MMO MONTH: Free-to-play MMOs are where everyone wants to be at the moment. The notion of paying upfront for games is quickly becoming a questionable one. At the same time, the idea of letting the world's gamers play together is growing in importance. Ankama's DOFUS nails it on both accounts as is quickly emerging as one of the sector's leading lights.

CasualGaming.biz recently caught up with publisher Ankama's English marketing manager Sergio Dos Santos to chat about this increasingly important sector.

CG.biz: When dofus kamas was first released, how did it stand out from the competition?

SDS: When first released, there were basically three features distinguishing dofus kamas from the other MMOs:
* DOFUS was a flashed-based MMORPG that needed really low requirements in order to run on any computer. So the game was available for any computer owner.
* DOFUS had and has always had a special style of gameplay: it is a tactical MMORPG with battles that don’t only depend on the player’s strength and equipment. Strategy in battles is the most important thing in dofus kamas.
* And most of all, the game is fun. We focused on creating a MMO with an offbeat humor, with lots of references to the popular and geek culture.

CG.biz: How does the game’s popularity break down on a regional basis?

SDS: Originally from France, dofus kamas’ creators grew up watching lots of Japanese animation. DOFUS mixes manga and cartoon-like graphics and the style is very popular with our players. As said before, we also include references to the manga and cartoons that we grew up with. Humour has also had a key role in the success of DOFUS. The whole recipe gained great popularity within Europe, meaning 65 per cent of market share. 15 per cent of our players are also from North America, with the same figure for South America.

We’re also working on the Asian market and a Russian as well as a Japanese version are coming very soon.

CG.biz: Turn-based games are traditionally associated with the hardcore games audience. Why did you go for this model with dofus kamas?