Interview with Alinoa from Nadeo

What is your job role and title with Nadeo, and what does your job involve each day?

I don't have a precise title with Nadeo. I am both in touch with players and in charge of the game levels realisation for Trackmania and (the PC game) 32nd America's Cup. On a daily basis, I have to test the different game versions, make the game levels, organise focus tests, read what is happening on the forums and pass the information to the team, and play the intermediary between the support of our publishers. I also take care of the manianews/manialinks system and encourage users to post in game news to inform the players of their zone regarding new creations, tournaments, movies, etc.

Do you play any games yourself?

We sure like to play at Nadeo. We like all kinds of video games. We also really like playing on board games. Moreover one member of our team participates in a board games contest as a judge, and he's got more than a hundred board games at home. Since the release of Trackmania Forever some of us have played on Trackmania every midday even if other players have gone to trash us.

What is your most favourite aspect of Trackmania?

What I really prefer in Trackmania is anything that enables players to create and share, and thus contributes to form links between players. That's why I am very glad we have made Trackmania Forever and I am very much looking forward to discovering the new creations made by players.

How do you usually design and plan the solo tracks?

I have to respect a lot of criteria. Firstly, I have to make tracks that will not lag, which means not using too many decor blocks. Secondly, it should be clear how to get from the start to the finish, so the player doesn’t have to look for the way. The easy tracks don't have to contain hard passages (to jump just after a curve is very difficult for a beginner!!). The harder tracks have to be both technical and interesting to not bother the experienced drivers. A last check is to make sure there are no cuts. The community helped us a lot to find the cuts during the Beta tests. Thank you Zooz.

Do you think there is any chance of Trackmania ever being ported to the other consoles?

Trackmania will be released at the end of 2008 on the Nintendo DS. It's the English studio Firebrand who is in charge of the development and they are doing a great job.

Manialinks are clearly another unique idea seen in Trackmania, but do you have any plans to try and expand them in some shape or form?

Making a manialink is not that simple, and we wish that the manialinks system will be more accessible in the future. One of the nice features of Forever is the ability to upload files directly from ManiaLink. We hope it could help players to share more with manialinks.

How does it feel to develop a very popular series?

We are very happy to develop a very popular series. When a hundred players drive on the same map, the trackbuilder is very pleased. And when thousands of players are playing on Trackmania together, that also makes the team really glad!