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From The desktop of Seth182:
Interview with a Videogame Developer
Hey Gamers! I recently did an interview with Brett Evan Russell, Vice president of Terminal Reality Inc. (TRI) Terminal Reality is one of the premier Dallas based videogame developers committed to multi-platform gaming. Founded in 1994, Terminal Reality has achieved acclaim for the technical proficiency the company has displayed under the wizardry of Mark Randel, the company's President and the creator of the world famous Flight Simulator engine by Microsoft. The company creates computer and videogame titles for a variety of top publishers and uses state of the art proprietary technology. You may know they from such games as Monster Truck Madness, Monster Truck Madness 2, Nocturne, FLY! All the Blair Witch series games, 4x4 Evolution, and the recently released 4x4 Evolution 2. (www.4x4evo.com) They have also just teamed up with Jeep to bring you the new, Jeep 4x4 Adventure. A trailer of this can be seen at Jeep.com. Now on with the interview!
CVN: Evan, what is your job position at TRI?
I am Vice President of Terminal Reality. I used to be part of the production teams here, and took over the VP role in the summer of 2001. Mark Randel is the President and programming super-genius, so most of his time is spent programming and moving our technology forward, and my time is spent running the company, managing all of the day to day items, supervising the producers and projects, and relationships with publishers to include contract negotiation, and finding new publishers or projects for TRI.
CVN: In your opinion, what do you think will become of PC and console gaming?
Although this won't make your readers very happy - the truth is that PC gaming is squeaking out its last death rattle. Sure, there will always be games on the PC, but the console market is where most developers - therefore most games - are going. Sure, you will have "Diablo 20","The Sims - The Next Generation", and "Unreal something or another" on PC, but most developers have seen the writing on the wall (and in their pocketbook) and see that consoles are better to develop for (known and unchanging hardware), and are more profitable (MUCH less pirating). Although there is some pirating going on in reference to consoles, it isn't a fraction of what happens with PC games. Although most kids think that downloading a game doesn't hurt anyone, it hurts the gaming companies and the publishers. If games are no longer profitable - which, believe it or not, the majority of the games sitting on the shelf are not - the developer or publisher goes out of business. This was obvious when we saw a large number of developers go out of business in 2001. It is funny when you talk to people outside of the gaming industry - they think, because a video game is on the shelf, that the guys who made it are rolling in cash and driving expensive cars. The reality is that unless your game is a "big hit" (selling 500,000+ copies), there is a good chance that the publisher has taken a loss on your game and the developer never earns back the advance money put forth by the publisher - which is already gone because you had to pay for the project to develop it. You may ask yourself "Why do the publishers keep funding these projects then?". They may take a loss on 9 out of 10 project, but the 10th project (if it is a big hit) will make up for the 9 projects that lost money for them. In the gaming business, everyone thinks they have "the game idea" that will be a big hit. Actually, it seems that everyone has a game idea they think will be a big seller. The reality is that, no one can actually tell what exact formula comprises a hit. It is a shot in the dark relating to timing, hype, the basic concept, and the quality of the product. If anyone knew what would make a good game, they would only make great games. Sure, there are lots of good game ideas. But, if they are implemented poorly, the best game idea in the world will not be a big hit. You can also take a "poor" game concept and make a great game out of it. Funding, the size of the staff, etc. are all factors in making a great game. I guess I got off the subject here... I'll go back. PC gaming, while it will always exist, is dying off and will shrink over the next few years. Console gaming is growing rapidly, and more and more developers are switching over to being console focused companies. The consoles are now powerful enough that gamers now get great games without the worry of upgrading their RAM once a month or buying a new computer every year just to the game that was released yesterday. Also, unknowledgeable parents don't have to worry about compatibility. If they get a green box, it just "works" on the X-box. The black box just works on PS2.
CVN: Say a kid in high school wanted to work in a gaming industry such as TRI or *gulp* Microsoft when they grow up, what steps should they take to do that? Any specific classes they should take in school or things they should learn?
The reality of the gaming business is that those who can get the job done, get the job. We have programmers and artists who don't have degrees, but do an awesome job. We also have programmers and artists with degrees who also do an awesome job. It always helps if you have formal training, but if you can give proof that you will do a good job (through a portfolio or sample code), you have a great shot at getting into a company if there are positions available. Some institutions (like the Art Institute of Dallas) have specific classes for people wanting to go into gaming. Those don't hurt - but make sure that you know the tools of the trade. If you are a great sketch artist but can't model in any of the standard tools used in the industry, you won't get the job.
