Looking Glass Studios – Interview Podcast

[SonataFanatica]

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Hier mal die Links zu der kompletten Interview-Podcast-Reihe (insgesamt über 10 Stunden!!) mit ehemaligen Mitgliedern der legendären Spieleschmiede Looking Glass Studios
("System Shock", "Thief", "Ultima Underworld", "Flight Unlimited", "Terra Nova", etc.)!

Auf die fetten Überschriften klicken, um zu den Download-Links zu gelangen!



Teil 1: Austin Grossman, Andrew Grant, Sara Verrilli
For a while now I've been conducting interviews with ex-members of Looking Glass Studios. Looking Glass (1990-2000) was, of course, the developer of such influential (though not always recognized) games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief. They basically wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, and I've been tracking them down in an effort to get them to share their memories -- the challenges, the regrets, the triumphs -- of how this process unfolded.

Podcast 1 features Austin Grossman, writer and designer on Ultima Underworld II and System Shock, as well as Andrew Grant, who worked with Austin on his (infamous) post-Looking Glass Dreamworks project Trespasser, and Sara Verrilli, Lead QA on System Shock. The discussion focuses mostly on where the "environmental narrative" conventions System Shock famously pioneered (which later influenced everything from Half-Life to Deus Ex to Bioshock) came from, and how they evolved and manifested even in Austin's post-Looking Glass work.

If you want to know why Bioshock would never have existed if you hadn't been able to throw fish at people in Ultima Underworld by all means do not miss this podcast.



Teil 2: Dan Schmidt
In this episode I talk with Dan Schmidt, who was with the company from its very early days (back when it was called Blue Sky Productions). A programmer by vocation, but filling a variety of roles from project management to design to music composition, Dan helped set the tone for the company's subsequent creative output in early projects like Ultima Underworld and Ultima Underworld II.

The podcast covers these projects, as well as Dan's work on Terra Nova, the ambitious squad-based robot sim, and his work in the early stages of Thief before moving on to work at Harmonix Music Systems in its pre-Guitar Hero days.

If you want to know what NHL '92 has to do with both Ultima Underworld and Rock Band (and who doesn't?) give it a listen.



Teil 3: Tim Stellmach, Laura Baldwin & Sara Verrilli
In this episode I talk with Tim Stellmach and Laura Baldwin. Tim was lead designer on Thief and Thief II, as well as a designer on Underworld II, System Shock, and Terra Nova. Laura was a designer/writer on Thief. She also worked in System Shock 2. Joining us is also Sara Verrilli, QA on System Shock and designer on Thief and Thief 2.

The discussion mostly covers Thief, though there is some discussion of other projects. If you want to find out where lingo like "taffer" comes from, or what it means, be sure to check it out!



Teil 4: Randy Smith
In this episode I talk with Thief level designer extraordinare Randy Smith. Randy created some of the most memorable levels in the Thief series, often bringing the more horror-inspired elements (zombies, ghosts, mysteries) of the Thief universe to the fore.

We talk about his approach to level design, and how it developed and evolved in the creative environment of Looking Glass, before seguing into some of his post-Looking Glass work, including his role as project lead on Ion Storm's Thief sequel (Deadly Shadows) and his indie company Tiger Style, makers of Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor.



Teil 5: Ken Levine
In this episode I talk with Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games and mastermind of the Bioshock series, who got his start as a writer/designer at Looking Glass. Ken was one of the main creative forces in the early days of Thief, helping to shape its eventual story, world, and core mechanics. I talk with him about his memories of working at the studio, his writing and creative process, and how his experience at Looking Glass relates to his later work at Irrational Games.

If you ever wanted to know what film noir has to do with Thief or whether the Master Builder really exists, check it out!



Teil 6: Greg LoPiccolo
Next up: Greg LoPiccolo. Greg has risen to impressive heights as the vice president of product development at Harmonix, makers of world famous games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but he got his start at Looking Glass back in the 90s. Coming from the music industry (he was bass guitarist in the Boston-based rock band Tribe) he started out as music/sound designer on System Shock, eventually becoming project lead on Thief 1. I talk with Greg about his roots in the music business, how he adapted to the culture of video games and software design, and how that has affected his approach to game development overall.

