Armed and Dangerous Designer Diary

So it was two years ago that Bob [Stevenson, cofounder], Tim [Williams, creative director], and I were sitting around a table staring at a blank piece of paper that seemed to be getting larger by the minute. We had just abruptly separated from Interplay as our publisher and hadn't had enough time to put together a new game design. In stepped LucasArts, who was looking for something that we had to offer, and a basic deal was struck very quickly. So the pressure was on to show LucasArts just how smart they really were for hooking up with us.

Before we went off the deep end of design, we decided we wanted to set parameters (for a change). I think we confused potential buyers for Giants by having so much variety in there that no one could classify the game experience. People couldn't describe Giants to their friends, because there was just too much in there. You know you're in trouble when the marketing department asks you how to sell your game! That and many more episodes during Giants convinced us that for our next game, a simple, clear message was needed.

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