Tag: Interviews

Justin Leeper Talks Still Man Fights

Some of you know Justin Leeper as an old Game Informer editor. Some of you know him from his writing in the SmackDown vs. Raw videogame series. A few of you know him from his comments on this very site. Now you can meet Justin Leeper, author of Still Man Fights!

In this interview, Justin Leeper talks about Still Man Fights and how his experiences in gaming, pro-wrestling, stunt choreography, and writing came together in the book. Find out why people are saying that it’s great for A Game of Thrones Fans and how the book’s fight scenes are similar to combat in Infinity Blade.

Kindly check out the interview and if you dig what Justin has to say then please check out his book.

Insomniac Games Ted Price Speaks…and You Should Listen

Here’s my interview with Insomniac Games president & CEO Ted Price. My favorite part was when he explained why he wanted the original Ratchet & Clank referred to as a “character action game” instead of a platformer. Other topics include the company’s work on the Xbox 360, the socialization of gaming, and Insomniac’s 2011 lineup.

Confession: I really sucked in this interview. Thankfully Ted saved it with his great answers. As you can see, I wasn’t nearly as comfortable as I was during my Mike “Busta” Capps interview. I’ve known Ted for a long time and he’s a fantastic guy, but for some reason I kept thinking, “Gee, Ted Price sure is smart, successful, and handsome,” during the interview. As nice as he is, he can also be unnervingly awesome. Ha!

Mark Cerny Talks Mobile, Social, Motion, and More

Here’s an interview I did with the legendary Mark Cerny. For those of you not familiar with the man, he has been designing games since he was a teenager, working on titles like Marble Madness, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Jak& Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and so much more. Since he has pretty much seen and done it all, I wanted to get his take on newer trends in gaming, such mobile, social, and motion. As expected, his answers were interesting and insightful…which was great because I totally went fanboy in the interview. I think I called him awesome like 50 times. Ha!

Anyway, check out this interview with Mark Cerny. He is awesome.

BioWare Hall of Fame Tribute Video

It was a tremendous honor to watch BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk get inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hall of fame. Check out what the BioWare Docs had to say about this accolade. The legendary Bing Gordon, Cerny Games’ Mark Cerny, Incomniac Games’ Ted Price, Gas Powered Games’ Chris Taylor, Blizzard’s Frank Pearce and Paul Sams, Microsoft’s Don Mattrick, and more share their feelings on these two excellent people entering the hall.

Side notes include:

  • Don Mattrick revealing why Canada produces excellent game developers and pro-wrestlers
  • The doctors revealing which one of them is still a licensed physician
  • An innovative Nintendo DS developer imagining the doctors living like Bert and Ernie

I’m such a huge fan of these guys, both professionally and personally. I get warm fuzzies from watching the video and remembering the standing ovation they got from their peers during the awards. These guys rock.

Chris Taylor Talks Mobile and Social Games

It’s always great catching up with Gas Powered Games founder and CEO Chris Taylor. He’s hilarious, fun, smart, and interesting. Although he wasn’t able to talk about his upcoming games just yet, it was fascinating to get his take on mobile, social, and casual games. He seems truly excited by that segment of the gaming industry, comparing it to old-school PC game development.

Check out my chat with the excellent Chris Taylor and let me know what you think (please)!

Mike Capps Talks Epic, Bulletstorm, Infinity Blade, and More

Here’s a really fun and informative interview with Epic Games president Dr. Michael Capps. Not only is he an incredibly sharp man, but he’s also a super fun guy to hang out with. I’ve always been impressed with how nimbly Epic has evolved from PC to consoles to mobile. Capps addresses that issue, as well how Infinity Blade caused Apple execs to curse in excitement, Bulletstorm, his mother’s reaction to his shower scene in the “Bulletpoints” marketing campaign, Kotaku’s Brian Crescente looking like that guy from Deuce Bigalow/The Scorpion King, me punching Cliff Bleszinski in the face, and more!

Special thanks to RPadholic smartguy for his question about Bulletpoints!

EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich Talks Nintendo 3DS vs. Sony NGP

EEDAR vice president Jesse Divnich was kind enough to chat with me about the upcoming console war between the Nintendo 3DS and the Sony NGP. As the #1 analyst in the videogame business, IMHO, Jesse’s opinion is meaningful and powerful. He also answered one of RPadholic bsukenyan’s excellent questions. Naturally, I threw a playful jab a Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter…but it was all in jest. Check it out (please)!

Perrin Kaplan Talks Nintendo 3DS, Mario, and More

It was excellent catching up with Perrin Kaplan at DICE 2011. Currently the principal at Zebra Partners, Kaplan is the former vice president of Nintendo of America. She gave her thoughts on how Nintendo is doing these days, as well as the Nintendo 3DS. She also shared her favorite Mario moment and told a precious story about Shigeru Miyamoto’s first time at GDC. I also wanted to spotlight some of the cool charity work she does with Saving Great Animals. Check it out (please)!

P.S. It was actually Perrin’s birthday yesterday. I’m sure she’d appreciate any warm wishes you’d like to send her.

PadCast: Wired’s Chris Kohler Tells You All About Final Fantasy XIII

Wired’s Chris Kohler is the latest RPad.tv PadCast guest and you’ll want to pay attention as he talks about his experience with the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII. Kohler talks about the game’s music, battle system, graphics, linearity, funky “gestalt” system, and more. While he’s a big fan of the music and graphics, he’s not too keen on the “hands off” gameplay. He also compares heavy hand holding in FFXIII to Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain.

As many of you know, the U.S. version of the game comes out next week, but if you’re still not sure if FFXIII is for you then you’ll want to hear Kohler criticize the game. It definitely sounds like the most polarizing Final Fantasy game in years! Oh yeah, Kohler also reveals why you’re on crack if you think you’re expecting a Final Fantasy VII remake with Final Fantasy XIII graphics.

PadCast: BioWare’s Dr. Greg Zeschuk Talks Games, Social Media, Fitness Titles, and Being Awesome

BioWare’s Dr. Greg Zeschuk completely rules. He truly is one of my favorite people in the business (as is his partner in crime, Dr. Ray Muzyka). After the diabolical Chris Taylor missed our interview session at DICE 2010, Dr. Greg was there to save the day. Naturally I asked him about the crazy three months BioWare has had, with two giant games — Dragon Age: Origins Awakenings and Mass Effect 2 — released in short period of time. The good doctor revealed which characters he used in Dragon Age. I also asked him about BioWare’s efforts to extend its properties through web games, Facebook games, iPhone titles, books, and more.

Since he was a practicing physician before starting up one of the best development houses in the business, I wanted to get Dr. Greg’s view on games like Wii Fit and EA Sports Active. This led to a pretty cool tangent about performing remote operations with Wii-like controls. The interview ends a little abruptly because the press room was being shut down, but it was an absolute pleasure chatting with Dr. Greg and I think you’ll enjoy our chat.

(Yes, it sounds like I’m totally kissing his ass, but I’ve known Greg and Ray for several years. I assure you that my fondness is genuine.)