I had the pleasure, recently, to do an interview with Peter, developer at Gameinabottle, which launched the hugely popular game GemCraft on Kongregate.

Kongregate: What was the first game you owned?

Peter: It was back in the 80s, I was 6-7 years old (I'm 31 now), I had an Enterprise 128, something similar to, but much less popular, than the Commodore 64, the star of its era. I had a pile of games, but I think there would be no use mentioning names. :-)

Kongregate: What is your favorite Flash game, outside of your own of course?

Peter: I really enjoyed playing a Flash-based, but downloadable/paid game called Creeper World. For web-based games, I admire the authors of Robokill, that game runs very smooth despite the heavy action scenes, and looks really professional. I also find the "launch something and try to keep it in the air" strangely addictive, the latest one I played multiple times, was Flight.

Kongregate: How did you get started making games?

Peter: It's a long story. Years ago I had my 9-to-5 job like many of us, but I wanted to break free, do what I want, and save myself from traveling 3 hours a day to the office and back home. I had a friend, we tried to put some games together, but in the end one of the games never reached the audience, and the other one (a downloadable $19.95 style game), made only a few sales, so, apart from the valuable experience I earned in the process, it was a waste of money and nerves, and our friendship was gone. I also quit my job to have more time to work on the games. I started freelancing, but fortunately didn't give up my dream of becoming a game creator.

Kongregate: What was the first game you made?

Peter: If I don't count those utter failures of the past, and look at only my current career, it was Treasure of Cutlass Reef, a pirate-themed ship battle game. I made it in about a month, and, while the money I got for sponsorship wasn't a fortune, it clearly showed me that making games is a real alternative to making cheesy websites for hire.

Kongregate: Do you have any non-gaming hobbies, and if so, what?

Peter: Unfortunately, I don't have any time for hobbies, but if I had the time, I would be playing games. :-)

Kongregate: How many fingers am I holding up?

Peter: Two thumbs maybe? I hope so :-)

Kongregate: Thanks so much for giving us time from your busy schedule to talk with us!

Be sure to check out GemCraft, today!