Kameo Producers Interview (2)

What were your goals for Kameo in terms of gameplay? How about story? How did you approach work on these design elements?

Lee: Game development is always an evolutionary process. You have to think about what you and the player both want: keeping the player in mind at all times is vitally important. The key concepts of morphing stayed throughout the game’s development, and so did Kameo’s ability to combine the warrior’s powers. We wanted these design elements to be the core of the player’s experience.

Earnest: The lead designer had a very clear goal about the gameplay, and the story. We also had used playtesting along the way to further sharpen that vision. The Kameo team wasn’t shy about saying what it thought worked and what didn’t work, and we were able to incorporate all this feedback into the play experience.  It was a good collaborative effort.

Lee: Yeah, you can have the greatest game in the world on paper, but the way that you actually implement that idea is what counts. Starting with strong concepts is essential: without them, your game won’t be fun to play. I think what you see in Kameo is the result of a strong concept plus very good execution. The process is more alchemy than science: you need the right people on the project, and all of them need to be willing to tweak, test, risk and experiment.

Earnest: Part of our job as producers was to create the environment that allowed the team to do what Lee’s talking about, by giving the team the support it needed, and by encouraging quality first. The people who design games are, truly, artists and you have to give them the space to try new ideas.

How do you think Kameo capitalizes on the technological capabilities of Xbox 360®?

Lee: Play the battlefield scenario. That just would not have been possible on any old generation machine! Sometimes the graphical achievements in Kameo aren’t obvious because the player is so focused on playing the game itself, but the depth of the game world, the particle effects, the lighting are all taking advantage of the 360. It’s a very technically competent experience for the player, wrapped up—maybe even disguised—in a very vibrant and colorful game world. It’s not about creating reality, but rather about creating believability. You feel that the world could exist, and that’s something we were able to accomplish only because of the 360’s power.

One of the few complaints about Kameo is that it’s too short. Can you speak to that?

Lee: I’ll take that as a compliment! Saying that the game is too short tells me that players didn’t want their experience to end. But for those who want more, we have some upcoming downloadable content that helps extend the experience and offers a lot more fun.

Earnest: The game is designed intentionally so that players of varying skill levels can complete the entire story and feel they have achieved something.  But the game is so deep that it can be challenging to everyone.  Moving through the story as quickly as possible without taking time to explore and enjoy the world is, it seems to me, a bit of a waste. Your experience may very well end too quickly and you’ll miss much of the fun.  I also think that the level rankings add both depth and significant game time to the experience. You get to enjoy the game on a very different level than just going through the story the first time round.

What are you most proud of in Kameo?

Lee: The overall feel of the game world and its mood. It has a strong sense of itself, and it offers the player a high degree of believability.

Earnest: I agree. I’m also very proud of the game world’s internal consistency, and the sheer variety of play within that consistency. There’s something fun for every player in Kameo, and that’s not an easy achievement.

What would you say to someone interested in a career as a Producer?

Lee: It’s a fun job.  A lot of what you’ll be doing is talent management: that means spending a lot of your time working with very interesting, very creative and talented people. Some kind of practical experience with games would help, too, obviously. Whether that’s in testing, design, programming or some other area isn’t as important as the lessons you learn from that experience.

Earnest: You’ll definitely need some level of organizational skill, too. Producing a game is an incredibly complex process that involves a huge number of people and an unbelievable number of separate elements. You must be able to take all these disparate elements and manage them consecutively in an environment that changes frequently. Learning to manage risk is probably a good idea, too, so that you’ll develop an instinct for when to take chances that could result in great games.

Lee: You know, I think there are probably some misconceptions about the producer role. The producer’s job isn’t to create his own vision: it’s to facilitate the vision of others.

Earnest: And other people probably think that we are dictators, but if you’re a dictator you’re a bad producer. It’s kind of like being a movie producer: you wear many hats while trying to support a huge effort and its team, but in the end you’re trying to bring a vision forward.

Thank you both for your time!

Return to Part 1...