Haze developer already feels at home with next-gen

Game developer Free Radical Design (FRD), started making a name for themselves when they left videogame company, Rare, Ltd., back in 1999. It has been a wild, yet rewarding ride for them  as they experienced changing publishers twice then got accolades for current-gen titles TimeSplitters and Second Sight. The next-gen console war partially begins with the Wii and PS3 North American launch next week, so it would be interesting to see if FRD could bring their winning ways to next-gen gaming.

Coming from a previous generation of videogames, FRD Director David Doak says they are beginning to get a hang of the next-gen craze. “We’re starting to enjoy it now. New products are going to be great and they’re going to turn peoples’ heads but it’s not a revolution, it’s an evolution. It’s an incremental step,” reflects Doak. He was then reminded on how their company first felt about making next-gen titles: “It’s like going into a new house and thinking, ‘Let’s cook dinner. But hang on, we’ve got no f**king cutlery.'”

Speaking of cooking and cutlery, we all know that any developer ain’t complete without a decent, if not an outstanding, publisher. It’s a developer’s main ingredient for success. Regarding that, Doak is more than happy about their relationship with their current publishers. “Ubisoft has a really great passion for what it’s doing, and real passion for the quality and the product as well, which isn’t often seen. With LucasArts, it’s just been a fantastic opportunity to be working with a company which has such a long heritage.”

Currently, FRD is working on the game Haze which is set to come out both for the X360 and the PS3. Doak is still unable to furnish any details regarding the LucasArts partnership. Anyway, the whole discussion then shifted to online content and it seems FRD is a tad suspicious regarding the matter. “It’s something that we’d really like to do. It’s the kind of thing that would help people’s careers in learning to go through a development cycle. On the flip side, I have deep suspicions about the economic side of it.” says Doak.

Game developer Free Radical Design (FRD), started making a name for themselves when they left videogame company, Rare, Ltd., back in 1999. It has been a wild, yet rewarding ride for them  as they experienced changing publishers twice then got accolades for current-gen titles TimeSplitters and Second Sight. The next-gen console war partially begins with the Wii and PS3 North American launch next week, so it would be interesting to see if FRD could bring their winning ways to next-gen gaming.

Coming from a previous generation of videogames, FRD Director David Doak says they are beginning to get a hang of the next-gen craze. “We’re starting to enjoy it now. New products are going to be great and they’re going to turn peoples’ heads but it’s not a revolution, it’s an evolution. It’s an incremental step,” reflects Doak. He was then reminded on how their company first felt about making next-gen titles: “It’s like going into a new house and thinking, ‘Let’s cook dinner. But hang on, we’ve got no f**king cutlery.'”

Speaking of cooking and cutlery, we all know that any developer ain’t complete without a decent, if not an outstanding, publisher. It’s a developer’s main ingredient for success. Regarding that, Doak is more than happy about their relationship with their current publishers. “Ubisoft has a really great passion for what it’s doing, and real passion for the quality and the product as well, which isn’t often seen. With LucasArts, it’s just been a fantastic opportunity to be working with a company which has such a long heritage.”

Currently, FRD is working on the game Haze which is set to come out both for the X360 and the PS3. Doak is still unable to furnish any details regarding the LucasArts partnership. Anyway, the whole discussion then shifted to online content and it seems FRD is a tad suspicious regarding the matter. “It’s something that we’d really like to do. It’s the kind of thing that would help people’s careers in learning to go through a development cycle. On the flip side, I have deep suspicions about the economic side of it.” says Doak.