained athlete (although endurance helps!), men and women can take part equally, and you can play at almost any age and experience level. The rules are simple and easy to learn, and just like any major sport, poker has its own host of heroes and villains for fans to root for. The TV exposure has helped popularize the sport and the hole-card cam – the ability to see each player’s cards as they see them – is what really spurred poker’s ability to have mass appeal in that medium.  It really can suck you in.

But to make it a viable video-game experience, the elements that make a great poker game are right there for you – great characters, a compelling story, and approachability. One of our major goals this year has been to give people the tools they need to improve their play, so that they can honestly say our game helped them become better poker players. First, we added a huge video tutorial segment created and recorded by Chris Ferguson, not only introducing the basic rules but also walking the player through more complex poker strategies, like table position, hand strength, and tournament play. Next, we added a tutorial mode where players can ask Chris for advice on their hand – we call this “Hold ‘Em or Fold ‘Em” and this is somewhere to practice your learnings from Chris’ video tutorial. Lastly, we added a console of poker tools that allow players to view important game statistics like pot odds, chances of hitting outs, and opponent tracking tools – all things that real pros do, that beginners can now see in action, use, and learn for themselves.

Q: Does the game offer online play?

Donna: Absolutely! On PS2 and PSP, we feature 9-player online including cross-platform play, so you can sit at home on your PS2 and play your friend at a coffee shop on his PSP. On X360 we’re featuring 21-player, multi-table tournaments which can make use of the headset and Microsoft Vision camera.

Q: Have you added any new player modes or aspects to the title?

Donna: Well, the whole career mode in the game is new, as is the tutorial-style Hold’Em or Fold’Em with Chris Ferguson. We’ve also added private invitational events, a Heads Up tournament mode, and expanded our Quickplay mode to allow the creation of custom games and tournaments.

Q: What would be your poker dream if you were to have one?

Donna: For Chris to like the game so much he takes ME to the Tournament of Champions next year!