Firstly… I’d like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to ask you a few questions. Although you requested for only five questions to be asked, this is still a lot and can answer many of our thoughts. So… I guess I should ask you the first question: You yourself have work on debatably two of the best deathmatch games ever created to this day... DooM II, and Quake. Given that those two games are probably the best deathmatch games going, what sets them apart and why?
I think that the feel of DOOM II and Quake’s Deathmatch owes much to the speed of the game engine, speed of player movement, types of weapons, weapon balance, and visceral feedback. I still haven’t played a game that blows your enemies apart like you can in Quake deathmatch, with gibs flying everywhere and bouncing off the walls. And nothing has equaled the double-barreled shotgun in DOOM II for sheer power in your enemy’s face.I’m sure that you’ve already noticed that the eSports scene has grown quite a bit in the past few years. What are your thoughts on the current eSports/pro-gaming scene?
It’s just great! Deathmatch is such an exciting activity that so many people love that creating a sport out of it was almost inevitable. The thrill of playing against other people in a physical location really gives you the same nervous feeling you get when you’re about to compete with others in a non-computer event.Please give an honest answer here, Mr. Romero. Just how much advice would you take from gamers in designing, developing, and updating a future game to be used in online competitions and why would you choose that amount?
I would definitely take a lot of advice – people have a lot of ideas and know what they like. I would take that information, combine it with what I’d like to play, and distill it into a focused, simple design. The amount of input from gamers that I would inject into the design would be as much as would make sense and be fun – there’s no real way to quantify it.If I’m not mistaken, you met your girlfriend through playing Quake. Could you elaborate and explain a bit about your relationship at that time with your girlfriend and how Quake affected it?
Well, Stevie didn’t become my girlfriend until about two years after we played. I just got to know her better after being introduced to her for those few games. We have definitely played a lot of Quake! But now, we are both co-founders of a new game company and she’s the Chief Operating Officer of Monkeystone Games and handles all the business affairs in addition to working on the games we’re making.Now for the final question: As you can see… more and more people are playing games online. Are you considering of making a game specifically designed for online gaming at some point in the future? If so, please give us a few “spoilers” ;P.
I would really love to make an online game at some point. I have no plans right now as we are absolutely swamped with lots of work. My first foray into online games would most likely be something small and focused – I like finishing games within a year as opposed to the industry norm nowadays.Thank you for the interview, Mr. Romero