How did you get into the games industry? I started working on amateur projects and simple freeware text-adventure games when I was about 12. My first professional job was with 3D Realms working on Duke Nukem 3D projects. Having had business experience previously, I partnered with some talented people to create our own studio. Since Gearbox began, we have shipped three titles in three years, all of which have been Top 10 with PC Data. Half-Life and its modifications are currently the most played online action games of all time.
What computer do you use? My primary machine is a 933MHz Pentium 3 with 256MB of RAM, a GeForce 2 video card using Win 98. The first computer I programmed on was a Timex/Sinclair 1000. I started to get serious on a homebrew CP/M-based computer my father built. I was into Commodore 64 and 128 for a while. We got an 8086 and I have been stepping up with Intel ever since. The most profound computing moment I had was when we got our hands on an EGA card: 16 colors on a PC - unbelievable!
Any contemporary games you wish you'd had a hand in? I'd enjoy working with Rare on a platform game like Banjo-Kazooie. It would be nice to contribute to the new Doom game from id Software. Grand Theft Auto 3 is similar to a concept Greg Civiello and I came up with in college.
Favourite games? On the PC chronologically: Colossal Cave Adventure, NetHack, the Ultima series, Doom and Half-Life. For console games: Super Mario Bros. 2, Shining in the Darkness, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Banjo-Kazooie and Chrono-Cross. My lists tend to change based on what games I am working on.
Is it getting harder to be original with computer games? I think it is getting harder to not be original! There's a lot of choice in the market, so we need to differentiate ourselves if we hope to stand out. It's also very important to be grounded in something that can be understood by fans. It's important to be original, but not too original.
Favourite sites? www.shacknews.com, www.bluesnews.com and www.ign.com. I used to like Daily Radar's news format and broad coverage. It would be nice to see someone properly fill that gap.
What's in the future for gaming? The oft-quoted Arthur C. Clark once wrote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." As we become more advanced in our technology, you'll have a harder time discerning the simulation of reality from actual reality.
Visit: www.gearboxsoftware.com
