During PAX there was one indie game I was really looking forward to, and from the moment I entered the show, it had tons of people lining up to play. The game, SpyParty, is being independently made by industry veteran Chris Hecker. Hecker has an impressive resume, including been a major part of the development of Spore, and he’s putting that expertise into this fascinating title. I was able to schedule an interview with him during his very busy schedule.
Mark Godec: So I couldn’t help but notice you are handing out pamphlets on how to play. It seems like SpyParty is really complicated.
Chris Hecker: Accessibility is the preeminent thing people go for these days, and I’m trying to go for as much depth as possible first. A big inspirational game for me is Counterstrike. I haven’t played it for years, but when I did, I played a hundred million hours of it. That level of replayability and intense player skill is what I want, where it’s like, if I’m way better then you, you will never win. You can deal with that later with matchmaking and handicapping. You want that raw almost e-sports level of player skills because that’s what makes for replayability. Because you feel like you’re getting better. We’ve had people come back five times. Enough people have been standing in line and coming back we are going to have an experienced players tournament tomorrow. Eventually, I will make it more accessible with handicapping and gadgets. (more…)
