Garthilk
03-08-2006, 01:00 AM
Steve Marvin might seem like a rather unassuming gamer. But his insight into game mechanics and his job as Lead Designer make him an important part of the Warhammer Age of Reckoning development team. If you want to know about death, combat, guilds, PvP and RvR, well than Steve is proally a good person to talk with.
What is your official title at Mythic Entertainment?
Lead System Designer, officially. Unofficially, probably any number of things containing the word "monkey". For awhile back at Kesmai my business card read "Smiter of Mortals", but that was because I was in Product Support (customer service ++) at the time. "I like your shoes" kind of stuff, IYKWIM.
What is it you do on a daily basis?
My job is to fling handfuls of leaves and grass and hop up and down while shrieking at my design team. They respond by delivering excellent character systems. Then I grab a stick and hammer on a hollow log while hooting and thumping my chest. They respond by delivering an excellent combat system. Occasionally I will scratch underneath my arms and "ook" querulously, which may result in a superb interface element or maybe a world interaction document. Then I have a banana. It's a smooth, well-oiled machine.
What is your background? Has it helped you with your job at Mythic? How long have you been with Mythic? What other jobs have you held in the industry?
I was raised in the wilds of Madagascar by monkeys, although I did attend a lemur finishing school. It has definitely helped with the job, as I no longer fling my own feces at my co-workers. I've been in the industry since around '94, depending on how you count it, and at Mythic since mid-2004. I've worked all over the industry, but I generally consider my most valuable experiences to have been my time at Kesmai and Lodestone, plus the time I managed a pool hall/restaurant/bar. Oh, and my time on display at the Chicago Zoo. That had free peanuts.
What other titles have you worked on in the past? What was your role?
I've been product support (which is kind of CS, testing and host support rolled into one), associate producer, project coordinator, producer, designer and lead designer at various times, but I always really just wanted to be a monkey the whole time. I mean a designer. Lead designer is actually not as fun as being a designer, since I have to spend most of my time managing the design process, instead of hunkering down to specific design items. On the other hand, I do get to manage the design process. ;-)
While I've worked on a fair number of games, the ones I enjoyed working on the most were MultiPlayer BattleTech (way back in the day, for Kesmai, this is also the game that got me into MMOs), Soul Forge (for Lodestone, tragically unfinished as Lodestone's contract was cancelled, welcome to the games industry) and the one I am on now, Warhammer for Mythic Entertainment.
What was your "welcome to the game industry" moment when it hit you that you were really making games for a living?
My first paycheck? Actually, that moment came before I got into the MMO biz, when I had my first paper-and-dice RPG publication. But my next "epiphany" moment came years later at Lodestone, when I had to write a 150-page creative design final document in a few weeks. It was a butt load of work, but felt good.
What excites you about the Warhammer property? What makes it perfect for an MMO?
It's fun, and it's focused. Warhammer is about battle! It offers over-the-top, larger-than-life mayhem. It's the original fantasy world at war, and now it's being transformed by the best PvP/RvR company in the business. It's a perfect fit. Tragically, not many monkeys, but one can't have everything.
Do you collect Warhammer figures? What army do you play?
I play Tomb Kings. Why, you ask? I can paint an entire skeleton regiment in less than two hours. "Look," I say to Destin, as he labors over each individual tooth of his goblin, "I am painting my skeleton's teeth!" Then I slop watered black ink back and forth over the whole face of the figure while laughing maniacally. Fast, and looks great.
What are your hopes/goals for the game?
I want it to be the best Realm vs. Realm game ever. Players should be able to craft a character to suit their particular play style, then go out and fight the best, most challenging mobs of all: other players. State of the art, "moment to learn, lifetime to master" and all that, but mostly it's about having huge fun fighting with and against other players.
What are your key influences while making the game?
I am hugely influenced by all aspects of life, as long as it involves bananas. I read a lot (I mean a lot), and of course other games influence me. I like pretty much play all games except ones that are too heavy on jumping puzzles. Other MMOs and single-player games provide a lot of inspiration (as well as harsh lessons), but the Warhammer IP, being a great and highly detailed game already, has so much inspiration to offer that it heavily outweighs other sources. The great thing about working on a property like this at a company like Mythic is that everyone is very well-versed in making online games, so a great deal of attention can be focused on making Warhammer, not making "a game."
What is the biggest problem with current MMO's you hope to fix with the Warhammer MMO?
Not enough monkeys! Well, actually, we may not fix that. The main problem I have with most other MMOs is that the experience feels like you are on rails against stupid enemies with too much power. This is not a dig at other games at all, believe it or not. It's just that mob AI simply cannot provide the kind of enjoyment and challenge that another human being can. And most other MMOs don't make PvP or RvR an integral part of the experience. It's more as if you have to practice against target dummies for your whole "life" until you "graduate" and can then play against other players in a special room set aside for the purpose. The Warhammer MMO is about war, all the way through and all the way up.
What are your favorite video/computer games of all time? What games are you playing right now? What game should the reader be playing if he's not?
Read all books. Read some William Manchester. Read some Gene Wolfe. Read Barbara Tuchman. Read more history than you think you would actually like. You may find you actually like it. Read some Churchill for that matter, and by all means read McCollough's Masters of Rome series, as well as Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books. Then have a banana. Movie-wise, it's hard to go wrong with Ridley Scott, as he never allows the edges of the set to show. Oh, and go see Sean of the Dead. That was damned funny. And if you saw the LotR movies, go read the books. The movies are pretty, but the books are the real deal.
