Interview

I chose to interview a good friend of mine, graduating this year.   As long as I've known him, he's been busting his ass working on games, he was the first person I thought of.

What games did you grow up playing, and which ones do you play now?

Uuhhhhh, mario was like the first game that I started playing, NES original.  Because my parents had the original NES.  Probably the next game then was like Donkey Kong or something.


Cool, do you think the games you liked as a kid influence what you play now?   

Honestly, I don't really play any video games right now so.....

Hahahaha, just overworked? 

Yeah.  (exasperated sigh)

How do you like Columbia's game development department?

It's awesome!

Just grueling?

(nods) But it's really good, it's just a good department to be in, especially now because like all the classes have become the serious level.

You mean past the foundation courses? 

Yeah.

What's an average day like?

I mean, going into class, its really casual when you go in, which is nice.  It's not like you have to be prepared or anything, you just have to have all of your work done, and then work when you're in class. And then out of class, just making sure you hit the deadlines.     So, its basically like you're finishing work to make yourself happy, but then you're finishing work to add to a whole 'nother project.


Okay, so my blog, actually, what I'm covering;  I write about stuff how like Pikmin is slavery, or pokemon is dog fighting.   And I look for little subtle bits of depravity, especially in childrens games.  and its like a quirk that I get really interested in.  Do you have anything that you look for to put in a game like that?

*pause*  uncomfortable laughter from both of us

I've never really thought about it like that, video games like that, to tell you the truth.  It's weird to think about it that way.   Actually, we were just talking about it in class the other day, about like how Tetris could be like Russia during WWII or something.... like what the fuck? I don't know what that is.

It sounds kind of like what film majors, I was a film major for a while, go through, and it really like hacks away at your sense of movies, when you get into that mindset.

I mean like, because I don't play them right now, it doesn't really make a difference.  But, I have noticed, when I am playing, I'll look for certain things.

Mistakes?  Clipping?  

Yeah, Texture splits and stuff like that.

Do you find a lot of them?

Not recently

Does it piss you off when you notice them?

Not really, but it's like 'oh that's how they could've fixed this.'  or 'this is how they made this work.'

Since you're also a DJ..... Games like Hotline Miami, or Farcry, or even Smash Bros Brawl all have a really intricate, composed theme.  Like appropriate music for the atmosphere, do you feel like thats going to set a precedent in the future where if your game doesn't have the most high-end music it won't be well received? 


Yeah.  Absolutely.  Audio, it just adds to the experience.  It just opens up a world, soundscaping is really powerful, and once its done properly, it can really put someone into that place that they're trying to create.  

There's a lot of games just based on rhythm too.  I'm a big stepmania dork.  

Actually Music Planet is based on that.

Huh? 

Music Planet, the game we're working on right now.

Oh! Is based on music?

No, it's based on rhythm.

What's it about?

Uhh... *long pause*   Balancing the Earth, to make sure that the evil god, Fortissimo doesn't take over.

Fortissimo?  

Yeah.

does that mean fast and rampant?  Or no wait, it's *same time* 'loud.'  

*laughter*

Yeah, rhythm has been one of those focuses right now.

What do you think about pay-to-play?  Like EA's business plan.

So like a per-monthly thing?

No like, vital in-game purchases, like I need to buy this assault rifle, but it costs real cash.

Ohhh thats, i dont know how i feel about that.   That totally takes away from the point of having a video game, its.... its taking away from that. like, its supposed to be like a fake world where you're able to do things that you normally can't.  If you're gonna be paying for weapons and shit like that....

You might as well buy them in real life?

Yeah, it's so stupid.  I'm gonna buy this, whatever $50, $60, who knows what they're gonna be now.  Butyou know, you buy this game, and in order to be like everyone else I have to spend $20 dollars to get this other gun?

And like map downloads, or extra XP or whatever.

Right.  It's like, what the hell?  I mean, the map packing is cool I guess.  *pauses* to not have it all in there from the start.  Because then it adds, all the same, because once you buy that it totally changes the game play, for replayability.

Is that your stance as a gamer or dev?

Both.  Yeah, it's kinda both.  Like, I'm strapped for cash like everybody else is, it just doesn't seem right to do that.  Like halo did and you pay 20 dollars at the beginning to get all the subsequent maps, that's fine.  But if you didn't do that at the beginning its like 10, 20 dollars a map.

Wow.

Yeah something ridiculous, I think that's cool to add that, but you're not really making a new game, you're just adding.


Sooo, Music Planet.  When's that coming out? Is it going to be on Steam?  

Actually, it's going to be at Manifest, that's the only thing that's going for us right now, it's going to be at Manifest for Columbia.  But yeah, not really sure, it runs on PC, and it uses the Elite motion camera, the camera from the Kinect.

Okay, final question:    Who would win in a fight between Swiss Cheese and Mozzarella?  

Oh my god....  Am I gonna have to be the lame person that says it?  Swiss Cheese.  Because it's holy!

(both)  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......