Next week, The Gameological Society will bring you coverage of E3, the year’s biggest video game trade show. That coverage will include interviews from the show floor, and we want your help determining the questions we’ll ask.
E3 is rarely a good venue for a traditional in-depth interview. The convention center is extremely loud, developers are tired and pressed for time, and PR flacks limit creators’ discussion of upcoming games to a predetermined set of talking points. So we figure, why not have some fun with it? And thus The Gameological Questionnaire is born.
Here’s how it’s going to work. In the comment threads below, suggest a question that you would like us to ask the developers we meet at E3. We’ll pick five or six of our favorites, and that will become the Gameological Questionnaire for E3—we’ll pose those same questions to every developer we can wrangle on the show floor. (Be sure to “like” the questions you want to see on the list, too. We will take reader preferences into account.)
We’re looking for a mix of earnest and silly here. The questions can range from “What are the aesthetic goals of your game?” to “If your game’s hero were a hat, what kind of hat would it be?” Other than that, the guidelines are pretty simple. To be considered for inclusion, your question should be respectful. (You can be pointed, just don’t be mean.) It should pertain to the developers’ work. And it should be the kind of thing we could ask any developer regardless of what kind of project they’re working on.
There are rewards. Every commenter who submits a question that we choose for inclusion on this year’s Questionnaire will receive a Gameological pin, suitable for lapels, backpacks, and other places that you typically find pins. A pin cushion, maybe, I don’t know. This thing is polished metal with red paint—none of that chintzy cardboard-and-plastic crap here. Take a look:
One randomly chosen winner from among the selected questioners will receive, in addition to a pin, this replica of the Murder Of Crows “vigor” from BioShock Infinite. This isn’t quite what it looks like in the game, as this replica was produced early in Infinite’s development life. But it is still a very cool item. Here is a picture of me having a staring contest with it. The crow won.
Rules-type stuff: You can submit more than one question, but don’t spam the threads, because then we will purposely not pick any of your questions on account of you were being annoying. And while anyone is eligible to receive the pin, we can’t ship the crow outside of the U.S. or Canada—the bottle has liquid inside it, which not only makes it heavy (and expensive to ship) but would probably raise an eyebrow at customs. I’ll work out some alternate prize if you win the random drawing and you’re overseas.
We can’t wait to see what you come up with! We’ll announce the winners and the final questionnaire on Friday.
“If you could use only three colors for your game, which would they be?”
Also, some questions for you, Teti:
Can we submit more than one question?
Is this contest for people outside of the US?
I’m pretty sure the second one is “Yes”, since I remember asking you about it during the Star Trek giveaway, but I like to be thorough!
Good questions. I answered them in a revision of the post. But to respond directly: Yes, you can submit more than one question, but don’t go nuts. And yes, this contest is for people outside the U.S. as well, but I can’t ship the vigor bottle outside U.S. or Canada. (I’ll arrange an alternate reward if someone overseas has their question picked and their name randomly chosen.)
If I may ask, what is the liquid inside the vigor bottle? If I had to guess, it would be a toss-up between Kool-Aid and shampoo.
@Merve2:disqus If it’s anything but a cheap whiskey, I’d be seriously disappointed.
@Merve2:disqus I don’t know what liquid is inside, because the vigor bottle can’t be opened (no kidding). You can hear and feel the liquid sloshing around, but unless you’re willing to get out your plasma torch, you don’t get to see what’s in there.
Ken Levine’s manly essence?
If you’re asking Electronic Arts this question, then teal and orange are a sure bet.
I think black, brown, and red would be popular choices for a lot of big-name games. Not hard to guess why, but:
Red – blood, violence.
Brown – dirt, realism, “realism”.
Black – shadows, night, etc..
I was trying to think of something that tried to narrow a game’s aesthetic, visually and emotionally. It might be better if black and white were included as “gimmes”, but I suppose Teti and the staff can touch the questions up as needed?
Yes, we will lightly edit the questions for the sake of clarity and brevity (while preserving the concept of each question). So your wording does not need to be perfect.
“Three whole colours!? Look at college boy over here! I’ll stick to grey and brown, thank you very much.” *spits*
Green text on a black background, as the dwarf disappears in a puff of greasy smoke!
Smartass answer: red, green, and blue, because you can combine them to make all the other colours!
What is your favorite idea pitched that never made it into a game and what is your worst idea that was?
