Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 10 - Paul Neurath
The 10th and final part of the interview series with members of Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), the company that wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
The guest of our final installment is Paul Neurath, co-founder and creative director of Looking Glass from the day it opened to the day it closed a decade later. In this nearly two hour interview I speak with Paul about the breadth of the company's history, including how it came into existence, what made it focus on innovation the way it did, and why they eventually (and suddenly) closed.
CLOSING COMMENT: We may do some encore podcasts in the future should the right people (the mythical Doug Church for example) become available, but for now this is it. Ten interviews, over 10 hours. An admittedly incomplete but hopefully illuminating oral history of one of the most important game developers ever. Hope you found it useful.
Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 9 - Terri Brosius and Dan Thron
Part 9 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
This week is Terri Brosius and Dan Thron. Dan was an artist/animator on Terra Nova, System Shock 2, and all three Thief games, doing much to solidify the look and feel of the Thief universe. Terri was a voice-actor in both System Shock (as SHODAN) and Thief (as Victoria) as well as a writer/designer for Thief, doing much to shape the overall story arc of the franchise.
I talk with Terri and Dan about how they got into the industry, what influenced them in their contributions to the Thief franchise in particular, and what they consider good storytelling/world building in video games (and why it seems to be so scarce).
If you ever wanted to know who to thank for Thief's infamous eyeball-plucking scene check it out!
Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 8 - Marc "Mahk" LeBlanc
Part 7 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
This week is Marc "Mahk" LeBlanc. Marc was a programmer/designer at Looking Glass for most of the company's life, and was one of the major voices in shaping the overarching design aesthetic of the company. This is partially what lead to Marc being a thinker, writer, and educator on game design, developing the MDA framework (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics) as a simple tool for creating emergence-centric games. I talk with Marc about his time at Looking Glass, how he remembered dealing with simulation, fiction, and emergence across various projects, and how those lessons and strategies have filtered out into the rest of the games industry after the company folded.
If you ever wanted to know how performance-enhancing drugs can help you in System Shock or what the exact difference is between the design philosophies of Deus Ex and Thief, give it a listen.
Podcast: Scott Nicholson, "From Settlers to Quarriors: Breaking up the Monopoly with Modern Board Game Design"
Over the last 15 years, there has been an explosion of innovation in board game styles and mechanisms. The Settlers of Catan was the game that crossed the ocean from Germany to the U.S. in the late 1990's and kicked off this new era in board gaming. These modern board games, or Eurogames, are more engaging experiences and based less on luck than the typical roll-and-move board game design prevalent in the 20th century.
Listeners will learn about a variety of game mechanisms through discussions of exemplar games and see how these games relate. Many of these mechanisms are appropriate for digital games as well as tabletop games, so listeners will improve their toolkit of mechanisms for their own design work.
Dr. Scott Nicholson is a visiting scholar with MIT Comparative Media Studies for the 2011-2012 academic year, working with the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab and The Education Arcade. He is an associate professor at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, where he has focused on games in libraries and game design as a pedagogical tool. He was the host of Board Games with Scott from 2005-2010 and is the designer of Tulipmania 1637, a board game published in 2009. In addition, he is the author of Everyone Plays at the Library: Creating Great Gaming Experiences for All Ages, published in 2010 by Information Today.
Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 7 - Eric Brosius
Part 7 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
This week it's Harmonix Audio Director Eric Brosius. Eric originally hails from Boston's music scene. He was in the band Tribe along with Greg LoPiccolo and came to Looking Glass as a sound designer around the same time, working first on Terra Nova before moving on to bigger projects. He was one of the few members who continued to work on Looking Glass properties even after the company closed, doing sound design both for System Shock 2 at Irrational and Thief: Deadly Shadows at Ion Storm. I talk with Eric mostly about his approach to sound design, how he dealt with things like music vs. ambience, and how such choices became an integral part of Looking Glass's aesthetic and legacy.
