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Kotaku
Continuing the Game
Inspirations series - getting developers to spill the beans about what games
inspired them growing up - my next port of call was Ubisoft Montreal's Clint
Hocking.
Clint is best known for his work on the Splinter Cell series, but nowadays he's working as Creative Director on Far Cry 2, Ubisoft Montreal's evolution and re-imagining of Crytek's franchise.
So, what particular classic early '80s title made Hocking into the developer he is today? Read on, dear Kotaku-ite...
"The first game that ever really inspired me was Broderbund's Lode Runner on the Commodore Vic 20.
Not only was Lode Runner a fantastic and innovative game for the time, but it had a powerful and easy-to-use level editor, with usability and functionality on par with the best level editors released today - almost 25 years later.
The game was
great, but the level editor was what really influenced me. I must have made over
a hundred Lode Runner levels - all of them saved on a cassette that you had to
manually cue up in the Vic 20's cassette drive, to load and play.
I learned a great deal about the notion of combining game ingredients and how to build flow into a level - and I wasn't even a teenager at the time. I still vividly remember the layouts of 4 or 5 of those levels, and I likewise remember some of the techniques I used to design them.
Practically speaking, those techniques are obsolete now, but conceptually some of the principles of design iteration and experimentation became the foundation of many of the things I do professionally today."
5:00 PM ON TUE NOV 20 2007
BY SIMON CARLESS
1,182 views
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First to post!
I think now that the popular games are so complex. It would be hard for new designer to create a true simple concept.
I am really looking forward to Far Cry 2. Far Cry was an excellent game.
@TDunne:
Glad you enjoyed you're last post on Kotaku so much...if only you had something to say...
@TDunne:
First to be reported too! woo
Seriously, you couldn't possibly write your comment about far cry in your first post? Is it actually an accomplishment to be the first poster? Is that really all you have to look forward to?
Anyway rant aside, I actually remember playing this game. The good old memories.
Lode Runner kix ass.
Damn ... the mean kids are posting today.
I played Load Runner all of the time as a kid. I loved digging holes and watching the greedy bad guys fall in and get devoured by the blue bricks of death. Good times...good times.
I was lucky enough to attend a GDC lecture by Clint Hocking about three years ago in which he talked about narrative in games. He came across as an incredibly smart and knowledgeable guy who really knows his stuff.
The fact that he's the Creative Director on Far Cry 2 has pretty much doubled my interest in the project.
@TDunne:
No, we just don't like people clogging up the comments with "First" because it achieves nothing and lowers our collective IQ. So bye.
Q-Bert is where its at. Dreams of 3d platformers all spawned by those cursed pyramids... to be young again.
@TDunne: *Sigh* They never learn...
@elevenoverzero: Kinda like acheivement points, no?
@TDunne: Whatever stops people from making content-free posts.
CryEngine is perfect for someone inspired by Lode Runner, with the map deformation tools and all. Maybe he's dropping a hint about a new Lode Runner!
...just don't give the character a hot dog arm, thank you.
What's interesting is that
Ubisoft actually owns the
Lode Runner brand now.
Broderbund, the original
developer, was bought by
the Learning Company,
which eventually sold its
holdings to Ubisoft.
Maybe Clint will have a
chance to put those Lode
Runner levels he created to
some good use after all...
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