Including collectible figures as part of the experience is an interesting decision.

JO: Well we love toys, but we didn’t start this as a toy line -- everything about the property started with the game. We knew we wanted to offer the product at retail, and do so in some way other than a CD-ROM in a box. We wanted to price the product low at retail so that it was something that could be an impulse buy -- no more than $19.95 -- and something that people could actually afford to play and have fun with. We spent some time thinking and experimenting with USB drives and also studied the retail marketing. The coolest thing we saw were the real/digital hybrid products that worked as what you see is what you get. It was a great fit for us and a short hop to the idea that if we were going to do a toy it had better be a really cool, detailed collectible action figure.

So you have to purchase a figure to begin playing?

JO: The players do have to purchase a starter pack at retail to begin playing -- it’s under $20. Regarding payment after that, the player purchases a starter pack at retail and then pays a monthly subscription after the first month if they wish to continue using the online features. The subscription price is $5.99 per month. It works the same way as any MMO. If you wish to add another creature type or acquire more parts, powers and lair objects for your creature – you can purchase an expansion pack.

Most "tween"games I can think of tend to deemphasise combat, but Freaky Creatures seems to be all about it.

JO: Well, we aren’t really aiming at the tween audience though we do think it is a sweet spot in the market. Freaky Creatures was really designed to be an all age's title rather than to fit any specific demographic. Most of us on the team are in our 20’s and 30’s and we would play a game like this -- though that might be ‘cause we are still just kids at heart. Battling is what boys like to do -- all ages -- I mean how can you let someone build a monster and then not try and beat up his friends monster? Our battling isn’t any different than a boxing match or mixed martial arts match. These battles are tournaments, and the loser doesn’t die or suffer any lasting harm.

The game is entirely PvP based?

JO: The battling is PvP , but you also have the creature’s lair. This is the players own persistent space that they can share with friends. Each creature has his own lair that can be customized. The player can interact with their creature by giving it toys, feeding it, providing it with items like beds, and even praise and scold him using a "hand".

There is also the web site -- which will give the players mini games, a trading system for in-game objects, a digital store using creature credits for in-game objects, the ability to create teams, forums, polls, and their very own web space to display their creatures and accomplishments in.

So the creatures are like pets that you have to care for?

JO: The creatures exist in the lair and are very much like pets. You can feed them, pet them, tickle them, smack them around (not that you should ever do that to real pets!), and they get hungry, tired and lonely. You can basically befriend your creature in the lair.

How do the social world aspects work?

JO: Freaky Creatures has been uniquely designed to support an active online community. The world is instanced with players being able to join each other in battle lobbies and fight. You can create private, password protected instances for friends. Players can chat and socialize inside the instances. The website is also a large part of the community with forums, personal pages and teams.

I notice there will also be a mobile aspect to the world.

JO: The PC client is in 3D and the mobile client is 2D, but the one thing we wanted to preserve is the gameplay. Your creature on the mobile platform battles the same way it does on the PC, and you can level up, win powers and do most of the things you can do on the PC. The lair and living world portions of the game however, are not available on the mobile platform. Basically, we wanted to give consumers an entertainment-on-the-go experience.

Isn't it rather a big decision to decide to include a mobile client with so many different handsets out there?

JO: It is, but mobile is helping the industry move forward. We think that our players should be able to consume our content wherever they are and however they want to access it at that point in time. Adding mobile support was a way for us to provide players with additional access. Sometimes things aren’t easy, but the rewards of letting people experience gaming in an entirely new way can be more than worth it.