It’s really weird when a hobby becomes a career, because after a while you start to take things that once would have blown your mind for granted. This past week at Game Developers Conference I met with the creators of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XIV, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Mega Man, and Zork. Among others. It wasn’t until I finished up the last of those that I paused and did a double take and wondered, “How did it come to this?”
Not in a bad way. In a disbelieving kind of way. I’m just a stupid nerd who grew up in Texas and made a pointless joke website about video games for fun because I didn’t have anything better to do with my evenings, and now I’m having casual conversations with the people who inspired me. Working in the games press is a grueling, poorly paying, dead end of a career that isn’t so much “thankless” as “universally detested.” But every once in a while… it’s really great.
Anyway, some stuff I’ve published recently elsewhere:
- A preview of Gauntlet. Yes, it’s being rebooted. And it’s pretty fun. The ’90s and ’00s sequels didn’t do much for me, but I dig this new game. Too bad it’s not coming to any platforms I own!
- Mighty No. 9: A preview-y, interview-y kind of thing. Mostly famous for the amusing Dragon Ball reference at the end. Keiji Inafune is a funny guy.
- A big ol’ Koji Igarashi interview.
- The Anatomy of The Goonies, parts one, two, and three
- The Anatomy of Mega Man, part one.
I saw you waiting in line at GDC and wanted to come over and say hi because I enjoy your writing quite a bit, but then decided against it as you seemed wrapped up in your phone. Not sure what the proper etiquette is for times like that :)
“Too bad it’s not coming to any platforms I own!”
This is me regarding most indie games. I wish more indie devs would make their games for platforms other than PC and occasionally Mac. You want to make games that don’t cost tens of millions of dollars? The 3DS and Vita are very well suited for that!
Needs more David-after-dentist gifs
When I first got into game development in 2000, I worked for Capcom US. While not exactly the “Capcom” I had assumed from the outside, I did eventually get to meet the old school guys when visiting Capcom Japan’s headquarters. It was a surreal moment as well, but I found myself completely at a loss for words when I was told to ask them questions. Now I kick myself for not having really taken advantage of the opportunity. But I must say your interviews really get more of the kind of information I doubt a low level artist could have gotten back then. Please don’t stop hunting down these guys and asking then the questions we want the answers to.
Congrats on achieving so much in your “universally detested” career :). It’s a shame that game journalism is in such a poor state, but great writers like yourself always keep my hopes up.
Awesome interview with IGA. Man, that’s amazing, being able to talk with those guys. Wish I had that opportunity.
I’m a big fan of Gauntlet, I think Gauntlet IV is one of the undiscovered gems in gaming.
I like the top down view of the new game, but the visuals in screen shots are pretty disappointing. In the 1985 original, the original cabinet and in Gauntlet Legends the game is pretty vibrant. I’m not a fan of the subdued browns WB is going with. But the game is more important than the graphics.
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Also the preview mentions friends winning Gauntlet. I’m largely ignorant on this point, I thought original Gauntlet was a high score game. Can I or II be won? I’ve never played III but I know IV has an ending.
No, It’s just fantasy.