Developer Pop Quizis a weekly interview series in which we ask developers from around the industry the same 10 questions and post their responses.
This week's Developer Pop Quiz focuses on Alex Neuse, the CEO ofGaijin Games, and part of the team behind the acclaimed"BIT.TRIP"series. Alex's time in the industry has exposed him to some of the best and worst that gaming has to offer, but his love of games helps him soldier on, although he predicts a grim future for us all.
Name:Alex Neuse
Title:CEO
Company:Gaijin Games
Job Description:To create new game ideas and direct the team in its execution of those ideas
First title worked on:"Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith"
Most recent title worked on:"BIT.TRIP FLUX"
What game has most influenced you, and why?
Of all the games that I admire,"Rez"takes the cake on this one. I'm very intrigued by the exploration of spirituality and sensuality in games. And I don't mean sensuality in the sexual way, necessarily. Games that motivate the senses have tremendous impact on me."Rez"is almost perfect because of this. It's an action game. It's an on-rails shooter. It's a game we've played before. But the sum of its parts is much greater than its components. The way that the visuals evolve; the way that the music interacts with the action; the way that the story is told. It's all so sublime in its execution.
What are you playing right now?
I'm currently playing"Stacking"from Double Fine Productions.
What was your first break in the games industry?
After I graduated from college with a degree in Theatre/Film, I was completely aimless. I was in the perfect frame of mind, as a huge video game collector, to be offered a job as a Tester, or Quality Assurance Technician. A friend of mine had a girlfriend who worked at LucasArts at the time, and she got my foot in the door. I flew out to California for the interview and told them why they needed me; in those words. I was cocky, and I think for once it paid off. I moved across the country and have never looked back.
What's the best advice you've ever gotten?
Admit when you don't know something. It's a surprisingly empowering thing to admit when you're totally clueless. Because once you define what you don't know, it's much easier to find your way to something that you do know that can help you solve any problem.
Where do you look for inspiration?
Typically, I look to other video games for day-to-day inspiration. As a Designer, I nerd out on gameplay over anything else, so I like to actually get my hands on something to see where inspiration takes me. Aside from games though, music inspires me a lot, as does simply being outdoors.
What's the biggest lesson you've learned about game development?
Everything takes much longer than you think--almost without fail. To this end, coming up with an awesome game idea and making most of the game is relatively straight-forward. But finishing a game; that's another story altogether. It takes a lot of guts to actually finish a game. Most difficult decisions during development are made while trying to ship, and what I've learned about this is that simply making any decision is more often better than trying to find the one correct answer. When shipping a game, follow your gut and get it done.
What has been the low point of your career?
I think the lowest point of my career was when I was working 16 - 22 hour days for about seven months straight--usually on the weekends as well--on"Superman Returns"(DS) for EA. No game is worth working that much on. When I look back on that time in my life, I'm sickened by almost all of the experience. And what's most depressing about it isn't that I worked so much and missed out on life for an end product that isn't very good; it's that something in me broke because of that process. I am unable to care as much as I used to, and am unable to push myself. Working"industry hours", regardless of what anyone says, is damaging to your soul. I will never do it again.
What do you think is the biggest problem current games suffer from?
Current games suffer from a lack of imagination. I'm finding it harder and harder to care about first-person-perspective space marine adventures. I don't care about open world games anymore. JRPGs have become homogenized. If I match three gems of the same color again, I may puke. And the list goes on. Where are our"Katamari Damacies"? I want more"Icos,""Killer 7s,""Seamen,"and"Vib Ribbons."I fell in love with video games because you can experience things that are impossible with any other entertainment medium. Of course, there are still games that make it to market that are rich with imagination, but it used to be the norm. Now it's the exception.
What is the most important thing that has happened to gaming in the last 10 years?
4 years ago, I would have said Achievements without hesitation. However, as much as I hate to admit it, because I'm a console gamer through and through, I think that the iPhone and/or Facebook is the most important thing that has happened to gaming in the last 10 years. And I don't think that the changes brought about by the App Store and facebook are good ones either. Players' attention spans are down, they've lost the desire to pay more than $0.99 for a game, and everything is available all the time, from anywhere. These are big changes, and the industry has seen tons of growth because of them. Whether it's a negative change can be argued. But its importance to the industry cannot.
Where do you see gaming in 5 years?
In 5 years, I think digital distribution will be ubiquitous. I think that most games will be bite-sized diversions from life that will offer little in the way of personal growth for players. There will still be big AAA games, of course, but fewer of them. I think that gaming as we currently know it is dying.
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