Or:
It’s been a decade of no-nonsense buzz cuts. What hair style will be the next hot thing for game protagonists with the new, incoming tech?
With the rise of touchscreen integration into mainstream gaming experiences, we’re going to see a lot of T-Bird style “greaser” haircuts that you can actually comb in a display of practiced nonchalance.
AMD has developed technology to render shampoo-commercial hair in real time, called TressFX, which made its debut in the recent Tomb Raider. I toyed with the setting for a bit. It cut my framerate in half and made Lara’s hair look like a Windows 95 screensaver. Clearly, the technology isn’t yet ready for primetime, but once AMD irons out the kinks, I expect every video game protagonist to have long, luscious locks à la Farrah Fawcett.
I’m personally hoping for beards. Big bushy beards.
Graphics cards have always been rated by particular physics. First it was polygons, then water physics, then boob physics, then cloth physics.. could the next generation be beard physics?
Crusty jugglers.
Since neither big unveil answered it:
There are new consoles, what exciting new things can you do, gameplay-wise, now that you were unable to do before?
It would be pretty great to finally have a straight answer to that one, since Sony and Microsoft were unwilling to provide one.
No lie, I’d really like an answer to this question.
This is THE question, I think.
“One BILLION troops. WOOOOW.”
Awesome one. This for sure.
I hope we get to flog someone if the answer is either more emotions or “we can now display your name on the bullet in CoD multiplayer that kills you”.
The answer is more stuff going on in the game world. More people and traffic, more building interiors, weather patterns, etc.
What’s your favorite detail in one of your games (including but not limited to the one you’re promoting right now) that nobody has noticed so far?
How are Teti’s hair clippings not a prize?
Holy crap, he done coiffed hisself!
He’s already eaten them to avoid drawing predators.
If it was you asking, I would have submitted “Mustache on or off?”
Too bad.
Bizarro!
Thank you so much for linking that.
Only if you live outside Canada and the US. :(
Is the protagonist of your game a cat person or a dog person?
Do they have any allergies?
A cat person.
Dog People
What is one thing from your game that has never been done in another game?
Or: How can you make gameplay elements that have been done to death feel fresh again?
OK, serious question time. Umm… Fuhh…
How about “In the games you make, do you prefer the gameplay to service the plot, or the plot to service the gameplay?”
Failing that, ask something about bits.
What is the weirdest idea that came up doing production and was seriously considered, but didn’t ultimately make it into the game?
If your game was a remake based on a 8 or 16 bit “original”, which mechanics (from your game) would have been nearly identical in the original, and which elements would have been completely different?
[Please delete this comment, it was supposed to be a reply to another comment. Sorry]
I’m going to be specific to developers of Square and Capcom
Square:
What should we expect for a Tomb Raider sequel? And when can you give us FF Versus XIII?
Capcom:
How will the success of TellTale’s The Walking Dead affects Resident Evil as a whole? Will the rumored Resident Evil reboot try and get back to the roots of what made Resident Evil good in the first place?
Polygons? More, or lots more?
Voxels, my friend. Voxels.
Since we’re an indie friendly website: In what ways is the latest groundswell of support for kickstarted indie games and independent games in general changing how you think about what’s worth making and what’s commercially viable? Is that even going to matter in the long term?
Follow up/alternative: Do you have an idea you used to think was too “out there”, that you’d like to give a shot through crowdfunding someday?
That’s a good one. It’s friendly enough to be disarming, but with just a tinge of squirm value to it.
I’m actually deeply antagonistic toward indie games. It’s like these guys have never heard of production value, or teal.
“So how will your game be able to top Call of Duty: Dog? Haha, i’m just fucking with you! Hey, Teti! Did ya get a load of this nerd? HAHAHAHA”
*knocks controller out of indie dev’s hands, kicks over display*
Silly
There’s good news and bad news. Your game just got bizarre, quasi-representative boxart, like that of mid-1980s boxes. However, it’s also totally rad and appealing. Describe it, please.
How does the art style of the game relate to the story/themes the game is trying to convey?
Earnest
Your game is next to an on-sale version of the game it’s most like. What game is that, and why would we buy yours instead?
OR
2 separate questions, with the 2nd after the response is taken from the 1st.
Who is your absolute gaming idol? You can pick just 1.
Your idol plays your game. What do you think this person would like most about it?
What is your absolute favorite gameplay mechanic of your game?
When’s the next Jet Set Radio coming out?
