Playing Catan on Surface is much like playing the analog original. Players claim resources, roll dice, and build things. In fact, players still roll a physical set of dice, as Surface includes an IR reader that displays the number rolled (actual numbers are printed on the dice) on its screen. The inclusion of a physical set of dice was very important to the development team, who wanted to preserve the “board game” feel for the player. As a tabletop gamer myself, physically rolling dice is paramount to my enjoyment. Okay, maybe not paramount, but it’s still pretty nice to be able to do that.

I recently had a chance to sit down with Kevin Foreman, Lead Game Developer for Vectorform Games, at PAX Prime and talk about how Catan was brought to Surface. But before you dive in to the interview, have a look at Settlers of Catan being played on Microsoft Surface.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWx92_R1RCo

Trung Bui: Tell us about the development of Catan on Surface.

Automation is a big factor since it cuts down on the unnecessary length of the game.

Another thing is we wanted free-time trade, you can trade resources any time and we think that’s also a huge inclusion. We think we can do a lot of automation with a digital platform as well. When you roll a 4, you get that resource automatically, nobody has to figure it out. We wanted to make a hybrid of the awesomeness of the analog version and automating what is annoying in the analog version in the digital platform.

Seeing how Microsoft Surface costs a lot of money, would it be fair to say that it’s not something that’s meant for general consumer use?

Any plans to bring Carcassonne (also on Xbox LIVE) to the platform?

It’s very organic.

What I enjoyed about playing Catan on Surface was actually being able to throw the dice on the table as opposed to having to press a button.

When you have a game like Catan or Dominion and bring it into a digital medium, do you feel like it would degrade the nostalgia experience at all? For example, setting up the board and pieces.

Are you planning on anything else after Catan to put on Surface? Or are you just focused purely on Catan right now?

Awesome. Thank you very much.

It is important to know that, yes, the Surface platform is incredibly expensive, but playing on it is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I would love to see Surfaces pop up in game stores, as both a board game device and a D&D tool (grid maps I don’t have to draw? Awesome!), though those days might be a long way away. Until then, I’ll still be satisfied playing Catan the old fashioned way.

Ranters, did any of you have a chance to try out Surface at PAX  Prime 2010? Where would you like to see Surface units installed?

Thanks again to Kevin Foreman and Vectorform Games.