Tycho
Wanna-Be Webmaster
Joined: 17 May 2003
Posts: 1041
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
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 Posted:
Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:27 pm |
With the sudden surge of cool Unreal Engine powered games like Men of Valor and Tribes: Vengeance we thought we would track down the man behind the smokes and mirrors, Adam Kahn. We fired off some questions to him about what he does and what he is currently playing.
First up, who are you and what do you do in the gaming industry?
I’m Adam Kahn and I handle PR for Vivendi Universal Games. Specifically, I work on the Tribes franchise, Evil Genius, Men of Valor, Empire Earth, and all our J.R.R. Tolkien-related games. In addition, I’m working on several unannounced titles that you’ll be hearing about soon.
How did you get involved in video games?
I’ve been a gamer forever. I guess I started on an Atari 2600 back in the day, but through the years I’ve played games on a TI 99-4A, Apple 2E, Apple 2C, Commodore-64, Amiga 1000, various PCs starting with the old IBM PC Jr., and of course all of the consoles from the original NES.
What games are you currently playing?
I’m splitting my time between Tribes:Vengeance, Leisure Suit Larry, Rome:Total War, the World of Warcraft beta, X-Men Legends, Fable, and Burnout 3. This is a great time to be a gamer!
What is your favorite Unreal game?
Tribes:Vengeance of course! I also have the benefit of being able to play SWAT 4, which won’t be out until next year, and it kicks ass.
What is your opinion of the state of the industry?
I really like where we’re headed. The pace of technological change is mind boggling. By and large I’m seeing a bunch of really great games coming out – just wait until you play Half-Life 2! I like that we’ve kinda settled the whole PC vs. console debate and decided that both are great. But we have a long way to go – PC games especially are still too hard to install and play.
What do you like about games currently?
There are specific things about specific games that I love. I love that the Sims 2 seems to have done exactly what it needed to do to make the game fun again. I love the epic scope of Rome: Total War. I love playing Tribes:Vengeance online! I love how frickin funny Leisure Suit Larry is. I love immersing myself in the X-Men world.
What don't you like?
There’s not much I don’t like. I wish more gamers had DVD-ROM drives so I wouldn’t have to keep swapping CDs during installs! I wish I didn’t have to spend $500 on a new video card if I want to stay on the cutting edge. I wish HALO 2, Half-Life 2, and World of Warcraft would come out sooner!
What do you see in the future for games?
This probably isn’t sage wisdom, but I see the games industry becoming more like the movie industry in certain ways. I think we’ll see the growth of the “event game” – between DOOM 3, HALO 2, and Half-Life 2 you already see it. Kids are going to line up around the block to get at these games on day 1 and sales will exceed box-office numbers on the first weekend. So we’ll see a bunch of games try to match that level of hype, but at the same time I think there’s still a market for high-quality niche titles that don’t necessarily get that kind of buzz. Just look at what Katamari Damacy is doing – what a whacky, crazy game! And yet everyone who plays it can’t get enough. Kohan is another great example – it doesn’t get the hype that other RTS games get but it’s still a great game and it attracts a very passionate audience. I hope the industry can continue to support these sorts of projects. Some cool insight from an industry insider. I want to say thanks again for taking the time out to talk to us. |
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