I STILL BELIEVE
“Do you understand the concept of love?”
“I love love you; do you love love me?”
Off-topic, yeah, but the music is just so good.
Best if asked to random developers, like PopCap.
Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Ouya: Which Sex and the City characters are they?
Easy.
PC is Carrie cause she’s always typing on a PC in that show.
PS4 is Charlotte cause even when she’s having problems, she seems like a fun person to be around.
Xbox1 is Samantha, desperately clinging to a semblence of youth and relevance by whatever means necessary.I’m going to have to give Miranda the Wii U label though – a very solid history of reliability and constantly learning new quirks in the bedroom AND living room.
Oh, I forgot about the WiiU. You think that’s bad?
Vectrex II. How ’bout it, guys?
For Disney Interactive: When can we expect a Golden Girls video game? Also, are there going to be Golden Girls figures in Disney Infinity?
Man, Golden Girls World would make me buy a new Kingdom Hearts.
Though I’m not sure what you would do there. Throw a party and invite everyone you knew?
I’m pretty sure it would be rated “M” for
McClanahan. Zing!
Golden Girls + Star Wars + all the Disney & Squaresoft shit + all that Enix shit. Man, KH3 is going to be INSANE.
Hey, there’s a new Harmonix game coming, and it’s co-branded with Disney! Neat.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/04/fantasia-music-evolved-is-harmonixs-lucid-kinect-dream
How do you balance accessibility with challenge in your game? Are there any examples that you can think of that got that balance wrong?
If your game was discovered as the only remnant of human civilization by an alien species, what would they learn about us?
I like this one a lot. It’s like a sort of backhanded critique of games today, but it could also be totally earnest.
How about: If your studio could make a game based on any existing property, what would it be?
Followup question if you like that sort of thing: what sort of game would it be?
Which specific game made you consider – and ultimately start – developing them yourself?
“If you had to make a spin-off game in another style, what kind of game would you make? What would you keep from the original game(s) in order to be ‘true’ to them?”
“How involved are the creative director(s) on the game? What kind of vision are they trying to put into the game? How do they keep the team focused?”
Can we BUY a Gameological pin? I ask only because it looks snazzy and I would very much like to have one, but any question I could come up with would be far too stupes to win one.
This would be an amusingly surreal question to ask.
Believe in yourself! The you’ll have your Gameological pin… always, in your heart.
Ow! Why did I think it was a good idea to put a pin in my heart?
Atlus, I have two questions:
1) When will Persona 5 come out?
2) Can I play Persona 5 now?
If you could remake any game, which one would you pick? What would you do with it?
“What do the 3 Es in E3 mean, to you?”
or
“Does the appearance and relative success of crowd-sourced funding for video games threaten (in any way) the quality of future video games made by bigger, established and more wealthy developers?”
“Which Shakespeare play would you most like to turn into a game, and what kind of game would it be?” (Romeo and Juliet platformer? Richard III stealth assassin?)
Romeo and Juliet would obviously be a dating sim, you have to get her to love you enough to kill herself.
A Hamlet hack & slash.
I would like to re phrase the infamous EA question:
“Has a Computer ever made you cry? If so how?”
Is this like the video game purity test?
“Do you Play video Games?”- That’s the video game purity test.
If you were to make a game that only takes place in a single location, what location would it be?
What are two or three games that aren’t normally paired together or in a trilogy, but seem to complement each other very well and why?
What’s a good food and/or drink that should be paired with a game you’re currently developing?
I endorse this food/drink pairing question!
What wine pairs best with your game?
Will your studio be shut down if your game doesn’t sell as many units as Call of Duty – Insert Sequel Here?
Loving many of these. I’ve got two:
1) If you could pick any song from any video game soundtrack other than your own, which one would you say encapsulates the feeling of your game the best?
2) Your game gets a Sega Genesis downport. Which actions are the three buttons mapped to? (Alternate phrasing for old school PC devs: “If your game were a point and click adventure, which three verbs would we definitely see in your verb bar?”)
Is the portrayal of women in your game and associated marketing something you are proud of? (i.e., Would you show your mom?)
I think this is a really important issue to bring up, and have been trying to come up with a questions, but it’s hard to think of a way to phrase the question that isn’t at least a little accusatory.
