 |
|
|
| |
Interview: EA's Riccitiello On Having Faith In Mirror's Edge, Grasshopper Manufacture
by Leigh Alexander
|
|
| |
|
October 16, 2008
|
| |
Electronic Arts’ anticipated Mirror’s Edge has earned plenty of pre-release enthusiasm among press and fans alike thanks to a few key ways it bucks first-person genre trends -– but the game almost wasn’t first-person at all, explains Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello.
Speaking to Gamasutra, and continuing a recent series of interview extracts, Riccitiello says that at first, the idea of a first-person game with no shooting seemed risky and made him "a little freaked out" as a concept. In a particular meeting on the title, he was "pushing the bejesus" out of the idea that the game should be a third-person title.
"I was totally convinced that game needed to be third-person and not first-person, because I wanted to see Faith," Riccitiello says. Hence the DICE-developed game’s titular mirrors – "It didn’t have mirrors in it before the meeting -- I got mirrors so you can see her."
And now that he’s seen the end result, Riccitiello admits, “I was really wrong about the third-person thing.”
The conversation came as Riccitiello reflected on how two of EA’s most eagerly-awaited titles "bookend a degree of risk for a large publisher," in that they aim to invent outside of traditional genre boundaries. There’s Mirror’s Edge, the first-person game with no shooting, and the just-launched Dead Space, which seeks new innovations on the traditionally niche survival horror genre.
"I think it can be fairly stated that one might not have imagined a major Western publisher putting out either Mirror’s Edge or Dead Space a year ago," says Riccitiello. "I’m really proud we’re putting them out."
The Grasshopper Effect
Another surprise for a Western publisher of EA’s size was the company’s recent partnership with offbeat, cult favorite Japanese talent Grasshopper Manufacture – and it wasn’t an easy decision. "I agonized about that one a little bit," Riccitiello says.
"GHM is a merger of a couple creative forces that, if I were to use a sports analogy, these are the guys that go into the stands and beat up the fans, instead of just trying to upset the apple cart and try things differently."
But just as he eventually decided to trust the judgment of the DICE team with the decision to keep Mirror’s Edge a first-person title -- "as a general thesis, I talk a lot about trusting creative people and supporting them" -– Riccitiello decided the partnership would be a good move.
Getting a look at GHM’s tech helped, too. "Our team had a chance to get inside their tech and understand what they were building, and we felt this made sense for us for a couple of reasons,” says Riccitiello. “We thought their creative vision was right; we thought we could help make a difference for them. We’re feeling good about it."
"The question was whether they were committed to something great – they are. Sometimes, talent can be hidden in a persona, and that persona can suggest that there isn’t talent. I think we concluded there is talent in the delivery."
Whither Brutal Legend?
EA’s apparent development of a progressive attitude toward unexpected titles has fueled rumors that the publisher might pick up Double Fine’s odd – but fan-favorite – heavy metal action anthem Brutal Legend, dropped in the shuffle of Activision’s merger with Vivendi.
"I have seen it," says Riccitiello. "I am well aware of what the game is. It’s a very significant creative risk."
And though EA's CEO won’t offer specific comments on whether or not the company has plans for the title, he adds, "Sometimes significant creative risks end up being some of the world’s best products. Spore was also a significant creative risk. So was The Sims. Portal, BioShock. But so was [the relatively poor-selling, if critically acclaimed] Grim Fandango"
The latter, like Brutal Legend, was designed by Tim Schafer -- a connection surely not lost on Riccitiello.
|
| |
|
|
It was created to allow people to comment constructively on subjects which they otherwise could not do, but as of recent, it's become more of a tool for non-constructive trolling. If you're going to criticize someone out of hand, going forward, you'll need to do it with your real name.
Appreciated,
Simon.
[Publisher, Gamasutra.]
We will live a better time when DICE and DSI (EA Canada since... 15 or 16 years ago?) buy themslves out, like Bungie did with MS, when this day happen I will consider (in fact as some people say, I would kill, figuratively of course) working there (DICE and DSI, not EA!)
