Yes we do have input. We have a great colaborative relationship with EA and things have been going great working out the details in the gameplay and story and such. We've actually been given a lot of freedom on how to make the game. Primarily EA / DWI just check things over to make sure we're true to the MoH universe and style, and being as historically accurate as we can while making the game fun.
But alas, there are some issues that we don't have control over such as the blood/gore issue. Ratings boards are a lot tougher on games now since all the incidents in the news these past few years. Rogue Spear has blood, you kill terrorists (see the bullet holes in their heads even), but they have a teen rating. Things have to be a bit stricter now where this is concerned, and part of me agrees with it. When I was driving the demo, Sinbad the comedian was in one of the showings and did a short interview afterwards (whether it aired anywhere I dunno). He had his kid with him, and he literally said that our game was a history lesson, and that if he were a school teacher he'd just show his students the game and say, 'that's how it was almost'. He also commented on liking it not having any blood because this way he has no problem letting his kid play it. Those were some very kind words to hear, and very flattering that someone thought that of what we've made so far. I also think this is an important statement on the whole blood/gore issue. Which brings me to my next point.
Now this issue has been discussed left, right, front, and center. To put an end to it, there will be no blood, no matter how much you ask, it's not up to us, and the goal here is to get a teen rating. I've seen comments on message boards calling us sell outs and that this is now going to be a kiddie game because of this. Well, ask the people that saw the E3 demo if they think this is going to be a kiddie game after what they saw. And sell-out??!?! What the hell does that mean?!? You mean we're a sell-out for trying to reach a broader market?? Sorry for actually wanting to sell some copies and make some money. I mean, I don't think these people realise that if the game doesn't sell well, you're odds of making another game decrease. If you don't get good sales, you also don't make much money to help keep your company alive. Pardon me, and I think I speak for everybody here, I'd like to stay in this industry and make as many kick-ass games as I can because that's what I love to do. To do that you have to sell, to sell well, you have to reach a broader market. If that's being a sell-out, then I guess I'm a sell out. Does that mean the game's gonna suck and be just for kiddies? Hell NO! We're going to make the game as fun as we can for all audiencies. There's plenty of gameplay and ambience and interaction that you will (hopefully) get sucked into the game and play through it wanting more. If people have a blast playing through the game, and get sucked into the character and the environment, then we've done our jobs.
Anyways, enough of my ranting
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Latuh fuh U,
Benson
benson@2015.com
"We don't introduce or cause bugs in the game, we merely find and bring to light the inadequacies within the code."
-regarding level designers
05-30-2001, 06:56 AM
Linear Mode
