J.E. Sawyer Social Interview, Continued
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Some dedicated PC gamers view console/cross-platform games as less sophisticated than PC exclusives. Have you found the design considerations between PC and consoles to be significantly different? As a designer, what system(s) do you prefer and why?
Design considerations are very different for a few key reasons:
Resolution is lower (practically speaking) on consoles because a large percentage of players hook up to standard definition televisions (~480 @ 4:3). This heavily affects how GUIs are designed, because font size, icon size, and "safe zone" borders always have to be accounted for.*
Most PC gamers will play games with mouse and keyboard. There are many input differences between that and a dual analog stick controller.
Console titles have to pass certification through the console manufacturers. This ensures the observation of standards that, while occasionally annoying, ultimately make the game better/more stable.
Each platform has its own pros and cons. PC development is easiest in many ways because you can work and test on the same machine. You can practically ignore anything approaching "standard def" resolution and you can utilize the latest and greatest PC hardware.
On the flip side, PC development is also much more difficult to troubleshoot because of the enormous number of OS + hardware + enduser software permutations that can interfere with how the game runs. Consoles give a fixed hardware and (with the proper XDKs/SDKs) software platform for testing and (eventually) release.
* For the record, I think it's disgraceful that some recent, very high profile console titles have gotten a pass on TCR/TRC requirements despite being completely illegible on SD displays.
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Do you consider FPS games that successfully incorporate RPG elements into the design (such as Deus Ex, the System Shocks, Strife, etc) to be full fledged RPGs or just a more complex FPS with some character advancement? Why/why not?
The ability to express the personality of your character in meaningful/influential ways throughout the course of the game is what makes a game an RPG to me. This usually happens through how you interact with characters and how the story/world updates based on the choices you've made.
Character advancement systems have been in other "genres" for years now. Castlevania games have character advancement, Devil May Cry games have character advancement, etc. It's in so many games now that it's a pretty weak leg for RPGs to stand on. I think that a game's combat style is a poor indicator as well for the same reason.
