Behind the scenes @ Warhawk: because devving’s a cluster–
By now you’ve heard that Warhawk might be downloadable-only again, and must be spewing endless WTFs. Right now you’re demanding answers to all this confusion. Turn down the amp. We can point to this recent 1UP interview with Incognito director Dylan Jobe to feed some of that demand.
It may not answer all the confusion, but dang it, it is an answer, and it is from the guy on top of Warhawk. The full interview is at the Via link below; we just picked some highlights to show you that working on a title and making it Grade A is such a Herculean task, and sometimes it becomes thankless.
We sometimes wonder what it takes to endure in this business, no matter how painful it can get…
If you’re not in the top ten, don’t play. That’s true. And we wanted have the best of both worlds. Quite honestly, if we were to continue down our single-player/multiplayer approach, it would have resulted in not as good single player or not as good multiplayer. Because it’s a matter of juggling resources and attention and polish and all of that. It was definitely a painful decision for me. But it’s one that I can sleep well with at night, because I’m a gamer…
But right now, we’re really trying to keep our eye on the ball and get multiplayer hyper polished, looking good, and playing great – really hit that value for the player. All that single player technology… those are all investments, whether it’s Warhawk stuff in the future or some other title… But again, ultimately, when you put it together, it wasn’t going to stand out. So we needed to play to our strengths. In the future, if the executives at Sony want us to do something like that, certainly, we’d be completely open to it.
And he’s not into all of that “Pay twice for the disc” thing – hallelujah…
One thing – and I really want to stress this – it’s not like single player is in the game and we’ll unlock it if you pay. That’s just wrong in my opinion. Actually, today, people were asking “So is there stuff hidden in there that you have to pay for and you unlock?” That’s bulls***! You buy a game. Whatever price or format Sony decides to sell Warhawk for. They bought a game. Don’t screw the player.
I’m tired of rumors starting…
The rest of the highlights – starting with rumor-mongering and PR nightmares – after the jump. You want to hear Lindsay Lohan sing, try visiting MTV.com instead.
By now you’ve heard that Warhawk might be downloadable-only again, and must be spewing endless WTFs. Right now you’re demanding answers to all this confusion. Turn down the amp. We can point to this recent 1UP interview with Incognito director Dylan Jobe to feed some of that demand.
It may not answer all the confusion, but dang it, it is an answer, and it is from the guy on top of Warhawk. The full interview is at the Via link below; we just picked some highlights to show you that working on a title and making it Grade A is such a Herculean task, and sometimes it becomes thankless.
We sometimes wonder what it takes to endure in this business, no matter how painful it can get…
If you’re not in the top ten, don’t play. That’s true. And we wanted have the best of both worlds. Quite honestly, if we were to continue down our single-player/multiplayer approach, it would have resulted in not as good single player or not as good multiplayer. Because it’s a matter of juggling resources and attention and polish and all of that. It was definitely a painful decision for me. But it’s one that I can sleep well with at night, because I’m a gamer…
But right now, we’re really trying to keep our eye on the ball and get multiplayer hyper polished, looking good, and playing great – really hit that value for the player. All that single player technology… those are all investments, whether it’s Warhawk stuff in the future or some other title… But again, ultimately, when you put it together, it wasn’t going to stand out. So we needed to play to our strengths. In the future, if the executives at Sony want us to do something like that, certainly, we’d be completely open to it.
And he’s not into all of that “Pay twice for the disc” thing – hallelujah…
One thing – and I really want to stress this – it’s not like single player is in the game and we’ll unlock it if you pay. That’s just wrong in my opinion. Actually, today, people were asking “So is there stuff hidden in there that you have to pay for and you unlock?” That’s bulls***! You buy a game. Whatever price or format Sony decides to sell Warhawk for. They bought a game. Don’t screw the player.
I’m tired of rumors starting
At the same time, I think companies have to adapt – and this is any organization, not just Sony – to how quickly word spreads. The planet’s nervous system is evolving so quickly that any little tidbit of information – true or not – boom! It can just spiral out of control. And how do handle that? A lot of companies are grappling with how best to handle that ultra rapid, potentially tumorous PR stuff. Quite honestly, I can’t really blame people for spreading rumors. If they get a bit of information, in the absence of other information, they’re going to make s*** up or they’re going to extrapolate. You can’t blame them for that.
And what’s wrong with download-only?
With digital distribution, you’ve got arcade ports and stuff like that — but there’s no reason why it can’t be more HBO-esque in terms of high quality titles. I think there’s a stigma out there. Think about it this way: iTunes is very convenient. But just because iTunes is available now doesn’t mean that music producers say ‘oh, now we can do crummy music.’ Convenience is great, but quality always wins out.
But don’t worry baby, we’ll be alright
Jobe points out the following things as well: the tech you see in the skies and the ground of Warhawk is the foundation for the tech used in Calling All Cars. And Jobe would “love to see” a Twisted Metal running on Warhawk tech, too. They’re just busy with Calling and Warhawk, but who knows what the future may hold…