If you want to know why there is no "music" slider in Thief or why stealth "works" in System Shock 2, check it out!
Part 6 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
Next up: Greg LoPiccolo. Greg has risen to impressive heights as the vice president of product development at Harmonix, makers of world famous games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but he got his start at Looking Glass back in the 90s. Coming from the music industry (he was bass guitarist in the Boston-based rock band Tribe) he started out as music/sound designer on System Shock, eventually becoming project lead on Thief 1. I talk with Greg about his roots in the music business, how he adapted to the culture of video games and software design, and how that has affected his approach to game development overall.
If you ever wanted to know how SHODAN's voice came about, be sure to give it a listen!
Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 5 - Ken Levine
Part 5 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
In this episode I talk with Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games and mastermind of the Bioshock series, who got his start as a writer/designer at Looking Glass. Ken was one of the main creative forces in the early days of Thief, helping to shape its eventual story, world, and core mechanics. I talk with him about his memories of working at the studio, his writing and creative process, and how his experience at Looking Glass relates to his later work at Irrational Games.
If you ever wanted to know what film noir has to do with Thief or whether the Master Builder really exists, check it out!
Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 4 - Randy Smith
Part 4 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
In this episode I talk with Thief level designer extraordinare Randy Smith. Randy created some of the most memorable levels in the Thief series, often bringing the more horror-inspired elements (zombies, ghosts, mysteries) of the Thief universe to the fore. We talk about his approach to level design and how it developed and evolved in the creative environment of Looking Glass before seguing into some of his post-Looking Glass work, including his role as project lead on Ion Storm's Thief sequel (Deadly Shadows) and his indie company Tiger Style, makers of Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor.
Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 3 - Tim Stellmach and Laura Baldwin
Part 3 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
In this episode I talk with Tim Stellmach and Laura Baldwin. Tim was lead designer on Thief and Thief II, as well as a designer on Underworld II, System Shock, and Terra Nova. Laura was a designer/writer on Thief. She also worked in System Shock 2.
Again we are joined on this podcast by Sara Verrilli, QA on System Shock and designer on Thief and Thief 2.
The discussion mostly covers Thief, though there is some discussion of other projects. If you want to find out where lingo like "taffer" comes from, or what it means, be sure to check it out!
Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 2 - Dan Schmidt
Part 2 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.
In this episode I talk with Dan Schmidt, who was with the company from its very early days (back when it was called Blue Sky Productions). A programmer by vocation, but filling a variety of roles from project management to design to music composition, Dan helped set the tone for the company's subsequent creative output in early projects like Ultima Underworld and Ultima Underworld II.
The podcast covers these projects, as well as Dan's work on Terra Nova, the ambitious squad-based robot sim, and his work in the early stages of Thief before moving on to work at Harmonix Music Systems in its early, pre-Guitar Hero days.
If you want to know what NHL '92 has to do with both Ultima Underworld and Rock Band (and who doesn't?) give it a listen.
GAMBIT is proud to present the Looking Glass Studios Interview Series, an audio podcast series in which we chat with various people who worked for the legendary developer (famous for groundbreaking franchises like Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief) before it tragically closed its doors in 2000.
Up first: Austin Grossman. Grossman is a writer, game designer, and novelist who worked at Looking Glass in its early years. In this podcast he discusses his work on Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds and System Shock, the latter of which was highly influential in laying the foundations for modern environmental narrative design. Grossman also discusses his post-Looking Glass work, on such projects as Jurassic Park: Tresspasser and Deus Ex, and the tricky challenge of being a writer in today's commercial games industry.
Joining Austin on the podcast are two other Looking Glass alums: Andrew Grant, who also worked with Austin on Trespasser (for Dreamworks Interactive), and Sara Verrilli, who worked on System Shock. Andrew and Sara currently work for GAMBIT, and reminisce with Austin on how they grappled with the experimental nature of these games.
