Marc Ecko replies: My love for gaming starts with my love for comic books. I used to geek out in 5th or 6th grade with my friends, sitting around drawing up fictional worlds. One guy would write dialogue, I'd do the pen and ink. I guess my delusion to get into the game space stems from that love affair with the idea of being a storyteller. That coupled with how pivotal gaming was for me as an adolescent, playing my ColecoVision waaay back when or spending hours at a time at the arcade… I always dreamt of getting into the space.
But like most kids, it was an abstraction. There was no way to see past the wizard's curtain as it related to the game industry. Did I need to go to MIT to be that business? Are they making them in America? Isn't it all made in Japan anyways?
I think I've always had game concepts in my head. I've been working on them for as long I can remember. I was hardcore enough about it to begin scripting Getting Up eight years ago when I was $6.5 million in debt, struggling to keep the lights on at my company. I don't remember exactly what was fueling me at the time, but somehow I managed to be able to pay an illustrator, who would sit with me and we'd riff on this fantasy world of New Radius…and this anti-hero Trane who beat the system with paint. I was escaping the fact that my business was in the shitter, I suppose. During that time, I spent whatever free time I had on the PS1. That was the heyday of the console, when third person action adventure games were coming into their own, and I was simply blown away. I'll never forget being at E3 and seeing the trailer for Metal Gear Solid 2 (for PS2) on that jumbo screen and I almost wet myself.
Fast forward to PS2 and the original Xbox. The boom of GTA and a slew of other games slowly utilizing an "urban" veneer. I even got my hands dirty a bit. I did a bunch of things with EA Sports. First with the Tiburon studios guys who put an Ecko team in the 2000 and 2001 editions of Madden. I'd act as a broker to hook up friends with the publisher to put relevant original hip-hop into the game….from the "Beatnuts" to "tha' Alkaholiks" if my memory serves me right. In return, I'd get to come up with an *ecko unltd. team for the game. I was quarterback, Jamie Foxx was FB, Kevin Smith and Jay Mewes (Silent Bob and Jay) were on the team… it was bizarre and fun. I was just psyched to be doing things in games. I think the 2001 edition had the team open at the start of the game…and the league caught wind of that and killed the arrangement. I was lucky. It was a great experience. Even did Knockout Kings 2000… got to make a custom *ecko unltd./EA leather jacket for Muhammad Ali and actually met him. Good times.
Article comments
1 - Deano
Nice interview Matt!
I would agree that the hard-core gamers are fussy or pissy (whatever term you want to use) but I would argue that given the propensity of the game industry to over-hype, over-promise and then ship buggy, below-standard products out, gamers generally have a reason to be pissy. Far too often they've been sold products that, due to the publisher's need to ship or to hit the stores for Christmas, that are poor quality, untested and crash frequently.
Given the reviews I've read, it does'nt sound like Urkel's (sorry, Ecko's) game is buggy or problematic. My guess is that the negative reaction is a knee-jerk response to a). yet another "name" pushing a game onto the market and b). his comments which probably got a small number of hard-core gamers backs' up...who then just couldn't resist trying to spin up some trash talk in response.
2 - whatever
who is mark ecko?
never heard of him.
3 - Victor Plenty
I don't know why gamers hate Marc Ecko's Getting Up, but I have seen some fairly strong evidence that many gamers do in fact hate the game rather intensely.
4 - Eric Olsen
very nice, thanks Matt!
5 - justin
well i live in OZ, (it may as well be a mythical place the damn country is run by a dwarf....) and as soon as this game was anounced in under a week it was banned, i mean if we are going to get in to the whole 'games are evil' thing take this in to retrospect, PACMAN.... ahem (if we are going to get critical here.....) pac man is about a guy/thing that is chased by the fears and taughnts of the world (ghosts) so he turns to a life of drugs to help him cope (pac pills) he eats the pack pills and sudeenly all his problems aren't what they were before, and then as with most drug trips he gets the munchies and eats the ghosts and various other fruit and such around the level..... i'm sorry but that sounds all to much like a good friday night, and how old is that game.... mid 60's i think, and when was the hieght of drugs and so forth... mid 60's i think, hmm there is a pattern there, what i'm saying is i fix computers for a living, and as i by product i love playing games, and after having to aquire this game thru illegal means, (cos its the only way i can get it...) i have to say after seeing a preveiw video of getting up and then playing the game for about an hour or two i have to say this game is not urban and it is not just another gta, and it is not 'dumb' as most of the games are leaning towards ( and by dumb i mean you have to think about certain things that you have never thought of while playing a game before) this game is quite simply put one of the best games i have ever played and if the ban gets lifted i will go out and buy 2 copies because it is that good the gameplay is fresh and instinctive, the levels are very well planned the story and the voice acting is top notch ( take note hollywood) and the graphics are great considering the time at which the engine was started, ( if they get updated with the latest tech you will have a game to surpass all others) i belive that if this is the direction that games are going i will egarly await the next installment by mr marc ecko, yes he has a clothing label and shoes and from what i read a magazine, and god knows what else but he is on a good thing with the games mark, fresha dn innovative 20 out of 10, its about damn time
6 - aaron
that game waz bad these haters wish they can make a game like that!!