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This interview is written by Gabe and originally appeared on GamerPress.org

Jeff Bogensberger is the co-creator of the Facebook game Earth 2.0 from SOCO Games.

Q. Your game earth 2.0 is very unique, how did you come up with the idea?

From day one we always knew that we wanted to incorporate a social conscience into SOCO Games and this came out when we were deciding on the story line for Earth 2.0. We also had initial plans of a sci-fi/futuristic plot. These two things came together in one of our early planning sessions where we decided that if we, as people, don’t watch what we are doing and start making the right decisions that conceivably we could destroy our Earth and we would have to go find Earth 2.0. That’s how we came up with Earth 2.0 and to do our part in the real world, we created the SOCO Games Players Fund

Q. You are relatively small for a games company, how is this an advantage?

The two major benefits of being relatively small is that we are able to be nimble in our strategy, moving quickly to this rapidly changing industry. It also allows us to keep our costs down which is key to any business, in any industry.

Q. I like the fact that you let your players give money to their favourite charity, with your “Soco Games Players Fund” why did you decide to give money to charity instead of towards developing your games?

Firstly let me clarify one thing, our players never give any of their money to the SOCO Games Players Fund. All of the money in the Fund comes from a percentage of revenue generated from regular game play. We never ask for money, sell “special items, etc… to raise money. All that is required from our players is that they play and enjoy Earth 2.0 and we take care of the rest.

The decision to support the organizations that we do is a direct reflection of the philosophies that we all use to govern the way we choose to live life and conduct business. I know I won the lottery being born in Canada to hard working parents. Just the luck of the draw. Many out there weren’t given the same opportunity to a safe, violence free life where food and water are never an issue. I now live in Australia but the same is true here. We think it is pretty cool that we can leverage something as simple as playing a game to really make a difference. We are excited about providing a vehicle whereby the players can also feel good about playing. This is why we are creating an environment by which the players can choose what organizations they support.

Q. Why did you decide to make games for Facebook instead of for a gaming console?

This was a product of the initial investment to compete in the console environment. Facebook games have a greater opportunity for a small company to be competitive.

Q. How do you create revenue in your games?

All Facebook games work the same. Revenue is generated through a virtual currency. Players can earn virtual currency simply by playing or if they decide they would like to have more to spend they can buy virtual currency with real money or through completing an offer such as filling out a survey or downloading an application.

Q. Where is SOCO Games is heading in the future?

The plan is to keep adding features and upgrades to Earth 2.0. Grow a loyal player base and strong game community. In the near future we are going to launch our second game and hopefully a string of games after that.

Q. What would you say others that want to get into game development industry?

For anyone starting a game development company I would give them the advice I would give any would be entrepreneur, cash is king. If you keep control of your expenses than you can weather a lot of storms. It is important to remember that just because you create games doesn’t mean the rules of business don’t apply.

Anyone wanting to work in the industry, again same advice I give anyone going into a career. Learn the required skills and be the best at what you do. Shoddy work will eventually get discovered and in a fast paced, rapidly changing environment, there is no room for inferior people. If you are good at what you do there will always be a job for you.

Thank you to Jeff who kindly agreed to do an interview, and check out Earth 2.0 at www.socogames.com or on Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/earth-two/?ref=ts