Yeah I had to rewrite a few times, and it still sounds a *little* accusatory, but it’s not too bad, I think. (Are you proud instead of are you ashamed, that kind of thing). Depending on the tone the question is asked in, you could honestly answer with a ‘Yes! I think we portray women in a better way than ever before!’ and not sound like some sarcastic dick.
It does sound a little loaded along the “Have you stopped beating your wife?” line (though not nearly that bad), but I don’t think you could really edit it too much more. If you take it out of the Yes/No format, it doesn’t ask anyone to reflect on their marketing. “How proud are you of the portrayal of women in your game and associated marketing?” can easily be answered by “Very–I think we do a good job portraying women. I would happily show this to my mother.” without reflecting on the portrayal.
I guess you could ask them to reflect on the game/marketing themselves:
“Do you think your game and its associated marketing could improve in its portrayal of women and, if so, how?”
…but it sort of contorts the intent of the original question.
Maybe the way in on this one would be something like “my [made up] sixth grade daughter loves to dress up as game characters for Halloween, who should she be from your game?”
If they have an awesome answer, they can talk about it in a way that isn’t monopolized by Important Social Import; if the game is total creepsville, then the stammering might be funny.
I like this.
This seems like a good place to add my facetious question:
Female NPC’s breasts? Are they too small, or are they not big enough?
I was trying to think of a question along these lines. “Would you be embarrassed if your mom saw you playing this?” or something like that. Your’s is better.
Would it have been easier for your team to work if it received its funding primarily through state or federal grant money, rather than the existing big publisher model?
Curt Schilling?!?
Gone too soon.
Holy fuck I want one of those pins.
“How is your game pushing the medium forward?”
Ehh, that’s kind of a hugely loaded question…
Actually any question I could think of for this would sound really combative or political. Can I just have a pin?
Maybe like..
“What pieces of art/culture have influenced you and how?”
I’m bad at this.
I actually really like that second one. Something like “what pieces of non-game art were the biggest influences on your current projects?”
If there were a band with the same name as your game, what would they sound like?
Was there a Golden Age of games where it seemed like everyone was pumping out creative stuff?
What album captures the theme and tone of your game?
How helpless do you feel when you watch a person approach the booth to play one of your games?
Have you ever just yelled at them for doing it wrong?
So your game gets made into a film or TV series. Who will play the main characters and how much will the film/show be different from the original game?
What’s your favourite “non-essential” element in your game?
How would you change your game to make it more appealing to cats and/or dogs?
“Do developers have any ethical obligations to their audience or in the context of the medium in general? If so, what are they?”
This is an awesome contest idea, guys.
Ok, I’ve got a question you can use:
There are 5 games involving shooting from first person view in 5 different franchises. In each game there is a different silent protagonist. The 5 silent protagonists replenish health differently, shoot a certain type of gun, and have a certain sidekick. No silent protagonists share the same sidekick, shoot the same type of gun, or replenish health in the same manner.
Hints:
Soap is the main silent protagonist in Call of Duty 4.
The Siren has a claptrap as a sidekick.
The Courier uses stimpaks.
Portal 2 is displayed on the left of Borderlands at Gamestop.
Chell has to reload a save to restore health.
The silent protagonist who uses a MP5N hangs with Price.
The silent protagonist from Half Life 2 uses a gravity gun.
The game displayed in the center of the shelf at Gamestop has a silent protagonist who hides behind cover to restore health.
Gordon Freeman stars in the first game on the shelf at Gamestop.
The silent protagonist who uses a varmint rifle is from a game located on the shelf at Gamestop next to the game that has a silent protagonist using a gravity gun.
The silent protagonist who uses a varmint rifle is in a game that is located on the shelf at Gamestop next to the game that has a silent protagonist who hangs with Alyx Vance.
The silent protagonist who hangs with a claptrap uses insta-health vials to restore health.
Chell uses a portal gun.
Gordon Freeman is in a game that is located on the shelf at Gamestop next to Fallout New Vegas.
The silent protagonist who uses a varmint rifle is in a game that is located on the shelf at Gamestop next to a game that features a silent protagonist who uses medkits to restore health.
Who owns the fish? Wait, what?
edit~ really Disqus? Really?
You have a lucrative* career in logic puzzle writing ahead of you. And I would know!
*in the sense that any amount greater than zero is lucrative
I only see four weapons and three sidekicks in this set-up. Also is ‘first game on the shelf’ from the left or from the right?
If you had a fully functioning Holodeck, what sort of game would you make?
I think we all know the answer to that one.