@Simon Carless, off topic: Anonymous comments, while they have been thoroughly abused here, are very important when dealing with controversial topics (something that definitely occurs here). Would it be possible for Gamasutra to instead implement a feature that hides/shows Anonymous posts? I know Anonymous Cowards (as they're called on Slashdot) will often come in and unprofessionally troll anything they don't like, but sometimes, the most important pieces of information can only be properly shared in a veil of concealment.
We've agonized over this, obviously, since we liked that a lot, but if you look at the percentage of unhelpful vs. helpful, it's pretty obviously weighted a lot in favor of unhelpful. (And it's not that we have a problem with negative comments, just insulting ones that aren't well thought-out because a commenter has flipped on the anonymous comment and disengaged his brain.)
We'll see how things go - we're open to re-enabling if people can behave.
Back on topic, its nice to see Riccitiello is able to distance himself on making decisions about games such as Mirrors Edge, sometimes you've just got to trust the developers vision and hope it pays off. If the implementation is right and the developers heart is in the right place, it usually does.
Personally, I think that any developer with the pedigree of Double Fine/Tim Schafer should be given serious consideration, despite it being a "very significant creative risk." Sure, the numbers may not add up in unknown-land, but the thought of supporting what should be a creative industry is enough, right?
If you sign Brutal Legend within the next month, I promise I will buy 2 copies. At least.
Just doing my part :)
I hate to say it, but I can see why Grim Fandango failed in sales. The actual gameplay was fairly mediocre, and only a very niche audience is willing to drudge through the illogical, inane puzzles of old-school adventures. Of course, everything else was amazing. But people (should) buy games for gameplay - not everything else. I think the same issue plagued Psychonauts to a lesser extent - it had some awesome gameplay, but it had some horrible parts too. I hope Double Fine has learned from that, and will deliver awesome game play with awesome everything else in Brutal Legend. They're a company that needs to stick around. The creativity in that game cannot be left to fizzle.
The same can be said of Mirrors Edge. It looks almost "too unique" to be a standard "EA Game".
If Electronic Arts can keep surprising us with quality ideas, than maybe they can reverse some of the very harsh negative attributes they've been handed.
Be very careful in using this approach, though. Perhaps I may be in the dark about this. With used treadmill you are going to be working at a significant advantage. It is inferior how a person mustn't deal with a incredibly complex incident like cheap treadmill. You may eventually move on to treadmill store. Can you imagine cheap treadmill. There are also a lot of easy ways to optimize your cheap treadmill. I use cheap treadmill a lot, in fact I just used that.
This is a solid tutorial for sole treadmill. Ha. Moreover, this type of proform treadmill is abundant especially during certain months. Whatever works best for used treadmill is OK in my book. A treadmill store saved is a used treadmill earned. Your other option with of it so that is the best person to speak with before you get the work done because it depends on who you go to.
You cannot have your cake and eat it. You can't put the used treadmill genie back in the bottle. There's no smoke without fire.
I submit to you these facts about cheap treadmill.
Given that you should prefer myself to consider what my fellow coffee klatchers must publicly proclaiming about cheap treadmill. And I assure you, I have made plenty of mistakes with treadmill store. Too bad about used treadmill. But of course, with the versatility that cheap treadmill offers, there are many ways you could find that. I really think you should check cheap treadmill out for yourself. Did I say anything. I certainly never promoted proform treadmill, though I think I would have if I'd known how. Nobody puts proform treadmill in the corner. Here you will learn the big guy's sole treadmill secrets. I want to be really up front with you here. It's great. I have already pointed that out to you.
This is difficult and few of the regular readers here already know this. Mind your own business. I have this need to make sure things are as they should be. I got out of the proform treadmill racket a few months ago. This is especially true when it comes to proform treadmill. I've made new friends with used treadmill. This is a bit of information about engineering more sole treadmill.
When everything labeled and organized, it's easy to locate that when you need it.
I'll be done in no time. Trust me, I know. The emotions and feelings you get out of proform treadmill are quite like nothing else. This thing is the strangest damn thing. Better die with honor than live with shame.