“There is a necessity for understanding what is the worst case versus what is the best case,” says Marguerite Dibble during a panel at Casual Connect USA 2014.
Marguerite Dibble is the president and creative director of gametheory (formerly Birnam Wood Games). While still a student at Champlain College, Dibble founded Birnam Wood Games, a company which produced its own IP, as well as doing contract projects and engagement consulting for clients. During the past two years, the company has released more than a dozen titles for iOS and Android platforms.
Dibble credits Champlain College with helping her start a game company through their game development program and entrepreneurial-focused curriculum. The program and faculty members were always available for advice and the opportunity to make connections.
Receiving Praise
Their most recent release, Pathogen, received outstanding reviews and won several awards. In the App Store, it ranked #1 board game on iPhone/iPad in 11 countries and hit the Top One Hundred Games in 45 countries. Dibble says, “It was pretty awesome to see our title in ‘Best New Games’ the day we launched it on the App Store. We have a great title and a strong publisher that all came together for that result.”
Game Theory Problem Solving
In 2014, Birnam Wood Games was renamed gametheory and given a new direction and brand. While continuing to produce their own titles and doing contract game development, they now focus on bringing game theory into new businesses and fields to solve problems by making them more fun and satisfying to address. Dibble states, “We’re excited to bring gaming tools into whole new areas, letting games spread what they do best: engage and entertain, directing those ends towards larger goals.”
As the games industry evolves in the next few years, gametheory will be interested in following how user behaviors in general will develop and how games will intersect with other businesses and interests. Monetization is another aspect of the industry that Dibble expects to change significantly. She emphasizes that, with paid apps barely scraping by and IAP inspiring restrictive legislation, a new and evolving model for monetization is a necessity.
When Dibble is not working, she enjoys writing and watching TV, especially British panel shows. She also reads, spends time on boats and enjoys the company of her parrot.
Her gaming these days is usually done on her phone, but she actually prefers playing on her PC or her 3DS. Currently, she is playing ME3, simply because she just didn’t get around to it earlier. She is evidently a very disciplined free-to-play player, never having spent more than $20 in a game. And that was for Clash of Clans, for testing purposes.
Dibble owns and plays on several consoles: N64 for Ocarina of Time, Xbox 360, originally for Oblivion, and PS2 for Amplitude and Space Channel 5. But she has never had to pay for any of them; they were all acquired from people who were throwing them away for various reasons. “Except for my 3DS,” she says. “I certainly paid for that!”
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