eumenides_blog (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} eumenides_blog) wrote,@ 2006-06-21 09:26:00 |
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Eumenides Q&A
Wow, this game is really dark. Do you think this will have mass appeal?
Not necessarily, but I think the people who do buy it will be very happy about it.
Why did you make a game this dark and hopeless?
I wanted to make some observations on the concept of intelligent design.
This doesn’t even seem like a roleplaying game. It seems more like a kind of board game or parlor game. Does that bother you?
No. Why carry around preconceptions of what a game is supposed to be? Writing it as a game made presenting the setting in depth less awkward than writing it as a novel with big chunks of infodump, and gives people a way to really enjoy and interact with the setting and not just read about it.
Why would you spend a year writing a game that isn’t going to be a major success?
I just did a game that was a mass-market success, or as much of one as you’ll get in gaming these days. Why be repetitive?
You’re a big public proponent of measuring success by the reception the market gives a product. What gives?
This question has two answers:
First, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Even seen from a strictly commercial standpoint, my long-term development as a creator is more important than making a haul on each and every project. Taking into account that I have only one life to live, it seems extremely counterproductive not to enjoy myself occasionally.
Second, as I said before, I think “the market” for this product will be very enthusiastic. This is a game done by someone who is a fan of the genre deliberately setting out to address the shortcomings of previous efforts. It is just a relatively narrow market. If you don’t like the writing of Ligotti, Lovecraft and / or Barker, you probably won’t like this game, and I don’t feel compelled to sell it to you.
Isn’t that poor marketing?
Only if selling my game to people who wouldn’t like it is somehow “good” marketing. I hate the way people in gaming are expected to go around on bended knee shilling to each and every person they meet how they “need” this product. I mean really – you play the warrior-slaves of transhuman demon-gods. You either want that or you don’t. If you don’t, go spend your money on something you’ll enjoy more.
Wow, this game is really dark. Do you think this will have mass appeal?
Not necessarily, but I think the people who do buy it will be very happy about it.
Why did you make a game this dark and hopeless?
I wanted to make some observations on the concept of intelligent design.
This doesn’t even seem like a roleplaying game. It seems more like a kind of board game or parlor game. Does that bother you?
No. Why carry around preconceptions of what a game is supposed to be? Writing it as a game made presenting the setting in depth less awkward than writing it as a novel with big chunks of infodump, and gives people a way to really enjoy and interact with the setting and not just read about it.
Why would you spend a year writing a game that isn’t going to be a major success?
I just did a game that was a mass-market success, or as much of one as you’ll get in gaming these days. Why be repetitive?
You’re a big public proponent of measuring success by the reception the market gives a product. What gives?
This question has two answers:
First, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Even seen from a strictly commercial standpoint, my long-term development as a creator is more important than making a haul on each and every project. Taking into account that I have only one life to live, it seems extremely counterproductive not to enjoy myself occasionally.
Second, as I said before, I think “the market” for this product will be very enthusiastic. This is a game done by someone who is a fan of the genre deliberately setting out to address the shortcomings of previous efforts. It is just a relatively narrow market. If you don’t like the writing of Ligotti, Lovecraft and / or Barker, you probably won’t like this game, and I don’t feel compelled to sell it to you.
Isn’t that poor marketing?
Only if selling my game to people who wouldn’t like it is somehow “good” marketing. I hate the way people in gaming are expected to go around on bended knee shilling to each and every person they meet how they “need” this product. I mean really – you play the warrior-slaves of transhuman demon-gods. You either want that or you don’t. If you don’t, go spend your money on something you’ll enjoy more.
