Junction Point Studios Interview March 20, 2006 John JCal Callaham

Introduction

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FiringSquad: First, you left Ion Storm and Eidos after the releases of Deus Ex 2 and Thief III, both of which were considered disappointments. Looking back what lessons did you learn about game development from working at Ion Storm?

Warren Spector: Well, first let’s be clear about one thing--both DX:IW and T:DS could have been better, sure, but that’s true of every game any of us ever make. There’s a great quote my wife, Caroline (a wonderful writer whose latest book, Scars, is available on amazon.com…) dug up that goes “A work of art is never finished, only abandoned.” That’s totally true. And, for the record, I don’t consider either game a disappointment—both teams took big chances, tried some really hard stuff, achieved some big goals, fell short of others… I can’t look back and feel disappointed in any significant way. Okay, that out of the way… You learn something from every development experience and, mostly what I learned was that running big projects is not the same as running small ones, and experience gained on smaller projects doesn’t necessarily scale well. So you better have people around you who understand big software development projects. Oh, and communication is everything on a really big project. Getting everyone on the same page, making a coherent game, is very, very hard!

FiringSquad: How hard was it to start up again at Junction Point Studios?

Warren Spector:Starting Junction Point wasn’t hard at all—it was (and remains) great. Inevitably, we’ll grow and feel the pressures of time and budget but we’re still small, and all sharing a one-room office. The team is really tight, really functional, really psyched. JPS feels like “The Good Old Days,” at least right now. And I’m loving it. (Hope the rest of the team is, too! I think they are…)

FiringSquad: What is the significance of the name of the studio?

Warren Spector:The obvious genesis of the name stems from the time I was with LookingGlass, in the mid- to late-90s. We worked on a game whose working title was Junction Point—a small-group, online-only SF game, with an interesting persistent element. It was similar in some ways to Guild Wars, I guess. I always liked the name and, as I thought about what to call the new studio, it occurred to me that “junction point” also described the kind of games I like to make and play. I like games that represent the coming together of a lot of genres and playstyles… and I like games that force players to (conceptually) stand at a crossroads and choose which path to take. Both ideas are encompassed by the idea of a “junction point.” So, the name really fit.

FiringSquad: We know you are still not talking much about your company's first projects but what hints can you give us on what Junction Point is working on?

Warren Spector:No hints yet. I’ve been down the road of maximum PR and I want to try something a little different this time! When we have something to talk about, we’ll talk!

FiringSquad: You are using Valve's Source engine and Steam delivery system for your first Junction Point game which means you must believe in the idea of digital distribution of games. Do you foresee a time where the majority of PC games will be sold via this method?

Warren Spector: I don’t have a crystal ball or anything, to make predictions, but I certainly HOPE digital distribution is a big, big part of our business someday. It’s not that I think we need to replace the current system of publishing and boxed goods and brick-and-mortar stores, but I’m all about offering players more options about how they access our stuff. And digital distribution opens up all sorts of doors for new kinds of content, new game styles and so on. As a player I want options and as a developer I want options—online, digital distribution (and not just of multiplayer games) offers more options for everyone.

SIDEBAR: Deus Ex was optioned for a big screen feature film adaptation a few years ago but those plans seem to be in limbo.

Junction Point Interview (con'd)

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Warren Spector: Hey, it’s only been a few months since I gave that speech at the Montreal International Game Summit, so, yes, I still believe it! I think there’s a real risk that we’ll run into trouble with the courts and legislators, yes. We’re in a constant, ongoing battle about that. But more important to me than the external threats are what I see as INTERNAL threats to gaming’s future. I simply don’t want to participate in the coarsening of our culture through the celebration of violence and criminal activity. And I think, as a medium, we focus too much attention on that kind of stuff--on adolescent power fantasies, basically, and that is stultifying our growth as a medium. But let me be clear—I would never single out the Grand Theft Auto series for criticism on this score—we’re all guilty. I’m guilty—I mean Thief and Deus Ex and the other stuff I’ve worked on isn’t exactly the most pro-social, teach-the-world-to-sing stuff I can imagine! We need to broaden the range of content we make available to players. I wrestle with that every day.

FiringSquad:Even though you are working on a PC game do you have any opinions on the next generation consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Revolution)?

Warren Spector:I have a ton of opinions about the next gen consoles! What do you want to know? Basically, I’m inspired by the apparent power of the hardware and the potential that offers us; but, at the same time, I’m terrified about how much more difficult and expensive development is going to be as we try to tap all that power and deliver on all that potential.

FiringSquad: Windows Vista is due to be released for PC in the fall of 2006. Do you believe the OS and the resulting technologies could help PC gaming in the long run?

Warren Spector: Vista seems really cool, I’ll say that much. And it seems likely to be a nice platform for gaming. I do think the pervasiveness of consoles is going to be hard to beat, no matter how good the OS is—and with the consoles offering more robust online access all the time, even that area’s going to get…interesting…for PC developers. We’ll just have to see how the platforms shake out over the next few years
Firing Squad: What do you think are the biggest challenges the video and PC game industry will have to face in the next few years?

Warren Spector: Money, money and money. If we don’t start exploring new ways to finance games, new ways to reach our audience, new ways to broaden the range of game styles we offer and new ways to develop games that don’t cost a fortune, we’re in for a world of trouble. Games may be art (I think they are), but they’re incredibly expensive, and getting moreso all the time--and that puts our future in some significant jeopardy

FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Junction Point Studios' current and future plans?

Warren Spector Not just yet. But soon…soon

As always, we’d like to thank Junction Point Studios’ Warren Spector for participating in this interview. We look forward to hearing more from them once they’re closer to releasing their first title!