1UP: “I don’t shock easily, but SpecOps: The Line hits a nerve … I couldn’t believe that a game could evoke those emotions in me. As a medium, games excel at bringing out anger, excitement, joy, and fear in players, but very few tackle more complex emotions like guilt or self-doubt. I can only imagine what kind of morally compromising situations await further in SpecOps. As uneasy as it makes me, I can’t wait to find out when 2K Games releases the game later this Spring.”
GamesRadar: “...tone is really what sets SpecOps apart … 2K used this setting to its advantage in order to craft an incredibly dark story, one that feels like it’s attempting to genuinely bring a deeper moral message to the genre.”
IGN: “…SpecOps is already a success … SpecOps: The Line certainly does its darndest to make sure you feel something … if nothing else I’m thankful to have experienced a game that actually makes me reflect on the things I’ve done.”
IGN - Spec Ops: The Line’s Breakdown of a Soldier: This is an interview with me about the emotional and conceptual goals behind SpecOps. I’m not going to quote it, because all the main quotes in the article are from me. That’s kind of how an interview works. I’m not egotistical enough to start quoting myself on my own blog. If I did that, there would be no end to this madness. But, the interview is a compelling read. So you should click the link anyway. I think is the point I was getting at. Yes.
Hopefully I’ll eventually find the video interviews I did for Russia, Czech, and the Netherlands. In one of them, I’m sitting in front of a fireplace. I also have a beard now. There is nothing in this paragraph that is not completely fucking ridiculous.
Previews are coming on the latest SpecOps tour. I was on the European leg, this time, so these are all from that part of the world. Be warned, some of these articles are not in English and require Google Translate. That said, it was genuinely a pleasure to meet everyone in Europe and it’s very exciting to know they enjoy SpecOps so much. Hopefully will have more to post later, but honestly, I’m a bit busy this week, so who knows….
“It’s controversial, but for the right reasons. It’s brave. This is a mature take on an accepted form of killing for entertainment. War’s got its bite back.”
“The Line is not only shaping up to be a well-made shooter, but also one that has a brain and treats its subject with a bold maturity seldom seen in a video game of its ilk.”
“At 4pm I rang the bell at Yager’s door… two hours later I left. Reluctantly, but happy that this gaming business provides surprises every now and then … lost in thoughts, not caring about AI, graphic engines or weapon feedback.“
Ugh. I meant to post these a month ago. I linked them on twitter, so if you’ve already seen them, please ignore. I promise, I’ll go back to not-updating this thing very soon. Merry X-Mas and all that.
On a personal level, this might be one of my favorite trailers to have worked on. “Writing with images,” is a unique challenge; and frankly, it’s fun as hell.
“There is something there in the construct of Spec Ops: The Line’s basic elements. Something in the way it hopes to make morality as important as breaking glass and smothering sand, that makes me think this could be a great game.”
The last time you saw Spec Ops: The Line was E3 2010. Since then, we’ve working our collective tookus off. After 18 months, we’re ready for people to experience it. So, last week, we ran previews all over the world. Here are just a few of the US previews.
“After a long pause I put a bullet in the soldier on the left and moved on with no fanfare, no repercussions. There’s no morality meter, the text didn’t change to blue or red, I wasn’t rewarded with new weapons or gear, and the world kept on turning. The only tangible effect was that I felt mildly sick to my stomach, especially after realizing the scene could have played out several other ways and I didn’t actually have to kill anyone. At that point I realized these aren’t gaming choices, these are human choices. “
“It’s this focus on the ambiguity between good and evil that makes Spec Ops: The Line so interesting … The narrative treats the horrors of war with much greater levity than most war games even attempt.”
“I wasn’t quite excited walking into my two-hour demo of Spec Ops, thinking I was going to be bored the whole time. However, I walked out a completely different person.”
” Spec Ops is so tight at this point that the biggest question mark at this stage isn’t how it plays. Instead, I wonder about the subject matter it deals with, and the message it hints at exploring.”
“Without spoiling any of the plot, which looks to be very captivating … I left the demo with more questions than answers when it came to the plot, and that is definitely a positive for such a story-driven title.”
That’s just some for now. Will post some video interviews and the latest trailer this afternoon.
While most of my time is focused on SpecOps: The Line, I occasionally get to dip my pen in other projects. One of my favorite dalliances is Darkness 2. My roots are firmly set in the “weird” genres, so working on a project like Darkness 2 is a bit like Christmas Vacation. Go home, stretch out, relax. Visit old haunts, see familiar faces. Family gatherings, demonic possession, brutal stabbings…. Ok,ay, it’s really nothing like Christmas Vacation. Forget Christmas.
Anyway… This is the latest trailer for Darkness 2, starring my favorite character, Johnny Powell. Enjoy.
It’s funny. I keep meaning to update this thing more often. You know– to WRITE on it. Thing is, I’m too busy writing other things to write on this thing. So, instead, you get these measly messages, explaining how busy I am. And yet, despite how busy I claim to be, you never see proof of said business. It’s not that I’m full of shit. It’s that for half of what I do, I have a skyscraper full of lawyers watching over my shoulder, making sure I don’t say things I’m not supposed to say. That is not to say that I am censored– not in the least. It is to say that I am not certain of the difference between internal knowledge and public knowledge. I don’t read our own press. So, it’s usually best for me to just not talk about it. Meanwhile, for the other half of what I do– it’s writing! I could post what I’ve written, but let’s be honest. A man’s gotta eat and this is my only meal ticket. Can’t give the milk away for free just yet. Also, I don’t write prose or essays or the like. I write scripts and things. The sort of writing that requires drawing and filming and recording before it’s actually worth a shit. I collect ideas on paper. Talented people then give life to those ideas. So, really, you don’t want to read what I write. You want to experience it later, after everyone has had their dirty, sexy way with it. For these reasons and more, this is why I only update my blog once a month.
The pain in my shoulder has not stopped. Seen a doctor. Got the meds. All that stuff. Apparently, it’s muscular. Spasms. What has it been? A month and a half? The throbbing pain doesn’t stop. For the most part, I’ve learned to ignore it. Which is the interesting part. It doesn’t hinder my daily activities– though, it hurts to paint and I’m hesitant to start working out again. The pain is just always there. Always over my left shoulder. It might stick with me for the rest of my life. And it will simply be a part of me. That’s what I find so intriguing. The pain as passenger, rather than intruder.
I leave for Berlin on Monday. I’ll be gone for a while. Don’t know if that means I’ll write more or less.
The work that pays me is still going strong. Endless, but strong. The work I do for fun is in it’s 3rd rewrite. I’m still toying with that book I’ve been threatening to write. And recent events have me giving film another chance. I write too much. Someday, I’ll get a real job. For now, I’ll keep making shit up and putting it on paper.
