Exclusive Interview with Adam Powell
Posted Sunday, July 13th, 2008 5:55 pm by Kym
Rolling around in our office chairs today, we managed to get in contact with Adam Powell, the creator of Neopets and CEO and Creative Director of Meteor Games’ and its latest project, Twin Skies, for a quick interview where we poke and prod into realms of the unknown for exclusive information and sneak peaks into what we can expect from Twin Skies in the future and discover what exactly happened with Neopets.
Want to find out what happened to Adam after Neopets and what we should expect from Twin Skies over the next few months? Read on.
Your departure from Neopets was very quiet. What was the reason for this?
We were contractually obliged not to do or say anything, so we didn’t.
Neopets’ core audience now caters to the younger demographic. Was this something that was originally intended and how do you feel about this?
We just went with the flow really. Lots of younger players signed up, and we catered to their needs and as a result the content became younger and cuter. I’m still in two minds whether this was a good idea or not. I’m not happy with the way the Neopets are drawn these days, I liked the quirkiness of the old art. They all look a bit cheesy now.
If you could go back and change one single thing from your experience at Neopets, what would it be?
I would have found out who was stealing all the NERF darts in the office and made them stop.
What do you think is Neopets biggest strength to date?
A massive loyal fan base that has had time to develop and mature over 8 years.
While Neopets seems to be well maintained, there does seem to be some wishes amongst die-hard fans for the game to be developed further. For example, the Neopets concept was ground-breaking when it first came out. Now there are other sites like it out there and online gaming has evolved. Do you think it is a realistic expectation that the fans should expect something new in the future?
Absolutely, if properties don’t keep on re-inventing themselves and evolving then they’re going to be left behind. Right now what we’re planning with Meteor is certainly an evolution of the kind of stuff we worked on before. It’s very optimistic to think that you’re going to release a fully 3D client to millions of people on the Internet and expect them to play it without any technical issues, but we’re going to do it!
Neopets has had its share of success over the years. Looking back at Neopets now after so many years, do you have any regrets?
Yeah, we put too much resources into advertising and the games and content suffered as a result.
Once and for all, tell us about Neopets the Movie. What happened?
I have no idea. Nobody seems to know! Donna and myself wrote a screenplay for the movie, but they didn’t even consider or follow up with it, which we thought was strange since we made the world and characters in the first place.
What do you think of the commercialization of Neopets?
Unavoidable, unfortunately. It makes me sad to see adverts and shops everywhere.
Do you still pop onto your old Neopets account?
No, I haven’t been able to log into the account since 2005. I’m not even certain I have five pets any more!
Who took your jobs at Neopets when you left?
Evil Sloth Clones #107 and #592.
What did you most enjoy about working at Neopets?
Seeing people’s reactions to the new games and content.
If you could say one thing to all your fans from the website, what would it be?
The ending of the Brucey B plot sucked, that was my fault. I was trying to leave it all open-ended and cool and it just failed disastrously. I hope we made up for it with the TCG plots.
Now with the Neopets back story complete, tell us what have you guys been up to since Neopets?
Well we founded Meteor Games in 2007 and we’ve been working on our MMO, Twin Skies ever since. We don’t get time for much else these days 
Tell us a little bit about your new project and what grand plans you have for it.
There’s a lot on the website already, so anything I say is probably just going to be repeating what’s there. We’re going to make an awesome 3D fantasy game crossed with a social network with MMO elements. You’ll get a pet, a house, and probably some leather armor and a stick (that seems to be popular in MMOs). You’ll be able to choose from many trade skills, explore a huge fantasy world, play flash games on the website, form guilds, and much more.
What audience do you envision this game to cater for?
Tunisian sock merchants are our core demographic, especially those from the southern Kebili province.
Will this new game welcome the audience from Neopets or will it be for a different type of gamer?
I’m sure as with all online games there’s going to be a crossover. I can see some of the more mature players liking the game, but it’s probably going to be too complicated for the younger user. It’ll be more whimsical, less silly. You won’t see things like the Attack Pea and Chive of Death in this new game, we’re trying to build a fantasy world you can actually believe in.
What type of things can we expect from this new game?
Great graphics, lots of social/community building features, player housing, pets, and a really cool soundtrack. Plus tons of flash games, we want to have at least 10 by the time we launch. That doesn’t sound much compared to the selection on Neopets or other game sites, but these games are going to be a lot more engaging.
Wheat is the projected release date for Twin Skies?
We’re hoping some time in 2009, not sure when though. We’ll hopefully be able to give you a more accurate idea when we’re at PAX.
What is it like to leave such a large game like Neopets, and start all over again?
We’ve learned a lot, so it’s great to be doing the same thing again and not making the same mistakes twice. I always liked watching the page view counter and bandwidth graphs climb at Neopets, and I really hope I’ll see that again
What is the biggest difference, aside from the core audience, for Twin Skies as opposed to Neopets?
I’d say the transition from a 2D web-based game to a fully 3D client is going to be pretty awesome. Other than that the style of writing, the storytelling, it’s a lot older. Donna and myself did all the direction, naming and flavor text for the Neopets TCG set, so that’s really our style right there.
Do you expect to see this game explore merchandising, movies, console games like Neopets?
Absolutely, we’ll be pursuing all those avenues, as long as they make sense for the company and our IP.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from running Neopets that you have brought over to this game?
Buy lots of servers, make sure they have lots of RAM! Also listen to your players so that any major issues with the game can be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Where do you get your inspiration for characters, worlds and plots?
Weird dreams.
Tell us a little bit about the development process for Twin Skies!
We have a staff of around 40 people in our West Hollywood location, and they’re magically making it happen. We’re using BigWorld which is a 3D MMO middleware engine, that does most of the work for us.
And finally, have you got any sneak peaks of the game we can see?
Yeah - I’m going to include a picture that you can use on your website.
Thanks a lot for the interview and picture and we wish you the entire team at Meteor Games the best of luck!
July 14th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
AWESOME!!! I can’t wait for the MMO!!
July 14th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Neither can I but it looks like it will be a little bit of a wait. It isn’t going to be released until 2009. At least the wait isn’t as long as other games however. People were waiting 10 years for SPORE.
September 21st, 2008 at 4:28 pm
@Kym Huynh - Wow, Twin Skies is going to be the best 3D game of it’s kind!
Can’t wait.
September 27th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
This is so cool! Not just that Adam and Donna are coming out with a new game, but that they still care. I play neopets every day, and it’s kind of sad to think how Adam and Donna are no longer a part of it really.
But it’s great to see that they’re not out of the game! And Adam, the last time I checked, you still have 5 asparagus chias! Just thought I’d let you know. 
September 27th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
so your going to change the site EVEN MORE?! =(
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Everything changes alustrials wings.
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I agree. Adam and Donna really love games it seems so who better to spearhead a new game than gaming fans?
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:36 pm
No doubt. It’s going to kick. total. a!
October 15th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I do beleive this interveiw is not yours(Kym). The opening paragraph should say, ” Jonny Blackler managed to get in contact with Adam Powell, and get us this interveiw…”
He is the rightful owner of the interveiw and to whom it was sent. You should get in contact with Adam Powel yourself and not keep an interveiw and just repost it with your name!!
October 17th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
@George - Jonny previously worked with us here at Twin Skies Planet (I’m the president of Bitwire Media, the company that owns the site.) When he left to found his own site, he agreed to let the interviews stay published here.