On July 28, 1999, we were lucky enough to conduct an interview with Andrew Stern from PFM. He filled us in on some of what goes into making Petz, talked about his thoughts on the Petz community, and let us in on a little about the future of Petz. We thank Andrew for taking time out of his busy schedule for the interview. And now on to the interview...
Thank you so much Andrew for agreeing to this interview.
Andrew: Sure! These look like good questions.
How long have you been designing products for P.F.Magic?
Andrew: I've been designing and programming at PFMagic since 1992, when I was 22 years old. I'm one of the original employees. I'm 29 now.
Which products have you worked on?
Andrew: My first product was called Max Magic, for CD-interactive, an interactive magician character that talked and was your partner in 14 magic tricks. Then I worked on some interactive movie experiments called Flix. Then in 1995 I joined the Dogz I team, and have been working on Petz ever since. Over the past year I've been making Babyz!
What exactly do you do? :-)
Andrew: I have two major roles, that are interrelated. I work with the team to design the programs, which means writing a long document which describes what we are going to create. Then in C++ I program the behavior and artificial intelligence of the characters -- how do dogz and catz play, how does Jowlz act when he's grumpy, how does ChiChi go hyper, when does FiFi feel finicky, when does a Baby need to poop, things like that.
How many people are involved in the creation of the programs?
Andrew: Over the past 4 years, I would say at least 25 people were involved in creating the Petz products. This ranges from people that draw art for the toyz and backgrounds, to people that make the animations for the Petz and Babyz; programmers that make the toyz, animation and sound work; managers that help set the schedules and make sure everything is running smoothly; and testers, who play with Petz and Babyz all day long to find bugs! Including beta-testers, who are very important.
: What is your favorite Petz program - Catz, Dogz or Oddballz? Do you have a favorite breed?
Andrew: Oh, I worked on all of them, so I love them all. Some of my favorite breeds are Jowlz, Homebody, Honker, Walret and the Snowman. And the new Babyz are really cool and cute.
What is your opinion about all the hexed breeds/accessories out there?
Andrew: At first we were all surprised and amazed that it was happening. You all are smart for figuring out how to do that. I think it's a good thing, because people get a chance to help create Petz, and then everyone benefits because there's tons of new breeds out there!
Do you visit Petz sites? Do you visit for feedback on your programs?
Andrew: Yes, I do. I love all the sites, it is a big reward for all of us that worked hard to create Petz. It shows you all care about the Petz and are having fun building a community. Keep making them, don't stop!
What impresses you most about the Petz community?
Andrew: The size of it, first of all, and the ingenuity of it; everyone one has been very creative in thinking of different things to do, from petz shows to adoption agencies to comics to hexed breeds. Anything that was possible to do, I think you've all done it! Also some of you are so *young*, and making complicated websites!
Are you, as one of the designers, able to take suggestions that come from the Petz community into account when designing new Petz products?
Andrew: Of course. We are always keeping of track of what people are asking for, and often try to "give the people what they want". After Dogz and Catz I, people said "we want our petz to play together!" And we made Petz 2, where dogz and catz can live together -- mass hysteria. Then people said "we want our petz to go to different places!" and we made Petz 3 with a house, backyard, and different places to go. One of the big new features of Petz 4 is a Playscene Editor, where anyone can create their own scenes for Petz to play in.
What can you tell us about the upcoming Babyz?
Andrew: Babyz is a giant baby-step forward in virtual life. There are the world's first full virtual humans (although they are just babies). They are very cute, and have a whole new house they live in. You can teach them to crawl and walk, and with a microphone, you can use voice recognition to talk to the Babyz and teach them to talk back! There's lots of clothes to play dress up too. Anyone who likes Petz will love Babyz.
What information can you give us about the future of Petz (including Petz 4 and beyond)?
Andrew: Petz 4 will add lots of new stuff to Petz 3, such as new exotic places to travel with your Petz, voice recognition, and the playscene editor. As for the future beyond Petz 4, it's hard to say exactly what will be done so far in advance and I can't promise anything, but someday your Petz and Babyz may be able to play together! And you never know, eventually your Babyz just may be able to grow up to become kids and talk a lot more. Also, just so everyone is aware, the PF.Magic company is now a permanent part of the Mindscape and Mattel companies. So the label on the boxes will say Mindscape or Mattel, not PF.Magic. But it's still the same programs, better than ever.
Well, that's it. Thanks so much Andrew.
Andrew: My pleasure Abby! Back to work for me.
page last updated Nov-04-2024