I was working as a new technologies consultant for Lucasfilm LTD right after the second Star Wars film came out. My job was to investigate new entertainment technologies that Lucasfilm wanted to develop projects for. One of my research assignments led me to MIT and a place called the Architectural Machine Group (later called The Media Lab). I was shown an interactive laserdisc for the first time which allowed me to virtually drive around Aspen, Colorado using a joystick and go left, go right, go straight controls. Why Aspen you might ask? The development team wanted to go skiing on US Department of Defense funds.

Driving around Aspen wasn't that interesting to me but the potential for developing interactive movies where the player could affect the outcome seemed revolutionary. I ended up being one of the first designers at Lucasfilm Games. I helped develop the title Ball Blazer before moving on to Atari to work on laserdisc games.

Q: How did you arrive at Cinemaware?

By 1986, laserdisc based arcade games had died a terrible death because the laserdisc hardware didn't hold up under arcade conditions. It was a shame because we developed a number of projects including the award winning Freedom Fighter that are still some of the best examples of real time interactive movies.

In the summer of 1987 I was contemplating going back into linear film production when a friend brought by a new computer called the Amiga. He turned it on and opened up this new game called Defender of the Crown by Cinemaware. I was astounded by the graphics and the cleverness of the design. I ended up playing it for two days and writing the founder of Cinemaware, Bob Jacob a fan letter.

He wrote back (or called) I can't remember, and was curious about my eclectic background in both linear film/television and games. He invited me by for a chat. I remember expecting a real company but when I pushed open the door, there were just five people, John Cutter, Bob, his partner Phyllis, and two artists and a lot of just opened computer boxes in this little office. After showing my reel of the laserdisc-based projects, Bob asked me if I were going to choose one movie to develop as a game, which one would it be. I thought about on the way home and then wrote up a one-page description for a big bug movie game, called, It Came From the Desert. Bob said it was the one he hadn't thought of and hired me.

Q: What lessons did you learn there?

When you develop what you are passionate about, others pick up on it.

It is very important to have a clever branding identity. Bob Jacobs concept of Cinemaware was brilliant. People got it immediately.

When you are mixing designers and writers with programmers and artists, there needs to be a production system that allows everyone to do what they want to do. David Todd, the VP - Technical Development listened to my pleas and began creating an approach to software development we called the Masterplan/Bolt development system. This system allowed us to take far bigger risks with much greater confidence and ultimately influenced what David and I did together at Cinemaware and Philips POV.

It is important to hire the right people who can work together.

Q: Can you give us a good story back from the Cinemaware days?

This weird thing happened every time we worked on It Came From the Desert. This happened not just at the office but also to outside contractors as well. Real ants would show up and start walking on our computer monitors and keyboard. Where they came from I will never know. They disappeared when we turned our attention to anything else.

Q: How did your experience at Cinemaware influence your philosophies and game design and production?

I learned that it is important to work with people you like. We had a great time at Cinemaware. Through all the ups and downs of production and the company prospering and going under, we loved what we were doing. We were evangelists for the concept everywhere we went. It was a good run.

Q: What is your favorite game of all time?

There are many in different categories but based on first impressions and being instantly hooked: Atari 2600 - Pole Position, Intellivision - Rocks, PC-Adventure - Defender, Action - Doom, Desktop - Tetris, Handheld - Football, Laserdisc - Freedom Fighter

Q: What is your favorite Cinemaware Game?

Lords of the Rising Sun

Q: What were some of your inspirations when creating the games?

Coming from the film/television business, I liked to find stories that allowed for a lot of choices. Some stories do and some don't. For example, anything with a twist ending is problematic. You can't imagine anything else happening. However, if the story easily allowed for multiple endings and many ways to get there, it had a chance to become a good game.

I also liked to combine good story elements, wacky characters with exciting game play. I imagined myself the lead character in the movie and then discovered all the things that I might have done as that character given the circumstances. That process framed the game play options and informed everything that I did to create that illusion.

Q: What are your thoughts about the current state of the game industry?

From a hardware and commerce point; I think it is one of the best times to be in the game business. It has become a mass-market phenomenon. If you create something wonderful, you can sell a lot of them. The new technology also allows designers to create worlds and experiences we could only dream about.

I would like to see the current cycle of violent themes lessen. I am bothered by the superior pictures and sound of the new platforms often equating to more graphic violence. Maybe I am showing my age but I still believe that you can create compelling games without stooping to the lowest common denominator of violence and bathroom humor. I think the onslaught created by some of the new games is adding to the rising "numbness" in our culture, requiring greater and greater amounts of stimulation for us to feel alive. For children this is particularly problematic.

I am also saddened in a sense that game development has become such big business. The costs of producing a competitive game are astronomical these days. Unfortunately, that means mostly the big companies will create the new fare. When there is this kind of money at stake, it often leads to a lot of "me too" games. It leaves out the small garage teams that have brought us so many innovations in the past. All that being said, one thing that I have learned over the years, is that the game business runs in cycles. Rarely does the market develop in the ways that are predicted. At this moment, some kid is working on something in his room that will turn the game business on its ear.

Q: In your opinion, has the fact that games have gotten larger and more complex made them better?

No. I think there are simple games and complex games that achieve that magical quality of great play. Some of the classics on the Atari 2600, despite their very limited graphics, are still fun. A good game can be made out of mere sticks. It can also be a multi-million dollar, multi-leveled world. In the movie business, great effects cannot overcome a bad story. In the game business the same holds true. Great graphics and sound don't make up for a bad design.

Q: What developers do you respect most?

Many of them are gone for one reason or another. In terms of who's left, I admire EA's perseverance. They don't always make the best games but they have a way of tapping into cultural trends, which is very impressive.

Q: What advice would you give to young folks today?

It's the same advice I have always given. Identify what you are passionate about. Pick a company that interests you and offer to do anything to get in the door. Once inside, pay attention to the pro's. Even if you don't agree with their approach, learn what they know. Don't be afraid to start at the bottom. We had some of our best designers; programmers and producers come out of the game-testing department. You have to love playing games to test them for hours.

Q: How influential do you think Cinemaware was?

It's a hard question to answer having been a part of it. I think the Cinemaware concept was always a favorite of other developers and game players alike. The media also loved our approach. At the time, games didn't have a great deal of character development in them. Cinemaware pushed the art of character development based design to new levels and also raised the bar in graphic presentation. We showed what was possible if you were clever and had good artists and programmers.

Q: What would you like to see from Cinemaware in the future?

Just what you are doing. Take the original concept of Cinemaware and update it using the latest in graphics and sound. We always dreamed of doing things that are now possible because of the improved hardware. Keep the original spirit and wow them with new possibilities.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans of Cinemaware?

Just thanks. I was amazed how the Cinemaware legacy was kept alive on the Internet by fans until you guys officially brought it back to life. I hope they had as much fun playing the games, as we did in making them.

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