If you ever wanted to know how SHODAN's voice came about, be sure to give it a listen!



Teil 7: Eric Brosius
This week it's Harmonix Audio Director Eric Brosius. Eric originally hails from Boston's music scene. He was in the band Tribe along with Greg LoPiccolo and came to Looking Glass as a sound designer around the same time, working first on Terra Nova before moving on to bigger projects. He was one of the few members who continued to work on Looking Glass properties even after the company closed, doing sound design both for System Shock 2 at Irrational and Thief: Deadly Shadows at Ion Storm. I talk with Eric mostly about his approach to sound design, how he dealt with things like music vs. ambience, and how such choices became an integral part of Looking Glass's aesthetic and legacy.

If you want to know why there is no "music" slider in Thief or why stealth "works" in System Shock 2, check it out!



Teil 8: Mark LeBlanc
This week is Marc "Mahk" LeBlanc. Marc was a programmer/designer at Looking Glass for most of the company's life, and was one of the major voices in shaping the overarching design aesthetic of the company. This is partially what lead to Marc being a thinker, writer, and educator on game design, developing the MDA framework (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics) as a simple tool for creating emergence-centric games. I talk with Marc about his time at Looking Glass, how he remembered dealing with simulation, fiction, and emergence across various projects, and how those lessons and strategies have filtered out into the rest of the games industry after the company folded.

If you ever wanted to know how performance-enhancing drugs can help you in System Shock or what the exact difference is between the design philosophies of Deus Ex and Thief, give it a listen.



Teil 9: Terri Brosius & Dan Thron
This week is Terri Brosius and Dan Thron. Dan was an artist/animator on Terra Nova, System Shock 2, and Thief, doing much to solidify the look and feel of the Thief universe. Terri was a voice-actor in both System Shock (as SHODAN) and Thief (as Victoria) as well as a writer/designer for Thief, doing much to shape the overall story arc of the franchise.

I talk with Terri and Dan about how they got into the industry, what influenced them in their contributions to the Thief franchise in particular, and what they consider good storytelling/world building in video games.

If you ever wanted to know who to thank for Thief's infamous eyeball-plucking scene check it out!



Teil 10: Paul Neurath
The guest of our final installment is Paul Neurath, co-founder and creative director of Looking Glass from the day it opened to the day it closed a decade later. In this nearly two hour interview I speak with Paul about the breadth of the company's history, including how it came into existence, what made it focus on innovation the way it did, and why it eventually (and suddenly) closed.

CLOSING COMMENT: We may do some encore podcasts in the future should the right people materialize (the mythical Doug Church for example), but for now this is it. Ten interviews, over 10 hours. An admittedly incomplete but hopefully illuminating oral history of a pivotal game developer. Hope you found it useful.


Ist meines Erachtens eine wahre Wonne. Ich hätte auch locker noch weitere 20 Stunden hören können. Außerdem hat mich die gesamte Podcast-Reihe sehr neugierig auf "Terra Nova", "British Open Championship Golf" und die "Flight Unlimited"-Reihe gemacht.

Ich wünsche euch viel Spaß dabei!

[Gotteshand]

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Die jungs sind schon nicht schlecht.
Kann mich noch erinnern das die Neon genesis Evangelion Figuren auf ihren Schreibtischen hatten, macht sie sehr sympatisch.
Haben einen der coolsten Abspänne gemacht den ich kenne!

Kann aber daran liegen das System Shock für mich ist was Thief für dich ist.

[SonataFanatica]

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Hat sich's denn jetzt inzwischen schon jemand angehört?

edit: vermutlich nicht, hm?^^

[Malkav]

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Verdammt, das ist ganz schön viel Dokumentation auf einmal — ich mag es!

[SonataFanatica]

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Hach, mir fehlt Looking Glass einfach: