In this latest exclusive Gamasutra interview, Robotron and Defender creator Eugene Jarvis discusses a multitude of topics, including the controversy that erupted over the arcade game Target: Terror and the XBLA legacy of his twitch game trailblazing.
In this excerpt, the arcade industry pioneer discusses the importance of introducing new types of experiences for game players within the coin-op space, as well as comments on what his company Raw Thrills is doing to address this need:
“It's very important to keep evolving. When you're a startup company, the first things you do are to try and hit the big targets that have historically sold well, and that you think you can do a better job of. We started out with driving and shooting games, then we moved to the motorcycle. The next thing we're going to go into are boat games and skateboarding games.
We're stretching the interface, and trying different types of simulators. I hope to get into the VR space, with headset games, in the not-too-distant future. The technology there is finally getting to the point where it's beyond the hype phase. In the early '90s, everyone was hyping it, but unfortunately all it did was give you a headache at three frames a second. Now, the technology is getting to the point where you can provide a high-quality experience to the player. We want to go into some of those more immersive areas.”
You can now read the entire interview, which includes more from Jarvis on topics such as global competition in the arcade market, the importance of graphics and licensing in arcade titles, and his own gaming tendencies (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites).
