Display MoreIntelligent Gamer's Fusion was a short-lived gaming magazine that kicked off in 1995 and closed up shop less than a year later. Luckily, that was exactly the right time to exist for a preview of Wing Commander IV! And this one has a great interview with Chris Roberts that talks about all the amazing projects that sadly never came about... Wing Commander V, Silverheart, Maniac Missions and even an Armada followup! From the March 1996 issue:
Mister Roberts Universe
Creator of the famous Wing Commander series from Origin, Chris Roberts has moved from designing and coding games to positions as a Vice President and Executive Producer for Origin. After some success in the British gaming industry, Roberts joined the company in 1987, and a year later he promptly produced Times of Lore, a number-one seller in 1988. The following year brought the first Wing Commander to gamers, and Roberts has had great success and fame ever since. With Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom, about to release, Intelligent Gamer managed to catch up with Roberts and spend some time talking with this giant of the PC games industry.
IG: What was the extent of your involvement with this project?
Chris Roberts: Well, I came up with the initial design and story. I worked on the script and went to L.A. to direct the live-action scenes. Mostly I worked as a producer. I didn’t do any of the programming in Wing Ill, but in this one I've done some. I’ve been rolling up my sleeves and working with the programmers to fix the bugs.
IG: So what was the difference between this major Hollywood style project and a more traditional game design?
CR: In the live-action, there tends to be a lot of people working in a focused manner—100-200 people working. That takes lots of planning and coordinating. It’s very daunting, but it’s fun. In a normal project, you would work with a “trainee” team for each game —often kids straight out of college. But here in Hollywood, you've got an experienced, professional crew. It takes away a lot of the limits you’re normally facing, and it’s a blast not to have limits.
IG: So how do you think games have changed since you put out the first Wing Commander back in 1989?
ROBERTS: The production quality has increased; the games look and sound better. It gets closer every year to being completely interactive. For me personally, as a game designer, you mature, you try things out. The designs are more subtle now. It’s fun setting the precedents for the industry. We're really Still in the genesis of the industry—things are nowhere near definitive yet.
IG: What do you think of the increasing encroachment by Hollywood into the gaming industry?
ROBERTS: Greater competition leads to higher quality. I don’t really see it as a threat. Most Hollywood companies just hire a couple of guys, put an interactive on the end of the name, and think they’ve got a game. It’s still got to be a good game, it’s still got to be fun. Hollywood has the skills to make great movies; I hope ['ve got the skills to make great games.
IG: When you first developed Wing Commander, did you ever envision that it would grow into the phenomenon it is today?
ROBERTS: Well, I knew it would be a hit. But if you had told me that I'd be working with stars like Mark Hamill, I'd have said you were crazy. Actually, we'd originally seen Mark Hamill as Maniac; it was kind of by accident he became Blair. When Tom Wilson read for Maniac, he was just so perfect for the role. But we had a hard time casting the lead, so we asked Mark to read for it. He’s that same kind of common-man hero, like Harrison Ford, and that’s what we wanted for Blair, so it worked out.
IG: So what projects are you working on for the future?
ROBERTS: Well, there's a product called “Maniac Missions" on the drawing board. As you can guess, it’s centered around Maniac. I'm also thinking of doing a multiplayer Wing Commander game, with much better intelligence than Armada [Wing Commander Armada). My next project is Silver Heart, a point-of-view action-adventure with a fantasy twist. It’s based on some of the work of Michael Moorcock. It will be a sort of action equivalent of Wing Commander. Wing V, which will probably be two years from now, will have a new engine from scratch. I want more detail: big asteroids you can fly around, like in The Empire Strikes Back, and big capital ships you can fly in, dodging girders and supports and things like in Return of the Jedi.
IG: We know you're very busy right now getting ready to release Wing IV. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us.
ROBERTS: You're welcome. It was fun.