A great way for someone who is interested in the gaming industry who does not want to be an artist or programmer (like game design) is through the QA or testing labs. Internal beta testers have the highest chance of moving up into the ranks from outside with the least amount of experience - as long as they kick some serious butt when they are testers and show that they are good workers with things to contribute to a project.
CVN With the recent release of 4x4 Evolution 2 (which I urge everyone who's reading this to check out ;) ) Do you think there is a chance of a 4x4 Evolution 3?
Sure. There is a really good chance that we will find a publisher to pick up 4x4 Evolution 3. We haven't been told by our current publisher (Take Two) what the sales figures are for Evo2, but we are confident that sales are good. There are a lot of things that we want to do in Evo3, and we want to have the time to do it right, so we are currently shopping for a publisher to pick it up. Take Two, although they have not turned it down they have not picked up their first rights to Evo3 - and Terminal Reality owns all of the IP on it - so we are opening the doors to new publishers for the franchise.
CVN: What is your favorite console and PC games? Excluding anything by TRI. ;)
I think the best game I have ever played (including TRI games) is Grand Theft Auto 3. Those reading this article, if you don't own a PS2 or this game, go out and buy both. The game is simply great.
CVN: Do you think the gaming industry will go any further then now or is it at it's peak in your position?
It is at a transition right now, and not a peak. We are transitioning to be console focused instead of PC focused. I think we have a long way to go, and that video games are far from dying. If anything, they are becoming more and more popular with each generation.
CVN: I'm pretty sure you said TRI is going to start doing games just for consoles, does that mean no 4x4 Evo 3 for PC?
Under the technical expertise of Mark Randel, we have developed an awesome engine where we can easily make games for PS2, X-Box, PC, and Gamecube. Because of this, we will be (most likely) continuing to release titles for PC - but instead of a PC game being "ported" to the console, it will be a console game "ported" to PC. Right now, that means relatively high system requirements for video cards if we target the X-box as the base platform, but I expect that a Geforce3 card will be a minimum card in future PC systems, so these "higher" system requirements will soon be a non-issue. The reality is that it will be up to the publisher. If they want a PC version, we will do it. We want to keep the PC gamers happy, but as I said before, publishers are looking at moving more to consoles and away from PC's because of the piracy issue. Hopefully, there will be a publisher that we can hook up with who will want Evo3 for Mac, PC, X-box, Gamecube, and PS2 who will be willing to give us the time and the funding to make it awesome on all platforms.
CVNI know it's hard to have to put up with the kids causing trouble on the message boards , but do you think people have higher expectations of you to handle the trouble makers just because you work in TRI?
Yes. If TRI were running a message board, I could see how this expectation would be realistic. The reality is that the message boards where TRI employees hang out are all privately run, and they are not there as "official TRI representatives". We are all there as members of the community. No employee here is required at any time to go out into the community and answer questions and help troubleshoot, they just do it on their own personal time (if they wish) out of a sense of loyalty to the community. Therefore, they shouldn't be held to any higher standard than any other member of that gaming community. Unfortunately, most of the "trouble makers" can't process this... but hey - they are there to make trouble any how so why waste the time trying to explain that to them. They aren't going to listen anyhow ;-)
CVN: How Long have you worked with TRI?
I have been working with TRI since 1999, and I have been working in the software development industry since 1989.
CVN: How is Ally, Allen, Tatum, and John doing? :-)
They are all doing quite well. John and his wife just had their first child yesterday. A baby boy. He is quite happy. Ally and Allen work on John's team, and they are working on a very exciting project (not Evo3 - a different project we can't talk about yet). Tatum is doing well - she has been promoted in the company and has taken on some additional responsibilities.
CVN: Thanks for your time Evan, Nowadays it's hard to find people like you who work for the gaming company that actually get involved in the community. I don't see the producer of Angle Studios or the programmer for Lionhead posting on their Message Boards. Thanks again Evan and TRI, keep making great games!
No problem. I love what I do. I was a gamer myself before coming to TRI, so I understand where people are coming from who are not in the industry or do not understand the gaming industry. There are a lot of misconceptions, and I try to be honest and give out information to help dispel these assumptions wherever possible.
CVN Weekly thanks Brett Evan Russell, and Seth182 for their time, talent, and a great Interview.