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Gaming is the new social trend of the internet nowadays and there is no surprise why so many startups develop what aims to be the next big thing – GAMES. Heros of Alcor is a multi player online game developed by a Bucharest based online media agency – Advanced Ideas – with full focus on making it big not only in advertising industry, but also in the very popular and money making gaming sector.

With an industry of 10.6 BILL USD revenue in 2010 and with an estimation that the annual market for “premium” casual games will exceed $1 billion by 2013, Advanced Ideas is on to something.

Heroes of Alcor is centered around a sci-fantasy environment. Just think about a sci-fi environment like StarTrek with fantasy graphics from Lord of the Rings mixed up by our talented art team into a cocktail of superb space environments with millions of stars and planets to explore and conquer. It is a space adventure introducing a great story, fascinating new characters and challenges. After participating in the fifth VentureConnect edition, we asked Adrian Ichim (Owner Advanced Ideas) a few questions about Heroes of Alcor and their expectations for the following months. Enjoy!

• When did you decide that your calling is that of entrepreneurs? Any regrets?

It may be a cliché but we always had this calling for building things. Between the 3 of us [ Adrian Ichim, Cristian Mezei, Adrian Apostol], we had about 10 startups. Winners never quit, and quitters never win, so we mostly didn’t quit . This persistence also shaped our personality and lives, so we do not have any regrets.

• You’ve developed Heroes of Alcor – why step into the gaming industry and which is its main attraction?

That’s what happens when gamers age and there are no more cool games to play with. They want to build their own game.

As every entrepreneur does, we also spotted a business opportunity in the industry. The next step was to have a chat with people that successfully did this in the past. We got the info we needed, we laid down some numbers and we stumbled upon a gold mine.

So, we started the development of the game and at the same time we were looking for investors. The game is a role-playing, strategy and action hybrid, centered around a sci-fantasy environment. The main attraction of the game is the story. Combined with all the other features, it will make the player addicted.

• Who can play Heroes of Alcor? Was the game officially launched?

The game targets core gamers. We are not looking to build a new Zynga model. First release of the game is in a couple of months. It depends strictly on the investors/investments involved in this startup.

• Which are your set business objectives for Heroes of Alcor?

From a business point of view we want to have a successful game that will be the first step on building a game world around it.

• Apart from Heroes of Alcor, you’re also part of an interactive agency. How is life between games and agency?

Simply put, the agency kept the game alive, financing and development wise. Advanced Ideas has a very good team that built games and advergames for its clients. Having that team in place when we started building Heroes of Alcor, definitely helped a lot.

• In May, you have pitched at the latest VentureConnect edition. Has the pitching experience paid off?

Yes it did. We had good networking and met potential investors for Heroes of Alcor. So it was a success from our point of view.