Future Interviews i'd love to see (and reasons why).

Rogue Trooper · January 05, 2013, 20:26:48 PM

If there's 1 thing that stands out head and shoulders on this forum, it's the sheer quality of interviews you've obtained, so i'd like to start a possible 'Dream Team' of future interviews i personally would like to see and hope others will nominate the teams/people they'd love to see.

To start the ball rolling:

ATD (Cybermorph on Jag, Rollcage on Playstation etc).Why? they were involved with the debug tools for the Jaguar hardware and i'd love to know it shipped with so many crippling bugs, espically since in it's early days they were very keen to talk to likes of Edge about work they did on the hardware and how good it was, only to really lay into it, for being under powered/bugged towards the end of it's commercial life!.

System 3/Mark Cale:Legendary name when i was a C64 owner (Ik, IK+, Last Ninja Series, Tusker etc), but initally i'm more interested in the (later) games which DID'NT make it.

Bloodlust (effectively IK 3) PC+Ps versions planned, along with high res arcade version, game was a strictly 2D fighter, Cale claiming folk were fed up with 3D, it's just an effect, did'nt play as well as 2D etc.

16 characters, outrageous special moves, High Res.PC version would have needed 64MB of Ram (this is 1998) low res.version 16 MB's, PS version was said to be causing problems, but they were confident it could be done on the 1 MB machine.

Last Ninja on Playstation-lot of preview shots at the time, it kept the originals isometric 3D viewpoint and flip-screen, with 80+ screens per level, your character could freely roam, team said to be looking at interactive scenary, not sure wether characters should be sprites or polygon models though.Looked great lush enviroments and backgrounds, said to 12 months away from completition, but yet again, PS limited Ram causing headaches.

Wondering what happened to PS versions of both of these and any chance of them being dusted off for say a PSN/XBL digital only release?.

Over to you guys...

TL · January 05, 2013, 20:30:27 PM

I was actually looking to hunt down ATD as I am already in contact with one of their former graphics artists . . .

Rogue Trooper · January 05, 2013, 20:36:35 PM

Quote from: "The Laird"I was actually looking to hunt down ATD as I am already in contact with one of their former graphics artists . . .

Great stuff, i'm itching to get some questions off to these boys...

zapiy · January 05, 2013, 21:47:07 PM

Leave it with me. I have managed to bag a fair few contacts over the past few months. Don't hold me to anything though.

Rogue Trooper · January 06, 2013, 01:22:28 AM

Quote from: "zapiy"Leave it with me. I have managed to bag a fair few contacts over the past few months. Don't hold me to anything though.

:-) If you don't ask...you don't get.

Just throwing some ideas into the mixing pot tonight.

TL · January 06, 2013, 01:26:42 AM

I have quite a few contacts with ex-Jaguar guys as I planned more FTA articles after my Imagitec one

Rogue Trooper · January 06, 2013, 01:41:30 AM

Quote from: "The Laird"I have quite a few contacts with ex-Jaguar guys as I planned more FTA articles after my Imagitec one

I love to fire a few questions to likes of Minter (on subject of Defender 2000), creators of Hoverstrike and Rayman, as well as ATD.

Greyfox · January 06, 2013, 02:05:12 AM

A funny thing you mentioning an interview with Mark Cale , as I would love those very questions answered myself, and why they haven't yet to be ported or redone on present platforms, but what I'd really like to know is about his relationship with Archer Mclean, as when I spoke inept with him in 2009 about dealings and cut throat behaviour of system 3 in the mid nineties based on his court case against them, I'd love to hear his side of the story. That would be a page turner

For me I'd love and interview of Pat Ketchum, founder of Datasoft back in 1980, they did amazing software on the Atari 8bit, c64, and find out what happened to how they landed bankruptcy , as did last into he 16bit days of the Amiga & Atari ST

And this one is another unsung hero which deserves an interview , again worked for Datasoft, Mr.Ron J. Fortier , creator of Bruce Lee The game, I would love to hear if there where great expections expected of him to produce a game of such an iconic martial artist from datasoft and what the press thought.

Rogue Trooper · January 06, 2013, 11:41:45 AM

Sensible Software:Wondering if story of Sega rejecting MD version of Sensible Soccer on basis of 1 tiny error (Flag for Italy was'nt right) and the resulting delays, whilst issue was fixed, game submitted again for approval etc, meant that MD FIFA which was due to hit weeks after Sensible Soccer launched, got in early as it were.

Point Blank:On whatr became of Falcone:Into The Maelstrom (Xbox/PS2) a superb looking mix of arcade-style space dog fighting+FPS, all wrapped up in a sci-fi look, straight out of the pages of 2000AD.

Polyphony:Gran Turismo series, on THAT PSP G.T mock up shot that appeared around time of PSP's launch and then nothing until PSP GO was launched (was there ever an early PSP Gran Turismo being worked on?).

Also for such a flagship driving seies on Playstation, what was the focus on the PS2 games? the driving exp.or maxing out the hardware in terms of visual performance? found G.T 4 dual shock controls very twitchy (but then this might have been pads fault, as found similar flaws in PS2 FPS games), plus WTF was on with the CPU Driver A.I, routines seemed verey unchanged from PS1 era, the drivers were very meek, had none of the agression you'd find in other racers at the time.

You bumped into them, it all felt very limp, the impact physics were'nt wonderful, no car damage and i half expected the CPC car's to openlu apolygise.

It did look as all the 'power' of PS2 was being used on car models etc, which were fantastic (if a little too 'polished plastic' type sheen to them)-Was it a case of just was'nt the power to put in better A.I routines, or was it more a case of marketing could do wonders with running video/still shots, but great A.I harder to 'sell', so considered a much lower priority?.

Rogue Trooper · January 06, 2013, 12:29:23 PM

Appaloosa Interactive:

DC version of Ecco The Dolphin-Gorgeous to look at, but do you think the difficulty level was set TOO high?.

Using Tim Follin for the muic, as well as Tom Baker for narrator, were genius ideas, who's idea was it to use them?.

Just how much further do you think you could have pushed the Dreamcast hardware?.

Jaws Unleashed-Full of potential, but RUINED by an awful camera.Did playtesting NOT show this up?, along with the bugs/glitches that had you often get stuck in unescapable places.

Whole thing felt rushed to the market, was this the case?.

Rogue Trooper · January 08, 2013, 21:22:01 PM

Sandy White 3D Ant Attack, 1st? isometric game on ZX Speccy, if not 1st, def.jaw dropping.

Zombie Zombie-ability to deform+reshape landscape years before Bullfrog did it in Populous.

I, Of The Mask first person 3D on a Spectrum.

He's gotta be a contendor for a future interview, as has....

Jon Ritman (Matchday, Batman etc).

Shadowrunner · January 08, 2013, 22:21:28 PM

I think Trip Hawkins would be a good interview candidate. He's been around video games a long time founding both EA and 3DO and should have a ton of great info.

onthinice · January 12, 2013, 03:43:14 AM

Very good ideas everyone! I agree with Shadowrunner. I want to know what happend to EA. Madden Football is EA now but EA stood for so much more in the 1980's & 90's.

TL · January 12, 2013, 10:25:45 AM

Getting him wouldn't be easy though

zapiy · January 13, 2013, 20:14:20 PM

I am on it..