Stardock Interview
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You were very vocal about the problems some your games have had shortly after launch. You could have easily come out with some politically correct, standard CEO jargon and left well enough alone. Instead you acknowledged the problems and vowed to correct them. Why put yourself out there like that?
Brad: That probably gets back to the Usenet thing again. One of my motivations to make games in the first place was frustration with how games were made and sold in the past. So when Stardock screwed up the launch of Elemental: War of Magic, I was pretty horrified and humbled. You definitely get a much better appreciation on how these things happen. We gamers tend to assume that games come out in horrible states because the publisher just wanted to make a quick buck or didn't care about their customers. But I think it's really useful for gamers to get a better idea of how these things happen.
At GDC this year, I'm going to be giving a (Failure) talk so that other developers can learn the steps that lead to success on a game project and then contrast that on what events occurred that lead game projects to fail.
Tell us a little bit about the recent acquisitions of Jon Shafer and Dave Stern. Can you talk about any upcoming titles that Jeff or Dave will be a part of?
Brad: Sure. It really started when we brought on Derek (Kael) Paxton. Prior to Derek, I effectively handled the game design at Stardock. I've never considered myself a game designer but didn't really appreciate the value (designers) bring to the table. But with Derek, I quickly saw how much value a good designer can add to a game and began thinking about other games we wanted to do. I had known Jon awhile and since Civilization V was released there might be an opportunity to work together on some cool new things.
Similarly, I did the writing on our games in the past but I had learned during the work on War of Magic and Destiny's Embers (the book) how much help a professional writer could bring on. I was also acutely aware that many gamers felt our game worlds were bland and had come to agree with them. Seeing the work they have already done internally has convinced me that there will be a marked difference between Stardock games of 2011 and on versus the past because of the richness these talented people bring.
