Interview with Lorne Lanning (Oddworld creator)

skankerzero

very good read about why he shut down the Oddworld Studio.

http://www.thehollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/video_games_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000884458

Thegodzero

Wow! He doesnt sound too happy about EA.

flaagan

my hat's off to the guy for giving EA the finger for being dicks about not marketing a quality game. And the fact that he held firmly to the IP is probably the only reason it wasnt ruined under EA's clutches.
however, i wonder whether his commentary can be carried over to the pc gaming market... sure we've got next-gen stuffs (i.e. doom 3, hl2, unreal engine 3), but those kinds of things are necessarily always *needed* for a good game.

mr.toast

"Video game systems aren't being designed to be conducive to development, creativity, or content. They're being designed to be cheaper for manufacturing. If movie cameras were made that way, you'd have a rebellion in Hollywood. But this isn't Hollywood and it isn't a movie camera; it's a videogame system and the public wants basically a $1,000 box but only wants to pay $150 for it. I'm not saying that anyone is guilty in this process, but this is the reality of the current climate for development in video games and where it's headed. And because the costs are higher, more ownership needs to be seen on behalf of the publishers and, quite frankly, I don't blame them."

so true

thomasp

i'm not getting where the point is in comparing a high end movie camera, aimed at a very small market of content creators, to a low cost, low end, mass marketed end-user game console.

anyway, i wish them luck. their stuff is so unique that i'm sure they will continue to stand out, whether it's the game- or the movie biz.

Moz

[ QUOTE ]
"Video game systems aren't being designed to be conducive to development, creativity, or content. They're being designed to be cheaper for manufacturing. If movie cameras were made that way, you'd have a rebellion in Hollywood. But this isn't Hollywood and it isn't a movie camera; it's a videogame system and the public wants basically a $1,000 box but only wants to pay $150 for it. I'm not saying that anyone is guilty in this process, but this is the reality of the current climate for development in video games and where it's headed. And because the costs are higher, more ownership needs to be seen on behalf of the publishers and, quite frankly, I don't blame them."

so true

[/ QUOTE ]

that's the console industry in at nutshell (nintendo mostly not included)

Foehammer

sounds like Lorne let EA win by driving him out of the industry. his great games will be missed

gauss

foe: well, it sounds like they still plan to make games, but not in-house. i think this will probably overall be a better move for Oddworld since he's clearly had ambitions about doing movies/tv shows for a long time, but i do worry about other people thinking that his view/experience of the industry is representative of the whole.

all in all a great read, however, very cogent to what any of us in the industry are dealing with. thanks for the link skanker.

rolfness

hmmm smart guy .. good luck look forward to the movie

oXYnary

[ QUOTE ]
but i do worry about other people thinking that his view/experience of the industry is representative of the whole.

[/ QUOTE ]

Other than Valve. Can anyone think of a example of this? (And even Valve at this time is still PC based)