February 19th, 2002 (12:00am) - There are a lot of EGM readers out there, and for those that give two craps about knowing more about their editors, here ya go, an interview with the current Editor in Chief, Dan Hsu, from Markee Dragon:
"About the Games
Ace Logan asks, "Which type of games do you like best? And Do you feel that colors your judgement of certain games sometimes?"
Shoe: I like just about every type of game out there, except I’m less keen on most sports sims (though I do play some football, soccer and hockey games on occasion). Does it color my judgement? If I weren’t a professional critic/ journalist, it probably would. After all, we’re all human, and we all like different things, right? But if I’m good at what I do -and I’d like to think that I am, though you guys may feel differently ;-) -I’d review these games according to the audience they’re meant for, not just my personal tastes. But I’m not going to sit here and lie to you all and say that I like every type of game equally. I’ve never met a gamer who didn’t like some genres more than others.
Drake of LS asks, "What do you feel are the essentials in creating a good game? And Which gaming company or companies do you feel have those elements in good order?"
Shoe: That’s a tough question. You have the obvious stuff, like controls, graphics, sound, level design, etc. But then you have those more intangible qualities that make a good game good. It’s really an overall chemistry between all the elements that produce a great experience. I know that’s about as lame a response as I can give, but there’s really no specific answer for that question. :)
On the console side, I feel companies like Square, Capcom, and Namco really have it together.
Nefarious asks, "Do you feel that the ESRB rating system is effective?"
Shoe: From the standpoint of keeping Mature-rated games out of the hands of youngsters, no. But that’s not the ESRB system’s fault. That’s like blaming the MPAA for letting kids see R-rated films. The guidelines are there, the industry is using the ratings, and the parents are warned. That’s about all that the ESRBs can be responsible for. The rest is up to the retailers and parents.
SilentMobius asks, "How do you feel about the future of MMORPGs?"
Shoe: I don’t know enough about them to comment. :) Final Fantasy XI will be the first MMORPG for consoles (I work on the console side of the business), and that won’t be out in the U.S. for quite a while yet. And even though I play PC games, I’ve been really careful to avoid touching EQ, UO, etc. I really don’t have time for those things. Though Galaxies may be what finally gets me to make the jump.
Also, "What system, do you feel, after all the smoke has cleared, will be the highest selling, best system out there?"
Shoe: PlayStation 2. It has too great a lead, and developers will always want to put games on that platform (to make the most dough).
For the rest of the interview visit: MarkeedDragon
