Chris Taylor defends “reward players” opinion

In an email conversation between 1Up’s Patrick Kepleck and Gas Powered Games’ Chris Taylor, the industry rock star defended his stance on his opinion editorial published on GameDaily. Entitled “Reward Players, Don’t Punish Them!” the piece talked about breaking away from the mindset of complex gameplay and return to the roots of gaming.

Fun, according to Taylor, is the reason why people actually engage in gaming. Punishing players may be a tad frustrating, especially if a game balks at the less-skilled players. “I’m impressed that the industry made it this far with our carnival-style punishment system,” said Taylor at one point of his editorial.

Although his ideas have already been proven with the likes of Electronic Arts‘ The Sims and arcade-ish titles like RailRoad Tycoon, the impression he left was a confusing one. It’s no secret that THQ‘s Supreme Commander was a title created for the “core” of the gaming market – albeit more likely the fans of Total Annihilation. And when 1Up asked the game’s executive producer about this, he replied:

You are correct in that Supreme Commander is a “hardcore” game, but for the most part, it doesn’t quite lineup with the kinds of games that I was referring to. The theme and style of play is what makes it inaccessible in my mind, at least more so than the complexity of the rules and learning curve. Having said that, I don’t disagree, and personally will be working on a lot more titles that do precisely what my op-ed piece describes… rewards players and provide a highly entertaining experience, with little or no punishment.

I just want you to know that in no way am I contradicting myself… Supreme Commander was designed almost 4 years ago, and it’s just hit the market now. We have new titles in development that we haven’t announced that reflect this new philosophy that I can’t quite talk about yet… which I know you probably have figured out.

Does this mean Gas Powered Games might go casual soon? While likely, there’s no indication that they are going to drop the whole hardcore following just yet. According to some reports, there won’t just be another follow up to Supreme Commander, but a CGI motion picture (egads!) based on the franchise, too!

In an email conversation between 1Up’s Patrick Kepleck and Gas Powered Games’ Chris Taylor, the industry rock star defended his stance on his opinion editorial published on GameDaily. Entitled “Reward Players, Don’t Punish Them!” the piece talked about breaking away from the mindset of complex gameplay and return to the roots of gaming.

Fun, according to Taylor, is the reason why people actually engage in gaming. Punishing players may be a tad frustrating, especially if a game balks at the less-skilled players. “I’m impressed that the industry made it this far with our carnival-style punishment system,” said Taylor at one point of his editorial.

Although his ideas have already been proven with the likes of Electronic Arts‘ The Sims and arcade-ish titles like RailRoad Tycoon, the impression he left was a confusing one. It’s no secret that THQ‘s Supreme Commander was a title created for the “core” of the gaming market – albeit more likely the fans of Total Annihilation. And when 1Up asked the game’s executive producer about this, he replied:

You are correct in that Supreme Commander is a “hardcore” game, but for the most part, it doesn’t quite lineup with the kinds of games that I was referring to. The theme and style of play is what makes it inaccessible in my mind, at least more so than the complexity of the rules and learning curve. Having said that, I don’t disagree, and personally will be working on a lot more titles that do precisely what my op-ed piece describes… rewards players and provide a highly entertaining experience, with little or no punishment.

I just want you to know that in no way am I contradicting myself… Supreme Commander was designed almost 4 years ago, and it’s just hit the market now. We have new titles in development that we haven’t announced that reflect this new philosophy that I can’t quite talk about yet… which I know you probably have figured out.

Does this mean Gas Powered Games might go casual soon? While likely, there’s no indication that they are going to drop the whole hardcore following just yet. According to some reports, there won’t just be another follow up to Supreme Commander, but a CGI motion picture (egads!) based on the franchise, too!