What is your favorite quote?
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." – Harry S. Truman
What is your official title at Mythic Entertainment?
Lead System Designer, officially. Unofficially, probably any number of things containing the word "monkey". For awhile back at Kesmai my business card read "Smiter of Mortals", but that was because I was in Product Support (customer service ++) at the time. "I like your shoes" kind of stuff, IYKWIM.
What is it you do on a daily basis?
My job is to fling handfuls of leaves and grass and hop up and down while shrieking at my design team. They respond by delivering excellent character systems. Then I grab a stick and hammer on a hollow log while hooting and thumping my chest. They respond by delivering an excellent combat system. Occasionally I will scratch underneath my arms and "ook" querulously, which may result in a superb interface element or maybe a world interaction document. Then I have a banana. It's a smooth, well-oiled machine.
What is your background? Has it helped you with your job at Mythic? How long have you been with Mythic? What other jobs have you held in the industry?
I was raised in the wilds of Madagascar by monkeys, although I did attend a lemur finishing school. It has definitely helped with the job, as I no longer fling my own feces at my co-workers. I've been in the industry since around '94, depending on how you count it, and at Mythic since mid-2004. I've worked all over the industry, but I generally consider my most valuable experiences to have been my time at Kesmai and Lodestone, plus the time I managed a pool hall/restaurant/bar. Oh, and my time on display at the Chicago Zoo. That had free peanuts.
What other titles have you worked on in the past? What was your role?
I've been product support (which is kind of CS, testing and host support rolled into one), associate producer, project coordinator, producer, designer and lead designer at various times, but I always really just wanted to be a monkey the whole time. I mean a designer. Lead designer is actually not as fun as being a designer, since I have to spend most of my time managing the design process, instead of hunkering down to specific design items. On the other hand, I do get to manage the design process. ;-)
While I've worked on a fair number of games, the ones I enjoyed working on the most were MultiPlayer BattleTech (way back in the day, for Kesmai, this is also the game that got me into MMOs), Soul Forge (for Lodestone, tragically unfinished as Lodestone's contract was cancelled, welcome to the games industry) and the one I am on now, Warhammer for Mythic Entertainment.
What was your "welcome to the game industry" moment when it hit you that you were really making games for a living?
My first paycheck? Actually, that moment came before I got into the MMO biz, when I had my first paper-and-dice RPG publication. But my next "epiphany" moment came years later at Lodestone, when I had to write a 150-page creative design final document in a few weeks. It was a butt load of work, but felt good.
What excites you about the Warhammer property? What makes it perfect for an MMO?
It's fun, and it's focused. Warhammer is about battle! It offers over-the-top, larger-than-life mayhem. It's the original fantasy world at war, and now it's being transformed by the best PvP/RvR company in the business. It's a perfect fit. Tragically, not many monkeys, but one can't have everything.
Do you collect Warhammer figures? What army do you play?
I play Tomb Kings. Why, you ask? I can paint an entire skeleton regiment in less than two hours. "Look," I say to Destin, as he labors over each individual tooth of his goblin, "I am painting my skeleton's teeth!" Then I slop watered black ink back and forth over the whole face of the figure while laughing maniacally. Fast, and looks great.
What are your hopes/goals for the game?
I want it to be the best Realm vs. Realm game ever. Players should be able to craft a character to suit their particular play style, then go out and fight the best, most challenging mobs of all: other players. State of the art, "moment to learn, lifetime to master" and all that, but mostly it's about having huge fun fighting with and against other players.
What are your key influences while making the game?
I am hugely influenced by all aspects of life, as long as it involves bananas. I read a lot (I mean a lot), and of course other games influence me. I like pretty much play all games except ones that are too heavy on jumping puzzles. Other MMOs and single-player games provide a lot of inspiration (as well as harsh lessons), but the Warhammer IP, being a great and highly detailed game already, has so much inspiration to offer that it heavily outweighs other sources. The great thing about working on a property like this at a company like Mythic is that everyone is very well-versed in making online games, so a great deal of attention can be focused on making Warhammer, not making "a game."
What is the biggest problem with current MMO's you hope to fix with the Warhammer MMO?
Not enough monkeys! Well, actually, we may not fix that. The main problem I have with most other MMOs is that the experience feels like you are on rails against stupid enemies with too much power. This is not a dig at other games at all, believe it or not. It's just that mob AI simply cannot provide the kind of enjoyment and challenge that another human being can. And most other MMOs don't make PvP or RvR an integral part of the experience. It's more as if you have to practice against target dummies for your whole "life" until you "graduate" and can then play against other players in a special room set aside for the purpose. The Warhammer MMO is about war, all the way through and all the way up.
What are your favorite video/computer games of all time? What games are you playing right now? What game should the reader be playing if he's not?
Read all books. Read some William Manchester. Read some Gene Wolfe. Read Barbara Tuchman. Read more history than you think you would actually like. You may find you actually like it. Read some Churchill for that matter, and by all means read McCollough's Masters of Rome series, as well as Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books. Then have a banana. Movie-wise, it's hard to go wrong with Ridley Scott, as he never allows the edges of the set to show. Oh, and go see Sean of the Dead. That was damned funny. And if you saw the LotR movies, go read the books. The movies are pretty, but the books are the real deal.
What is your favorite quote?
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." – Harry S. Truman