CRITICAL///PATH Assembles Bleszinski, Kojima, Molyneux

[kitsuta]

CRITICAL///PATH Assembles Bleszinski, Kojima, Molyneux

An ensemble of influential game designers share their insights in a free video series.

Compared to their filmmaking counterparts, videogame developers are relatively obscure. Sure, there are a handful of vocal developers that many people can name - Cliff Bleszinski, Hideo Kojima, and of course Peter Molyneux - but designers like Irrational Games' Ken Levine, BioWare's Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, and Blizzard's Rob Pardo aren't as easily recognizable. Despite their games' popularity, the developers themselves don't usually get a lot of facetime with the general public. A new documentary is aiming to help change that, though, with a series of videos interviewing over 30 major game designers and writers.

The endeavor is called CRITICAL///PATH, and several of the bite-sized videos are already available [http://www.youtube.com/user/CriticalPathProject?feature=BF] for free on YouTube. The list of interviewees runs of the gamut of major developers, from old hats like John Carmack and Richard Garriott to upcoming stars like Ian Bogost and Jenova Chen. They discuss their games, issues in the industry, and why they do what they do. Each video is one developer - or two, if they're on the same team - talking about one issue that interests them. You can watch just the developers behind your favorite games, but all the videos should be of value to anyone interested in game development.

Besides being on YouTube, CRITICAL///PATH other videos [http://criticalpathproject.com/], lists the project's goal as aiming to "give game designers their due as innovators and influencers of culture." The project is two years in the making, with more interviews planned based on user feedback. The company also promises a full documentary film and even an accompanying mobile app.

Source: Gameranx [http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/8106/article/critical-path-project-provides-unique-insights-into-game-development/]

Permalink

 

[DioWallachia]

Get Amy Hennings, Edward McMillen and the guys that made ALL the Treasure games (Alien Soldier, Mischief Makers, Gunstars Heroes, Stretch Panic), the guys of SHINY Entertaiment (creators of Earworm Jim, Sacrifice, MDK and Messiah) and the makers of Tyrian (Jason Emery, Daniel Cook, Alexander Brandon and Robert Allen) and i will sign in to throw my money at the screen

And Kevin Bacon.

 

[DioWallachia]

Anyone else do a double-take when Kojima said....

YEES! YES I DID!!. MY EYEBROW RAISED SO HARD THAT SKYROCKET FROM MY FACE WHEN HE SAID THAT.

 

[Irridium]

Anyone else do a double-take when Kojima said he's NOT trying to tell a story?

I broke the ceiling with my insanely raised eyebrow when I saw that. It'll be interesting to watch his video to learn the context of the quote.

 

[Weaver]

I'm kind of offended Cliff Bleszinski, the world's oldest 12 year old, is put up here with developers that have something interesting to say. I'm quite critical of Kojima and Molyneux; but at least they're trying and more importantly, don't think an impossibly burly space marine shouting dick jokes are some kind of comedic and cultural epitome.

I just don't think he has a place up there with the likes of Muzyka, Kojima, Molyneux, Carmack, Garriot, Sid Meier and Will Wright. I mean christ, John Carmack invented algorithms to solve computational problems in computer graphics. The most famous is probably "Carmack's Reverse". This is a world used computer algorithm, that is used in all sorts of 3D rendering that Carmack invented so he could make his shadow computation faster.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Maybe Cliff Bleszinski has something interesting to say, AC10. There's something to be said for a childlike viewpoint, ever read Axe Cop?

 

[Shinsei-J]

Sounds promising.
I'm stoked that they got Jenova in on this, he had some interesting points about games stimulating intellect for adults in that Journey interview.

 

[elilupe]

I can't believe how happy this makes me.

 

[LostintheWick]

Idk how things work at their studios, but them getting face time and some sort of pseudo-fame is ridiculous. Teams make games... and usually without all or the majority of the ideas coming from an single individual.

I feel sorry for the guy who busted his ass for years on a title like Gears coming up with ideas and an interesting level layout/plan only to see most of the credit land with Mr. B.

 

[Palademon]

Kojima I totally believe you...

Anwyay, fuckin' subbed.

 

[kitsuta]

Idk how things work at their studios, but them getting face time and some sort of pseudo-fame is ridiculous. Teams make games... and usually without all or the majority of the ideas coming from an single individual.

I feel sorry for the guy who busted his ass for years on a title like Gears coming up with ideas and an interesting level layout/plan only to see most of the credit land with Mr. B.

Although many people do contribute to the design process, the lead designer on the team is the person who ultimately decides what goes into a game. It works the same for movies - many, many talented folks contribute to the filming of the movie, but it's the director who is accountable for the end result. Even actors, who often improve their character's lines, often only get credit for the acting.

For example, that level designer you mentioned could be really good at level design, but have terrible, terrible ideas for the game. Bleszinski is one of the few people who can ultimately say, no, your idea for a first-person painting mechanic is not going to be implemented. Being able to tell what will and will not work in a game is, I think, a much more vital skill than being able to make a good level or even being able to come up with good ideas.

Personally, I don't think getting the 'credit' is that great of a deal. You get praised if the game is good, sure, but if the game is bad people blame you. Eek.

 

[LostintheWick]

Idk how things work at their studios, but them getting face time and some sort of pseudo-fame is ridiculous. Teams make games... and usually without all or the majority of the ideas coming from an single individual.

I feel sorry for the guy who busted his ass for years on a title like Gears coming up with ideas and an interesting level layout/plan only to see most of the credit land with Mr. B.

Although many people do contribute to the design process, the lead designer on the team is the person who ultimately decides what goes into a game. It works the same for movies - many, many talented folks contribute to the filming of the movie, but it's the director who is accountable for the end result. Even actors, who often improve their character's lines, often only get credit for the acting.

For example, that level designer you mentioned could be really good at level design, but have terrible, terrible ideas for the game. Bleszinski is one of the few people who can ultimately say, no, your idea for a first-person painting mechanic is not going to be implemented. Being able to tell what will and will not work in a game is, I think, a much more vital skill than being able to make a good level or even being able to come up with good ideas.

Personally, I don't think getting the 'credit' is that great of a deal. You get praised if the game is good, sure, but if the game is bad people blame you. Eek.

I would agree with that comparison if my experiences up to this point didn't contradict this analogy. I'd say they are closer to editors than directors. Now I realize not all studios are run the same, but the amount of creativity required from any individual is substantial. The team hammers out fun ideas (the hard part) and the individual in charge simply says yay or nay. Now this is very important. A unified vision is very powerful (and mosty necessary for forward progress), but it's not as hard as one might think. It's not the meat and potatoes. It's just another cog in the machine.

There are exceptions to all of this, though. Some people really do just rock. But I'd bet my life savings on half those names not being one of these. Most are examples of one solid idea at the right place and the right time. Also, being able to retain the important findings discovered by many people through time and then regurgitating it on camera doesn't make you brilliant. It means your educated in the process.

Hmmm... what am I getting at?... Oh... so we don't need to make games into film. If some folks earn fame on their own. Fine. They deserve it. But we don't need to go out of our way to CREATE fame that isn't already there. It doesn't reflect reality and is harmful to the creative team. Most of us in the industry stay in the industry because we like to create in a collaborative way. We like it being a group process. It's different from film, writing, painting, etc.

Maybe there is a reason that up to this point, not much fame from individuals has been seen.
We don't need any more bloated egos or unfair distribution of wages.

 

[DustyDrB]

I'm loving the hell out of these interviews. Wonderful stuff.