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Designer Warren Spector Has Two Games in the Works
Eurogamer had the chance to speak with well known game designer Warren Spector (Deus Ex, Thief) about current plans for his new studio, Junction Point. In a detailed interview, Spector discusses the studio's current slate of two titles. He also makes some bold proclamations about his future in the industry: "He now wants to shake a bit of life back into the world of games, a market he believes is still too niche and enclosed, by delivering something new and original rather than a rehash of old experiences. He'd rather 'fail spectacularly' than create another sports game or driving simulation. 'I think that most of what passes for a game, even now, just sucks. It's hard for me not to talk, but I've seen the dangers of doing that. I'm hoping that in the next couple of months we'll have something to say.'"
I don't mind rehashing old experiences as long as they're good ones. Hey Warren Spector, how's about a *non-crappy* sequel to Deus Ex this time?
Pardon me, but when I hear vaporware phrase like this, I generally think , "...but neither is expected to ship."
how about a 'real' system shock 3? with shodan and stuff. why do you resist 'the many', warren?
Thief 4! (except for make it a bit more like 1 and 2 and not as much like 3)
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
That should read: Not only is the italic <I> tag not deprecated in HTML 4.01 Strict, but abusing <em> to get a presentational effect at odds with its semantic meaning (for emphasis) is wrong. That's the same kind of abuse as using <table> for page layout instead of tabular data.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
I'm only being obsessive about saying the italic tag is legal in Strict as it was a previous point of contention.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
My guess is that, since "From the article:" sections were historically wrapped with the italic tag, the redesigner decided that they needed to be called out better, so to work with old submissions decided to get the appearance he wanted by repurposing the I tag rather than risk converting all the old articles from Is to BLOCKQUOTEs or DIVs. In fact, as I recall it was a requirement of the redesign contest to work with the site as written not require database conversion.
And thus are we tied by the traditions of the past, however misguided.
Unfortunately, it would be nigh impossible to get submitters to use <i class=italic> for traditional italic</i>.
Oh well. At the very least, make sure tags get closed in submissions before going live.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: This man has produced many of the best games of all time. I can remember loading the demo version of Ultima Underworld on my PC many many years ago, and being completely blown away.
Spector is always pushing the boundaries of technology, storytelling, and interactivity.
Ultima Underworld I and II, System Shock, Thief, and Deus Ex. I still think System Shock was one of the most immersive experiences I've ever had in a game.
And Deus Ex 2... he was the studio head, but not the producer.
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Resisting 'the many'... why that almost sounds like Electronic Arts,.. erm, EA(tm). I mean they gobble up coders and studios like resources, only for them to be destroyed and absorbed into the 'greater biological mechanism'.
Back to SS3 though, I just wonder how well EA Redwood Shores will do with it! I mean, Irrational and Warren Spector are known for their depth in immersion and storytelling, and I'd rather have them be able to do it. But anyway, I'll just have to wait until Bioshock comes out in the mean time.
Are you local? There's nothing for you here!
This qualifies as a detailed interview? This is a two minute bump segment for PR, with no real information.
Wake me up when he startes NAMING the IPs he's working with and detailing gameplay mechanics, please.
man i wish i was you
I spent way too much time on UU1 in my younger days. I still have a notebook full of runes and lizard language somewhere.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
I'm not picking on Warren - I'm still not sure who he is or what he does. (I suppose I could read TFA, or even the stuff beneath the headline, but that's too much work.)
It's just that when a PR piece like this pops out, you generally want it to say something like "X has just shipped (buy it now) and Y is just around the corner (plan to buy it next year)." The "plan to buy 2 things next year" thing in this PR piece is a strange marketing message. Think "AIDA"...
Your mistake here is company!=designer. Sure, a company can work on multiple projects, but I doubt a single designer can work part-time on two completely separate new games and ensure both are top shelf. (If he is, he's likely just lending a brand name to the project or otherwise off-shoring the actual design work.)
Since it was a demo, your sense of being blown away had probably more to do with Doug Church's programming genius than anything else. I'm not saying it wasn't a great game, it was, but the "wow" factor you describe can't really be soley attributed to Mr. Spector.
Don't get me wrong. The joy of all those games is that the programming was cutting edge, the art is amazing, the music is inspiring, the story is well written and compelling, the environments are immersive.
It takes many skilled people to put together a game like that, and they all deserve credit.
But you throw a bunch of skilled people like that in a room and cook for 18 months and most of the time you'll end up with a train wreck instead of a masterpiece. Warren seems to be able to pull out the masterpiece more often than not.
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Heh.. I went through a Warren Retrospective phase about a year ago. I replayed UU1, UU2, Deus Ex, and System Shock. I think I have a notebook with lizard man speak on my desk right now.
I also went back and replayed SS2, which wasn't his production, but did a great job at capturing the feeling of the original.
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