It's Interview Time
Gaming site "This Strife" has two interviews with some folks notable in 3D Realms history. Scott Miller (founder of our company), and Todd Replogle (the programmer for the first three Duke games, amongst others).
Todd, as was said above is known for having programmed the first three Duke games, as well as several others for us in the early days of the company. Here's a bit from Todd's interview:
Q: What are your favourite computer games of all time?
A: My favorite video game of all time has to be the really spooky ones. The original arcade version of Williams' Sinistar is a game that stood out among the rest. It had a simple premise with complex gameplay attributes.
Q: Your past has seen you having heavy involvement with Scott Miller and George Broussard, 3DRealms head honchos. Have you got any funny stories about your times with them?
A: There was a funny time when the whole gang flew to a software awards ceremony in Los Angeles. In no time we were exploring the town, checkin' out the sights and getting familiar with the territory. One night we stopped by a strip club to do some "research" when all of a sudden Chris Farley walks in! We couldn't believe it. For a time we were more interested in watching him than the strippers.
The other interview is with Scott Miller, founder of Apogee Software. Scott talks about a wide range of topics, from the genesis of the Max Payne franchise, the foundation of id Software, and Scott's possible work as a level designer for DNF.. Here's some from Scott's interview:
Q: Even with relatively few Duke Nukem games released, he has become an established character and brand name. How did you achieve this?
A: It only takes one spectacular game to establish a brand. And although the original Duke Nukem, a side-scroller, was a giant success in the shareware market, selling not too far behind Wolfenstein 3-D, it was Duke Nukem 3D that broke the damn wide open on Duke�s popularity, exposing him to 25 million players via the shareware version, and 1.5 million via the PC retail version.
Q: One of the things that sets 3D Realms apart from the majority of games developers is that you�re self funded, isolated from publisher pressuring. Is this something you�d ever want to change and are there any downsides to this situation?
A: I�d guess that most all studios wants to be financially independent, because it allows for the freedom to make the games YOU want to make, inventing new properties and being in charge of your destiny. Having to depend on money from publishers, who more often than not do not see things as you do, and generally do not think for the long-term, is not fun at all.
Make sure and check out both interviews - and if you want a laugh, check out the rest of the site.
Posted by Joe Siegler on December 4, 2003 at 11:00 AM | Permalink
News Categories: About 3DR / 3DR Staff
