Seth Gorden

Warren Spector is my new favorite designer, as per the Gamasutra interview I just read.

When asked about the limited processing power of the Wii for his current project Epic Mickey, he said this:

“Constraints always push you to be more creative. I mean whatever the constraints are, whether it’s the constraints of a license, the constraints of a piece of hardware, I mean, no creative act is made better by being constraint free.”

And isn’t it the truth? This man gets it. A few fun facts that support this idea:

The Nintendo Entertainment System revitalized the Video Games industry in America after the Video Game Crash of 1983. It had only 56 colors and a central processor that ran at 1.66 MHz. That’s less than 2 mega-hertz, people.

The most successful game console to date, Nintendo’s Gameboy, had only four shades of gray and central processor that ran at 4.19 MHz. It sold well over 100 million units worldwide.

It turns out that a few bright colors and a couple mega-hertz were enough to revitalize an industry. A few shades of gray were enough to set sales records that top any console since created.

But why was it enough? (more…)

Software is a strange business, be it games or otherwise.

I was reading a recent Gamasutra interview with Square Enix president and CEO Yoichi Wada. They speak on the subject of mergers and acquisitions that the company has been through. Yoichi Wada believes that he is creating a larger family of creative minds, expanding resources, and giving the company a chance to continue growing. On the surface, I can see the idea of this plan. And, assuredly, based on the company wealth, you can’t argue that he’s completely mistaken.

However, he also asserts that Japan is behind (more…)

Okay, so it’s rant time. Everybody gets a turn. It’s the internet. Bear in mind that this is a rant, and therefore has narrow focus, for the sake of making a point and expressing thought. Ok. Ready. Go.

I want to go on an adventure. Who want to come? Everybody? I hope so. Now who is going to lead us? This is a question that needs answering. I’m going to discuss and pick on Square-Enix again, primarily because (more…)