A linear first person shooter in which you mow down countless waves of Wesley Crusher?
No, no, no. The other thing.
What is your most memorable missed opportunity in making your game? Either a great idea that came too late or a great idea that was deemed unfeasible for whatever reason.
On a completely unrelated note, is your avatar Koffby?
It sure is. It was either going to be that, or Exeggby.
How far along do you develop a game before you decide it doesn’t merit further time and effort?
Egg or hat?
So one of those Egg Council creeps got to you too, huh?
Nah. Hat is only useful when it’s very cold or very hot. I choose Egg as it can be enjoyed all year round.
A good choice, goes well with lomticks of toast and lovely steakiwegs.
Ever had to knock on wood?
Ever known someone who has?
1. Have you ever been close to tragedy, or been close to folks who have?
2. Have you ever felt a pain so powerful—so heavy—you collapse?
3. Have you ever had the odds stacked up so high you need a strength most don’t possess?
4. Has it ever come down to do or die? (You’ve got to rise above the rest)
This comment cannot be liked enough.
1. It’s your birthday. Someone gives you a calfskin wallet. How do you react?
2. You’ve got a little boy. He shows you his butterfly collection plus the killing jar. What do you do?
3. You’re watching television. Suddenly you realize there’s a wasp crawling on your arm.
4. You’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise, Tony, it’s crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back, Tony. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?
5. Describe in single words, only the good things that come into your mind about your mother.
Are you thoughtless in your remarks?
Do you linger at bus stations for pleasure?
Do you get muscle spasms for no reason?
Do your past failures bother you?
Do your past failures bother you?
Do your past failures bother you?
Do your past failures in life bother you?
Is your life a struggle?
Do you like to be told what to do?
Is your behaviour erratic?
Do you find interest in other people?
Do you find it easy to be fair?
Are you often consumed by envy?
Are you often consumed by envy?
Are you scientific in your thought?
Are you concerned with the impression you make?
Are you ususally truthful to others?
Are you unpredictable?
Half a day later, I discover that someone else is asking the same very important questions that I am!
@Fluka:disqus It makes perfect sense. After all, replicants clearly hosted the last couple of game console announcement, so you know they’re gonna show up at E3.
How is your love of video games, and the culture that surrounds it, impacted by the business/marketing of video games?
Is there anything you would do differently? (if you had a time machine)
I’ve got one silly question and one serious question.
A Japanese television manufacturer has recently developed a working prototype of a television that can emit aromas on demand. How would your game be improved with the inclusion of Smell-o-vision?
More seriously – will new hardware like the Oculus Rift and Microsoft’s Illumiroom usher in a fundamental change to the industry, or will they just be a sideshow?
I am looking forward to Call of Duty: Smell-o-vision. Wow, you can really smell those browns!
Call of Duty: Ghosts with Illumiroom® and Smell-o-vision®: Now you can sniff your dog’s butt while he sniffs yours!
L.A. Noire: Who Farted?
I laughed way too hard at that.
“Was a man sent to kill, or a slave?”
What will your game be remembered for ten years from now?
If you couldn’t not undo no more than one design choice, which one wouldn’t it be and why not?
How would you describe your game in terms of food?
(This way you’ll know what pairings to use on The Digest.)
Miyamoto famously attributes the gameplay of Legend of Zelda to a childhood love of exploring caves. Satoshi Tajiri famously attributes the gameplay of Pokemon to his childhood experiences collecting bugs. In what ways, if any, do you see your childhood experiences/hobbies (or those of your creative teams) shaping the games you develop as adults?
Considering how many of today’s game developers childhood experiences were “playing video games,” this might explain the recent trend of games about making games.
“At what point did you realize the creative medium you dedicated your life to had become a kind of perverse oruboros, completely embedded up its own asshole?”
I’m sure Teti could make that sound tactful.
Well, I did a lot of people murdering with a shotgun as kid. I think that influence is pretty clearly on display when you’re murdering people in this game with a shotgun.
This is the best question, as long as you can get responses other than “I liked playing Doom as a kid”
Maybe we should specify “non-videogame childhood hobbies”…
Which ingredient is more important to making a great game: Love or electrolytes? (I already have a pin, but I wanted to play. Plus that shampoo-whiskey seems like just what the doctor ordered.)
“Why are you spending so long in the shower?”
“Uh, no reason, just, um, cleaning my hair, dear.” *glug glug*
Brawndo! It’s got what gamers crave!
