Interview: Bill Kunkel — The Game Doctor - Page 7

RF: I agree especially with longer dev cycles. Two to three years to make a proper game in a five-year lifecycle isn't enough.

BK: Of course it isn't. As you say, we're looking at development cycles that are longer than most films and yet, even if you start development on the first day the system launches, you have to sweat as to whether it'll still be the "hot" system by the time your software arrives — or will the company be trumpeting its Next Big Thing?

RF: Most films? Almost every film! unless you develop EA games, they shit those glorified upgrades out fast.

BK: True, but remember the screenwriting process is generally not included in movies.

RF: True that. I'm a filmmaker and I definitely know what you're talking about! Is a woman's place in the kitchen or online playing you in Halo?

BK: If it's Halo, she's probably kicking my ass. I don't like that game — rather play Goldeneye (the original). But you bring up a crucial point. The demographic breakdowns are indicating a world that is pretty much 50-50 male and female. Designers are going to need new paradigms, such as Will Wright, who is a genius, created The Sims. Women aren't satisfied by a rail gun and a bunch of zombies; they want something different and game designers better be thinking about what that is — especially the female designers.

RF: I find it strange that women didn't pick up on gaming especially early on. You always had violent stuff but some of the biggest games Pong, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Mario, and Sonic seemed to appeal to men and women.

BK: I think that it's a major misconception that women and girls didn't enjoy videogames back in the early days. Centipede was huge among the female audience, and of course Pac-Man was as well, but women tended to play primarily at arcades, as a "night out" thing. The idea of tying a videogame system to their TV set and sitting there for hours wasn't quite so appealing.

RF: How do you feel about arcades drying up? Will they ever come back?

BK: Not until they find a way to offer something that you can't get at home — and at a reasonable price. We have a Gameworks here in Vegas and it's a really great arcade but man, those credit cards they sell you to play the games dry up fast and you just can't spend the kind of time and money learning to master a game that you did in the old days. Also, the arcades are so clogged with those mindless redemption games and even the videogames are all kits, whereas every coin-op back in the day was designed to be a unique unit, from controls to monitor type to cabinet design. Now they're mostly glorified home systems, big Neo-Geos.

Article Author: Rob Faraldi

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