In addition to my time with the preview build of Treasure World, I also got the chance to talk to Aspyr's Justin "CosMind" Leingang, creative director and the lead designer on Treasure World.

I had a number of questions about a lot of neat little touches I'd seen in the game as I spent a week trying it out, carrying it with me on every drive I went on, every walk, and even out in the woods behind my house—just in case. (It didn't turn out to be a very productive walk. Turns out trees have little use for Wi-Fi.)

Justin had a lot to say about his baby, which we present to you now for your reading pleasure.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Treasure World's key hook—going out into the world and converting the Wi-Fi signals in the air into in-game treasure—is right up there with the most unique ideas I've ever seen on the DS, let alone gaming itself—I noticed you patented it, too. How did you come up with this?
Justin Leingang, lead designer:
The Wi-Fi hunting play mechanic is the evolution of something I've been designing for quite a few years. It started out as a player-player link feature of a game concept for the Game Boy Advance, then evolved into a feature of a mobile phone game. When the DS came out, it evolved into the Wi-Fi feature you now know of. I feel that this is the very best iteration of the mechanic and truly captures the spirit of the game design's purpose—life equals adventure; getting players to interface with the real world more than with the software, in turn discovering real places and things they might otherwise never have.

I think what really made exploring worthwhile was how you had to seek out new routes if you really wanted to get more treasures; the game seemed to remember where I'd been, not giving me new treasures if I'd already been seeking in one spot. Is it really remembering each and every wireless signal it's ever seen?
Leingang:Yes indeed, it remembers every Wi-Fi signal, every Nintendo DS, and every other Treasure World player. That's one of the most important features that supports the adventuresome and discovery-rich nature of the play experience.

And the treasure that's selected from a given wireless network--is that very same treasure available if someone else comes by with their own copy of Treasure World? It remembers the names of the networks you got each treasure from, I saw...
Leingang:Yes, every signal hides the exact same Treasure for every player. What I really dig about this fact is that it makes each "Treasure spot" that much more real. It's truly akin to burying a particular treasure at a particular location. Players can communicate with one another about where (and when in the case of some particular Treasures) they found certain Treasures—and other players can seek them out and be sure that they'll find the very same ones. This is very helpful when you're aiming to complete sub-collections of Treasures (called "Star Groups").

Speaking of the names, I noticed that I wasn't seeing so many actual wireless network names (though I was particularly amused by one I found called "Stop stealing my"--Internet, presumably) as made-up names—and good ones—like "Merari" for the network at my day job, for example. I don't think I ever saw a "linksys" or "default", so I assume these are standing in for those. Did someone make all these up?
Leingang:All the manufacturer and generic unchanged signal names are substituted with "Legendary Star" names, which makes discovery much more interesting and exciting. These Legendary Star names aren't made up; they're taken from a massive list we created of real astronomical star names and other names in a similar fashion. Most of those additional names come from characters in the ancient lore of tons of different cultures. Just as with signals that owners have named, these Legendary Star names exist in the exact same places for every player.

The one piece of the puzzle I didn't get a chance to look at was the Club Treasure World website. I did gather that you could send "Tmails" to friends to trade treasure with them, but I also got the vibe that the Club site was sort of integral to the big picture as well. Could you explain it a bit more?
Leingang:
Club Treasure World is surely a key part of the complete Treasure World experience. The Club is a community where Treasure hunters can show off their creativity, earn additional rewards, and communicate about Treasure hunting exploits.

Each player has his/her own page to which they can "Web Copy" everything that they discover and create on their DS. The Songscapes that you create on your DS can be put into a Jukebox playlist for everyone in the world to listen to. The current look and set up of your World on your DS is displayed for everyone to see. Your Wish Finder's current disguise is displayed on your page, messages, and forum posts. There are even additional real rewards that can be unlocked at the Web Club using Treasure Keys that you earn on the DS. Awards can be earned by using Treaures on your DS to complete creative challenges that are presented at Club Treasure World. And for those with a competetive spirit, Club Treasure World tracks and displays statistics and leaderboards.

The Web Club is also an incredible hub for Treasure hunting communication. Players can make friends and post messages about where they found certain Treasures. Even slicker, you can plot and view Treasure locations on an integrated global map.

Treasure World on the DS and Club Treasure World on the Web have a symbiotic relationship that will continue to grow in time. I'm really excited about the new features that will be revealed in the future as Club Treasure World evolves.