“I’m sure you’ve heard all the Internet buzz. Can you address rumors that your character dies at the end of this game?”
Two-part question:
1) Since we’re at E3, what are some of your favorite words that start with the letter E?
2) So as not to be exclusionary, what are some of your favorite words that start with any other letter?
Follow-up, what would you name your game if you could only use words that start with the letter ‘E’ and have no more than 3 words total?
How would your decision making process change if you had to play through the entire game before it was released?
Follow up: Do you play video games?
If neither technological limitations nor development time were an issue, what game mechanic (or story) would you love to implement in a game?
1) What are the quantifiable improvements this generation will make in gameplay?
2) Do you ever feel creatively restricted by the demands of big budgets?
Late to the party, as usual… My first question on reading this post was: “Whoah, when did Teti cut his hair?!?”, but in terms of E3 questions:
1) How do you see the future of studio-made games now that developers are beginning to find success by crowdsourcing funds for their games?
2) If you had to make a game without sound, sort of like a videogame analog of “The Artist,” what would the game be about?
I know that there are some independent developers trying to create sound-only games, but I’m not sure the inverse would be quite so compelling. For a lot of players, I think sound is really important to the tone of the experience, so I don’t know how removing it completely could be used to enhance an experience.
There are some games that made good use of limited sound in appropriate environments. Dead Space‘s spacewalking sequences come to mind, where you can’t hear anything outside of your suit.
It certainly seems like it would be not so compelilng, but then that’s why I thought it would be interesting to ask. I think that restricting an artist can often result in the artist pushing themselves in new and interesting ways. There’s another question above asking which colors the dev would choose if they could only use three colors to make a game. I think we’re both getting at the same concept.
The early 8-bit era is a perfect example of this in that the devs were so limited they really had to stretch their creativity to make games. I can’t help but feel that we lost something when we got to the stage where intense graphics and sound are trivial in a game.
One of the things I like about the indy gaming scene, and especially the dev jams, is that it’s somewhat of a return to that time of limitations. For my money, it’s creating the most innovative games these days so my question, perhaps vague though it was, was trying to get at this issue.
Assuming you mean silent as “music only” ala silent film, there are tons of games like that.
I meant “..as the grave”. See my response above.
1. Which game has come out recently that you think you could have made better than it was?
2. Do you think there are any genres of games that are going to die out (e.g., top-down shooters, turn-based RPGs)?
3. Is there truly as much potential in mobile gaming platforms (like iPhone and Android) as has been hyped, and if so, does this mean traditional console or PC gaming is going to be developed for less?
4. When do you think game graphics will be so good that everything rendered looks just like it was real and filmed with a camera?
5. I will murder a murder of crows to get that murder of crows bottle. Is this acceptable?
“Regarding BioWare’s handling over negative reactions to Mass Effect 3’s ending: Has a floodgate been opened? Is this a good or bad thing?”
Also
“Hypothetical – You and a colleague have just wrapped up making a video game so good that it may very well render ALL other games useless, unplayable wrecks. Only the two of you know of its existence.
Your colleague is bent over, busy tying his shoelaces. You notice a sandbag suspended 20 feet above his head. It is tied to rope and the release is by your hand…
Do you have what it takes?”
What aspect of your game do you expect to draw the most disproportionate amount of unexplainable anger from internet commenters?
If your game had a super-ultra-deluxe edition costing $1000, what would be in the box?
^^^This one right here. Pick that one. It’s a great sort-of-non-cynical way to see how excited devs are about their games.
Plus, they get to start a sentence in real life with “Angry Rasins would like to know…”
Yeah this one is really good. I’d especially love hearing indies answer this one.
If you were completely free from budgetary and commercial concerns, what kind of game would you make?
Question 1:
“What is your favorite ‘guilty pleasure’ game? Follow-up: Why do you consider it a guilty pleasure and why do you enjoy it?”
Question 2:
“If you were to remake your game into a board, card or dice game, what would that game be like?”
“Does the emphasis of the Xbox One as a multimedia hub force you into producing more transmedia content for your games?”
You’re in a desert walking along in the sand when all of the sudden you look down, and you see a tortoise. It’s crawling toward you. You reach down, you flip the tortoise over on its back. The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that? And does your game require multiplayer?
Whatever you do, don’t ask him about his mother.
(to be asked by Teti) Do you like my bowtie?
