That brought me back to the gaming industry. I'd noticed that in early interviews with him, he seemed very enthusiastic about being involved with computer games. Later interviews had a much more jaded feel to them, as seen above. And there was the fact that he'd been out of the industry for a while. I wanted to know what happened and why he left. "To be accurate, I didn't leave games, the games left me. When I was in games in the '90s, it was still a cottage-run industry, and now it's a bloated, retarded, perpetually adolescent rip-off factory.
"I've always been willing to make games out of my love for the medium, but the industry isn't really interested in telling good stories, or even making great games, for that matter. That's a generalization that applies to 95 percent of the gaming industry. Yes, you who are reading this right now; admit it, it's just a job, and that over-the-shoulder shooter you're making right now sucks, and it's going to be camouflage on the shelf if you [get it out by] Christmas. Tell your boss to hire me to fix it, and have your camera ready for when he gives you the bird. Save that picture, and when your game gets killed by bad reviews, send that picture to his share-holders, because he's part of the problem and I'm part of the solution. To quote the Joker: 'This town needs an enema.'
"If I seem like a grouchy old man, it's because I love and respect the medium of games, and I expect so much more from interactive content. It doesn't cost a lot to bring competent vision into a game company, but people don't want to spend $250,000 that will save a $16 million game. And it's not like in-house gamers don't know what they're doing, either. At every company, there are kids who can design their asses off, and they will not be cut loose on creation because they are too busy doing the Spider-Man 6 vs. Supertampon game."
What would it take to get him back? The answer is simple, he says. "Some company with enough money and clout to hire me to make something spectacular that is original, simple and plays well. I fart this stuff out every day."
If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire Shannon Drake.
