Gearbox CEO Hints at Next-Gen Projects

[Greg Tito]

Gearbox CEO Hints at Next-Gen Projects

The maker of Borderlands and Duke Nukem Forever doesn't want to use "gimmicks" in his games.

There's been a lot of talk this year about the so-called next generation of videogaming consoles. Nintendo will be first out of the block with the Wii U, still expected this holiday season, but it's an open secret Microsoft and Sony are also developing their own high-end consoles. Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Games, said in a recent interview with Gamasutra that his company is kinda sorta maybe working on projects for the new consoles, but - in a thinly-veiled knock on the Wii U gamepad - won't use features or controls he believes won't have staying power.

"We've got a few things going on right now that we haven't talked about but that'll appear later," Pitchford said. "I'm always excited by movement forward. Some of that comes from iteration with our software, and some of it comes from iteration with hardware, and some of it comes from invention."

Innovation is good, but not everything is a hit. "Different people make different stabs. Some of these stabs folks make become standards. Most of the time they're temporary gimmicks," Pitchford said. "I don't like getting behind gimmicks. I tend to like the things that feel like they can become standards, or steps towards standards." Motion control might have had some staying power - Gearbox made one Wii game - but Pitchford's not sure about the other systems out there.

Pitchford notes that his company had no games that are "Better with Kinect." "You haven't seen Gearbox do a Kinect - either a game or a feature - that is just taking motion control and mapping it to what could've been better done with a button or a joystick movement," he said before acknowledging his team just hasn't been able to make it work. "That's not to say that we haven't thought about how you could use what the Kinect does, because it's really awesome."

Many gamers are anticipating Borderlands 2 from Gearbox, dropping in September, but we're still reeling from the disaster that was Duke Nukem Forever. I wonder what projects Pitchford is cooking up for the next generation and if he will avoid the Wii U altogether to focus on the consoles from Microsoft and Sony.

Source: Gamasutra [http://gamasutra.com/view/news/174504/Randy_Pitchford_has_no_interest_in_nextgen_motion_control_gimmicks.php]

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[Mr.Mattress]

And that's why Nintendo made the Pro Controller! For Companies like Gearbox who don't like the WiiU Tablet and favor a real controller.

I highly doubt Gearbox will skip the WiiU, though I do believe they won't use the WiiU Tablet, and instead, make games that are Pro Controller only games.

 

[Jack and Calumon]

Wait a minute... Isn't Aliens: Colonial Marines going to be on WiiU? I remember it going to Wii U.

Answer? Yes, and it's also the best looking version.

Well... this is awkward. Maybe he's hinting at the Kinect 2 or something like that that comes with the Xbox 720, or something.

SPECULATION!

Calumon: All new consoles bake cookies!

[sub][sub]Gimmicky, but I would totally use that.[/sub][/sub]

 

[snekadid]

Wait a minute... Isn't Aliens: Colonial Marines going to be on WiiU? I remember it going to Wii U.

Answer? Yes, and it's also the best looking version.

Well... this is awkward. Maybe he's hinting at the Kinect 2 or something like that that comes with the Xbox 720, or something.

SPECULATION!

Calumon: All new consoles bake cookies!

[sub][sub]Gimmicky, but I would totally use that.[/sub][/sub]

He didn't say they wouldn't make games for the new consoles, only that he didn't want to make games using the new gimmicky BS that the Wii U's tablettroller is. Of course Nintendo is releasing a standard controller, they like money too much to make most game formats unplayable.

I fully support his stance, This latest generations gimmick based dick waving contest has done nothing but make me want to buy fewer games. I'm tired of paying to be a beta tester for something that doesn't make the game more enjoyable.

 

[Delicious Anathema]

Randy said that he liked the Wii U controller, he's most probably hinting at motion controls in general, with Kinect being the greatest offender.

 

[Ninjamedic]

With the gamepad, the only trouble you could have is if you've never used a touchscreen before. Apart from that, it's a regular controller. What exactly is the problem?

I'd say that the issue is down to a lack of promoting the concept of asymmetrical gaming. Apart from the platform adding thing in the new Super Mario, there hasn't been much effort to show off the real potential of the system, especially in multi-player.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

With the gamepad, the only trouble you could have is if you've never used a touchscreen before. Apart from that, it's a regular controller. What exactly is the problem?

I'd say that the issue is down to a lack of promoting the concept of asymmetrical gaming. Apart from the platform adding thing in the new Super Mario, there hasn't been much effort to show off the real potential of the system, especially in multi-player.

Here's one thing I think it could be really useful for: inventory management in RPGs. Imagine not needing to pause to bring up the inventory. Instead, you just look at the tablet and manage inventory that way. Need to use a potion? Just look at the tablet, select potion, and voila.

 

[Ninjamedic]

I dunno, there's plenty of games coming out that use that idea. Rayman Legends seems to have a similar idea, allowing the gamepad player to control elements of the level while other players navigate their way through. There's even that collection of Mii games they were showing off, where the gamer with the gamepad has to hide, while the others try and hunt them down. The concept is certainly there, and there are going to be plenty of games that make use of it.

For the time being I'm still hoping for concepts to help innovate more action orientated games.

Imagine Battlefront with one player having a RTS interface for example. The potential is there, I'm just looking for more encouragement of it.

Here's one thing I think it could be really useful for: inventory management in RPGs. Imagine not needing to pause to bring up the inventory. Instead, you just look at the tablet and manage inventory that way. Need to use a potion? Just look at the tablet, select potion, and voila.

I was aso thinking on the idea of an in-game DM. L4D with a player in control of the hordes, dungeon Keeper style.

 

[weirdee]

It would also be useful to issue commands to things while not leaving your current location.

And they could bring that multiplayer minigame from phantom hourglass back with the running around trying to avoid the darknuts while the person with the screen moves them around and tries to chase you.

 

[frobalt]

Once again, I've never understood this 'gimmicky' label surrounding the Wii U controller. Touchscreens are not some new, mystical technology. The DS is the most successful handheld ever. It used a touchscreen, and indeed, helped popularise the concept. Apple and other companies have made touchscreens standard practice with smartphones, tablet computers, and the like. This is decade old technology, and it's been proven time and again to work for games. How is having a controller that combines a decade old technology with the buttons and layout of a typical 'hardcore' controller in any way a gimmick? If anything, it's bringing together two established control methods that are known to work, and allowing developers and gamers to choose one or the other as they choose.

Honestly, the term gimmick is thrown around more loosely than entitlement.

You may have a point there, although it's debatable really.

I checked the wikipedia entry for gimmick [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimmick], and it says this:

In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature.

There's no arguing the part about it being a unique feature that stands out from the competition, however the relevance part is yet to be seen. This part depends entirely on how much the tablet controller is used. If it is often mandatory to use it to play games, then it's not a gimmick but a feature. If, however, you can play most games without using the tablet controller at all then you can definitely say it's a gimmick.


Comparing it to the DS has made me realise that, actually, the Wii U with the tablet controller is basically just a blown up version of the DS.

 

[JayDeth]

To be fair, Gearbox was given over a decade's worth of development garbage and told, "Here. Do something with this sometime before the next mass extinction. We really don't care what at this point." I like to think there's an alternate dimension out there where a fledgling Gearbox was given the duty of making DNF in the first place and it actually turned out to be a pretty decent game.

 

[Shinsei-J]

I don't know why but I read all his Quotes in a Grizzly voice and it fit quite nicely.
OT:

-snip

I'm in complete agreement with you.
Though by that definition I'd rather it be a gimmick.
Just an optional second screen/inventory.