Interviews

BioWare Co-Founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk Talks Dragon Age: Origins

There aren’t many doctors in game development, but acclaimed Canadian developer BioWare (based in Edmonton) has two of them. Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-general manager BioWare/vice prez at Electronic Arts and Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-general manager BioWare/vice prez at Electronic Arts sit at the top of the food chain at BioWare, which Electronic Arts bought seven months ago. I caught up with Dr. Zeschuk in Los Angeles while he was showing off his company’s latest game franchise, Dragon Age: Origins.

For those unfamiliar with BioWare, they’ve never had a non-blockbuster game. Their RPG roster runs with titles like Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect, you’ve played one of their epic role-playing games. Dragon Age, which isn’t due out this year, marks a return to their original franchise, Baldur’s Gate, only minus the Dungeons & Dragons license. Zeschuk discusses this latest project, which has been in development for over four years already. Hit the jump for the full interview. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BioWare, Dr. Greg Zeschuk, Dragon Age: Origin, interview, RPG | 1 Comment »

Interviews

Das Gamer Interview: PixelJunk Eden’s Dylan Cuthbert

Dylan Cuthbert, founder of the Kyoto-based developer Q-Games, has been designing games since high school. With Q-Games hitting its seventh birthday as a company this month it’s presenting the world with one of the more addictive titles to hit the market in PixelJunk Eden. Hit the jump to read the full interview with Cuthbert as he sheds some light on Eden and the world of the grimps. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Dylan Cuthbert, grimps, interview, PixelJunk Eden, PSN, Q-Games | 1 Comment »

Interviews

Insomniac Prez Ted Price And Resistance 2 Give The 1950s A Swift Kick In The Nuts

Over the past three months, Insomniac President and CEO Ted Price has been showcasing a variety of gameplay elements from this fall’s PlayStation 3 sequel, Resistance 2. For those who didn’t play the original, this first-person shooter is set in an alternate history in which World War II never happened. Instead, the world was invaded by the Chimera, deadly aliens who are hell-bent on destroying the world.

While the first game focused on action across the pond in the United Kingdom, Insomniac has brought the battle home in Resistance 2, and set its sites on 1950s Americana. You hear that Norman Rockwell? You, my friend, are royally fucked. Hit the jump for the full interview. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Insomniac, interview, PS3, Resistance 2, Ted Price | 3 Comments »

Interviews

Sig Hansen Talks Up Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm

Sig Hansen skippers the Northwestern on Discovery Channel’s hit reality series, World’s Deadliest Catch, which is the summer’s top cable hit. During the past two years, when not risking his life and that of his crew hunting for crab in the Bering Sea, he’s been working on a video game that simulates that experience.

Hansen co-founded a development studio to create the game. Das Gamer caught up with the captain, who enters the fourth season of the show this winter (the series airs during the warm summer months Hansen is off), to talk about his new venture and basically figure out why anyone would make a video game about pulling bugs out of a deadly body of water to fuel the needs of Red Lobster-loving Americans. Guess it can’t be any weirder than Big Buck Hunter. Hit the jump for the full interview. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: crab fishing, Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm, interview, Sig Hansen | No Comments »

E3 2008

Midway’s Hector Sanchez Talks Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe

Associate producer Hector Sanchez fanned on his first shot at pulling off a Fatality with Scorpion during the demo for Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. At least he didn’t have to face the abuse from the rest of the team back at Midway Chicago. “John Edwards, one of the game developers, failed to get a Fatality during a spot for X-play. The entire team saw it live streaming and called him up afterwards. Everyone was like, ‘What the hell man!’ Total failure.”

Unlike the aborted Fatalities, the latest MK in the franchise looks like a success in a lot of different areas. For one thing, Midway has taken it back to the game’s old-school 2-D roots. “Ed Boon (the co-creator of the Mortal Kombat franchise) really listens to the fan base. He just wanted to do it. When we announced the next MK game he said it’s back to basics, we’re going to get gritty, back to what made Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat.” Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Hector Sanchez, interview, Midway, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe | 1 Comment »

E3 2008, News

Bethesda’s Todd Holland Talks Fallout 3

Todd Holland, executive producer of Bethesda Softworks’ epic role-playing game, Fallout 3, knows that fans have been waiting a full decade for this game. He assures gamers that the wait for Fallout 4 won’t be that long, but this new game’s content should tide fans over for quite some time. Anyone who played Holland’s last game, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, knows that this developer crafts games that appeal to both the hardcore gamer and the more casual fans. They’ve taken the same approach with Fallout 3. Holland talks about what it’s like to blow up his hometown of Washington. D.C. and divulges some of the cool weapons available in the new game in his interview with Das Gamer. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bethesda Softwork, E3 2008, Fallout 3, interview, Oblivion, Todd Holland | No Comments »

E3 2008

RedOctane’s Charles Huang Welcomes The Competition

Charles Huang, vice president of development and co-founder of Sunnyvale, CA-based RedOctane, launched a new game genre when he and his brother Kai, working with developer Harmonix, brought Guitar Hero to gamers. Yesterday Kai presented the news that Rock Band World Tour will feature exclusive tracks from R.E.M., Van Halen, the Eagles and Metallica’s next album Death Magnetic in simultaneous release when it hits retailers. While Harmonix is now focused on the Rock Band brand with owner MTV Games and publisher Electronic Arts, Guitar Hero is alive and well with two new games coming out this year from Activision-owned developer Neversoft. Huang talked about the fast-growing gaming genre since id created the first person shooter in this exclusive interview. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Charles Huang, E3 2008, Guitar Hero World Tour, interview, RedOctane | 1 Comment »

Interviews

LucasArts’ Julio Torres Wants To Turn You Into An Ass Kicking Jedi

While Star Wars has been a haven for geeks for decades, LucasArts is serving up a no-holds-barred action experience with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed that should satisfy all fans, even the ones who think Yoda has always been a CGI effect. The new game opens up with players slapping on the helmet of Darth Vader and throwing out a couple of Jedi choke checks. Since we already covered the backstory on the new game we went back to the source for some more information. Check out our interview with Julio Torres, producer of the game at LucasArts, as he discusses some of the new game’s cooler features and assures gamers that they will start kicking ass, just like Amanda Lucas. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: interview, Julio Torres, LucasArts, The Force Unleashed | 1 Comment »