“Why did this game cost so much to make?”
also
“Huh? Can you repeat that? I can’t hear you! I SAID CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? I’M HAVING TROUBLE HEARING YOU. I HEARD ‘MUFFIN’ BUT NOTHING ELSE.”
This question is stolen lovingly from an old AV Club Feature, “Justify Your Existence”
Why should people spend their money to play your game?
Have you considered putting some type of crate into your game? If so, what kind of crates can we look forward to interacting with? If not, you should probably put a few crates in your game.
What new feature presented in the next-gen console cycle do you think will have the biggest impact on making games more fun to play?
“Who is your daddy and what does he do?”
What’s your favorite line of dialogue from your game?
My question is quite boring and probably won’t garner any attention, but that pin looks “futuramaistic”.
What role does science and scientists play in your game? Followed by what do you think video games can do to help increase peoples understanding and learning of science/physics.
‘ere’s one for ya:
Considering the ubiquity of digital distribution, which aspects of box-art, printed manuals and in-box gimmicks do you think people will miss the most?
Which Ninja Turtle best embodies your political affiliations?
How many horses were killed in the making of this game?
Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?
Serious question: Should games be fun? Many movies are depressing but are still considered masterpieces. Can or should games follow in that vein?
“If you sensed I was being followed right now, how would you signal it to me without telling me outright?”
serious: do you feel that games have an advantage over other types of media (book, movie, music, etc)? If so, how does your game leverage that advantage? if no, how does your game overcome that hurdle?
fun: if your game was a James Bond villain, which James Bond villain would it be and why?
Really good question to boil down a developer’s aesthetic in a fun, easy way: Q: you have to make a game in which the main character is James Kirk or Jean-Luc Picard, which do you choose and why?
If your game was a car, what would it be, a Koeingsegg Agera R or a Volkswagen GTI?
Does your game leave the player better at the end of the game than at the beginning?
What does your game world have to say about the “real” world?
You could go with “So what do you think of this plaid jacket?”
But something akin to “Would you consider a broad beta-testing system by actual users to reduce day one glitches and general gameplay problems?” would probably work better.
Why aren’t there more games in which your progression isn’t tied to committing as much interactive violence as efficiently as possible?
“Are you a stud fiend?”
“Do you know if Linda is dating anyone new? We kind of lost touch, and well…it’s been a rough few months.”
Do you think that the emphasis on graphics quality in games has shifted the focus of design away from making fun and interesting games?
This is quickly becoming my favorite thing Gameological has done.
Earnest: What would be your ideal game development environment? Big publisher or small? Big, open spaces or small, private areas?
Silly: How devoted is your studio to having a dog as the highlight of all your games? What are you willing to sacrifice to usher in the glorious, dog-filled future?
What popular license would you love to just screw up?
“Name an existing IP you’d like to license and the first game you’d develop from the license. Bonus points if it’s not a shooter, RTS, or RPG.”
“What is a gaming experience that you would like to see given more attention in the wider gaming world?”
“If you had to make a game in a fantasy setting that wasn’t based upon medieval Europe/Classical culture, which culture would you base it upon and why?”
“In your experience, has the nationality of a studio informed its game design?”
“In a time where development costs for games have become very high, how do you balance the vision in your mind for your game with the need for an affordable development cycle?”
Ok, serious one(s) first:
‘I’m a self proclaimed hipster from Brooklyn, I love obscure things. What is your favourite obscure game, that you feel now one else has played?
‘Why will this game you brought to E3 be one of the best games ever made?
‘When looking in the mirror, who in the industry do you wish you could be?’
Ok, semi-serious:
*produce a picture of a Mustacheless Drew Toal*
Yes or No: Do you think this man would look better with a mustache?
question for rockstar:when will gta go into space/sci-fi?
What is your favorite easter egg you’ve placed in a game? What is your favorite easter egg you’ve found in another’s game?
Not sure if anything posted this late will get any attention, but a few last-minute questions
that might get me a pinfor your consideration:“Have you ever decided to change, add, or remove a feature from your game because of something another developer released while you were in development?”
Less seriously: “Have you ever seen something another developer released and said to yourself, ‘I wish I had done that’? How would you take what that developer did and change it to make it your own?”
And finally: “A common complaint about modern games is about how players feel talked down to, but players also get frustrated if they don’t have any idea what to do. How does your game encourage players to progress without making it obvious that you’re doing so?”