Every industry has one. The free-thinking rebel that redefines the rules. He says what no-one else will say and does what no-one else will do. Fuelled by raw passion, he seizes an art form by the throat and drags it to its apex. What they invented, he makes it sing. His peers hate him but the public love his style. At once he intimidates and inspires; breaking down the walls that secure some yet block others. Welcome to MDickie.com - home of the games industry's first true 3-dimensional character! Whether he's the "hero" or the "villain" depends entirely on your perspective...
Look at this badass motherfucker, /prog/. You'll never be as cool as him if you only keep making toy programs.
Name:
Anonymous2009-11-17 21:22
Are we actually asking him questions? Okay, here goes:
- Why aren't you rich? Publishers like EA buy up independent game studios all the time. Valve, Activision, Microsoft... most of their first-party titles were originally by indy game studios that were purchased. Most studios fail of course, but you're awesome, right? Why wouldn't they want to buy you? Even if you didn't want to work for them, surely you could still sell them IP or license your technology?
- How do you plan to generate revenue from flash games? It seems your company has really lost focus lately; are you no longer able to fund development of serious game titles? Places like newgrounds.com have literally hundreds of thousands of free-to-play flash games; how can you possibly compete?
- I have to ask this question. What is the deal with replacing scientists with artists? In my experience in the game development industry, the game design process is typically led by very artistic and creative people; the stereotype you portray is just plain untrue. What on earth could you possibly have meant by that quote?
- Why is The You Testament filled with so many references to elements of false religions? Why does Jesus speak of 'chakras' and other such nonsense? Isn't this heretical, especially from a non-fiction game that is meant to educate?
- You seem to have done a mix of solo and group work. How do other members of your team feel about working with you, given your public indiscriminate contempt for anyone in the game development industry who isn't you? Surely you must have met some competent people in your time; do you still feel that you would be better off doing it all yourself? Or do you regret the things you've said about the industry? Why did you bother doing group work at all instead of staying solo and independent?
- How do you respond to the fact that most real innovation in video games has happened by a team of people from an independent game studio rather than a solo programmer/artist/jack-of-all-trades? Titles like Doom, Portal, Halo, and similar gems that redefined the industry originated by teams and could not have been done alone. These groups are not bogged down by bureaucracy as you claim the large studios are. Do you honestly feel you are as imaginative and inventive as a whole group of people put together?
- Your website claims that you're one of the most influential people in video games. What actual innovations or inventions have you made? What game mechanic have you invented that has actually been reproduced by a third-party developer for another game? What technical contributions have you made to world of high-performance graphics, physics, or related simulation computing?
Okay, this interview is losing momentum. Someone else take over.