Ted Price Interview on VentureBeat.com
Journalist Dean Takahashi recently sat down with our founder and CEO to discuss Resistance 2, the new North Carolina studio, and much more. Check it out here.
June 27, 2008
Bryan’s Blog: Variety is the Spice of My Life
With E3 looming and Resistance 2 production going into maximum overdrive, saying that the studio is busy would be quite an understatement. We’ve pretty much nailed down what we’ll show at the industry’s annual gamingpalooza, and—I promise this isn’t the Kool-Aid talking—I’m really excited with the current plan.
We’re also takin’ it up a notch in our weekly R2 multiplayer sessions, testing out several more maps/match-types and varying the number of players. So for all you who were worried that the game would only feature 60-person firefights, well…don’t be. R2 has plenty of variety in the multiplayer department.
On the last Full Moon Show podcast, I mentioned that I’d answer a few more questions concerning the Resistance 2 footage that appeared on Spike TV. Let’s get started:
Skidd: What is that new swimming Chimera called?
The Fury. And be very careful; you’re a dead-duck if those suckers get a hold of ya.
Redhawk17: In the footage, I saw that you could pick up a weapon in multiplayer called the Sharpshooter. Is that a new weapon or just the old name for the Marksman?
No wonder the word “hawk” is in your name—you’ve got some good eyes. To answer your question, yes, the Sharpshooter was simply the temporary name for the Marksman.
urdaddy247: Will there be additional grenades?
R2 will indeed feature new grenade types. And if you pick up the August issue of GamePro (which hits in July), you’ll learn about one of them. It’s a real scorcher.
BIGnMEATY: It’s been stated there will be no lag online. Can you explain to us why you feel so confident?
For starters, dedicated servers will go a long way in maintaining silky smooth gameplay across the Internet. We’re also working this game hard before its fall release (QA, our weekly multiplayer sessions, online server tests, etc.). And don’t forget—R1 proved we could be lag-free with 40 players and we’ve continued to improve things since then.
gta0004: You guys said that there will be more color on the maps. Up until now, only Scotia has any color while the other is grey like Resistance: Fall of Man. Will you be changing that?
Trust me, gta0004: R2’s levels have a lot of variety when it comes to color palette. It’s one of the first things I noticed when I started working here.
Cloud: Is Hale wearing a Black Ops uniform?
Again, I point you to GamePro’s August issue and take a look at the entire cover image. That should give you a better sense of Hale’s new uniform.
Chamberdog: Seeing as Hale dies 19 hours into the game, will Ratchet be the one to save the day?
C’mon, don’t be ridiculous—it’s Captain Qwark who rescues him.
Chimera Invade Spore?
At least one Insomniac fan had Resistance on the brain while playing around with Spore’s popular creature creator. Check out what A.J. Perez sent us:
Nice work. Now how about making some lombaxes (or is it lombai?), people?
A Top 10 List, Bayside High-style
--Bryan
P.S. Black Pearl cupcakes FTW!
June 20, 2008
Got a Burning Question for Ted Price?
Well, this might be your chance to finally get that elusive answer. Our founder and CEO will be the next participant in GameDaily Biz's "10 Questions" series, which regularly puts well-known game developers on the hot seat. Learn how to submit your question here.
June 13, 2008
Blog: Bryan's Likes and Dislikes
WHAT I LIKE 1. Trying Out New Multiplayer Maps
As we get closer to Resistance 2’s fall release, our studio-wide, 60-person multiplayer sessions just received one helluva pick-me-up. Two new maps are now part of the weekly rotation. And for the sake of this blog post (and the community team’s love for Arrested Development), I’ll simply refer to them as “Gob” and “Buster.” While these maps are just as expansive as the already-revealed Scotia setting, they’re drastically different from a visual standpoint. So which one am I digging more? Hmm, I’d say Buster simply because there’s so much variety in its scenery and architecture, but Gob’s layout does make for some classic shootouts on both the low- and high-ground. You’re probably asking yourself, “Can Bryan be anymore vague?” The answer: Probably not.
2. Gossip
In case you haven’t heard, we’ve decided to give the east coast an Insomniac-style full moon and open a new studio in North Carolina (thanks to everyone who has sent along their congratulations). I’ve also been checking out all the message-board posts and podcasts that are speculating on how exactly the NC crew will stay busy. The guesses are…well, entertaining to say the least.
By the way, we’ve recently posted a handful of job openings for the new studio. Interested parties should definitely head over to the careers section of our website for more info.
3. Metal Gear Mania
All this week, my Facebook status has stated the following: “Bryan Intihar has been waiting three long years for June 12.” Oh yeah, I’m an embarrassingly big Metal Gear junkie. And apparently, I’m not the only one—while walking around the office this morning, I’ve spotted more than a fair share of Insomniacs (especially fellow community team member Paul Featherstone) looking like they were up until the wee hours of the night leading Konami’s sneaky geriatric through MGS4’s battlefields. Paul has the game running in his area and it’s definitely attracted quite a few eyeballs.
Congrats to Kojima Productions for finishing the game and a big thanks to their Assistant Producer Ryan Payton—a few weeks ago he brought MGS4 to the studio for us to try out.
4. Spike TV this Friday
SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: Tonight, don’t forget to tune into Gametrailers TV with Geoff Keighley on Spike TV at 12 a.m. EST/PST for their big Resistance 2 special. Not only will the episode include interviews with several members of the development team, but it’ll also feature the first-ever gameplay footage of R2’s campaign and competitive multiplayer modes.
I’m sure a lot of you will have questions after watching the episode. So starting on Monday, head to the MyResistance.net forums and look for a thread labeled “Spike TV Special: Q&A Extravaganza” and post all your questions there. We’ll select some to answer on next Thursday’s podcast and an upcoming blog.
WHAT I DISLIKE 1. Our QA department
Don’t get me wrong, our QA department is full of fantastic people and supremely important to the development process. But man, these ladies and gents are getting so good at R2 that it makes my kill/death ratio during our weekly play sessions look more pathetic than James’ singing ability (sorry, bud).
2. Finding 90% of this “Top 10” List Baffling
3. Flying Turds
Uhh…don’t ask. You had to be there.
--Bryan
June 10, 2008
Check Out the First Job Openings for our New North Carolina Studio
Attention all you developers: We've just posted the first wave of job openings for our new North Carolina studio (which opens up shop in January 2009). The positions include Animator, Environment Artist, Character Artist, and more.
Interested? Then head over to the careers section of our website for more info and directions on how to apply. You can also expect to see more positions for the NC studio in the weeks and months ahead.
