TVG.SPEAKS...David Perry Feature
Derek dela Fuente
21/11/2005
The man from Shiny talks to Mr dela Fuente about the industry in our latest TVG.SPEAKS interview...
David Perry is British born and very much a part of the Britsoft scene prior to moving to the States to set up Shiny Entertainment, which has produced a number of innovative and stylish titles. One the few industry icons, he is respected by gamers for his forthright views and Shiny games always offer a new slant and are always technically cutting edge. Even if you are not a Shiny fan you can always appreciate the fact that their games try to offer a new take and try to avoid the formulaic approach whilst others teams go the safe route. Derek dela Fuente put a series of questions to David about his current views on the scene!
What is your main focus nowadays at Shiny Entertainment as their President?
Right now, Shiny is doing lots and lots of R&D work on next-generation consoles. Nothing has been announced. Keep your fingers crossed!
With the recent release of PSP and gamers looking forward to PS3 and Xbox, would you agree that the gaming scene has never been so vibrant and exciting? What are you most excited about in terms of the next batch of machines?
People forget that there have been several console cycles â“ I think I've worked on 23 different console systems already! Each new system means that we have more and more tools to tell the compelling stories we want to tell. These consoles represent great opportunities for even more realism, and better effects we've always wanted in games, such as true water and organic effects.
Being an Englishman in the US, do you still interact with many colleagues in the UK and do you see a vastly different mindset from US developers to that of those in the UK and possibly Europe? Also any thoughts on the decline of the Britsoft scene?
I don't get over to the UK nearly as often as I should ⓠfor one thing, the food is much better over there, believe it or not. You ask for butter here and you get a greasy, pale ⦠something. It's not butter, that's for sure. I want real butter, dammit!
"It's not butter, that's for sure. I want real butter, dammit!"
I think UK developers are more apt to take risks with their games, to come at things from a different perspective. It's not a vast difference, by any means, but getting that different perspective is a very valuable thing to have on any team.
The PC market (with its unsexy image) is steadily becoming smaller and smaller; do you ever feel it could once again become a trend setter or market leader since it has many things going for it!? Would you like to see a change in perception and more support from associated companies like Intel and others to make developers more focused towards the machine?
I don't think the PC market has ever NOT been a leader, especially technologically. Moreover, it's the PC communities with their free tools and such, is where the new generations of game developers are coming from.
I've heard rumblings about Windows Vista being interoperable with Xbox 360 games in the future, and about Windows Vista providing instant installs of PC games (no more tweaking settings). I think that would be key, the ability to get console-style plug-and-play ability on a Windows box.
What do you hope that the more powerful machines with better processing power and graphics will result in terms of game designs and ideas? Better processing has brought faster, smoother, presented games but actual gameplay and design has stayed basically the same. Do you feel there are many unexplored areas and itâs just a question of time?
"Now imagine you drop something, like a weapon, in the murky water, and you're struggling to find it before the giant dinosaur catches youâ¦"
I think in addition to new game types, the additional processing power will allow designers to bring more organic, real-world things and effects into their current game designs. Just the introduction of, say, well-rendered water effects, can change level design and open up new gameplay opportunities. I keep coming back to water as my example, but if you think about, just having characters walking around in knee-deep water, with the water reacting and splashing around them, gives a visual lift to an otherwise ordinary scene. Now imagine you drop something, like a weapon, in the murky water, and you're struggling to find it before the giant dinosaur catches youâ¦
Online gaming is growing but it has never reached the kind of penetration talked about especially in the UK and Europe. Do you see this has one big growth area in the next year?
Online will always be growing everywhere â“ it's still far, far more interesting to take on human opponents than AI bot characters. I think the lack of penetration in Europe has had more to do with cost than with anything else. Once those connectivity costs come down, you'll see an explosion of online play.
What do you feel has been Dave Perryâs contribution to the industry so far and who is the one person you most respect within the gaming scene and why?
I think someone else will have to tell me what my real contribution has been â“ I'm sure there will be lot of arguments over that one. I just hope I encourage more and more people to choose the gaming industry as a career, because we always need new ideas.
"I just hope I encourage more and more people to choose the gaming industry as a career, because we always need new ideas."
I have a tremendous respect for so many people in the industry, it's hard to pick just one. Miyamoto, Wright, Spector, Carmack, etc.
Looking ahead say 2 years what do you foresee as some of the next trend/s and direction for the gaming scene? Is it an exciting time for you and can you tell us what we can expect from your team in 2006?
Shiny won't have anything to show off for quite some time â“ we've only just finished Path of Neo and still need to take some vacations (preferably to places where they serve drinks with little paper umbrellas in them). Looking ahead, we'll see more online play (especially from the PS3), more organic environments (look at King Kong) and more intelligent movie/game crossovers (King Kong, Matrix).
TVG would like to thank Dave Perry for offering his opinions on the industry. Shiny Entertainmentâs latest title The Matrix: Path of Neo is out now for Xbox, PlayStation2 and PC.
