appear to change much for all your effort. The third phase is often full of panic and
stress. This is the part just before release when you just want the project to end. The
fourth phase is one of satisfaction after the game has been released.
With the current long projects I often feel I am getting diminishing returns for my
effort, so I am happy to have the game end. In my case, almost everything I had planned
for my game has been implemented, so I am happy to call it done. Except for finding
those irritating last-minute bugs...
So after the prototype is functional, you don’t really enjoy the development
process?
Yes, I would say the bulk of the game is done after the core game concept has been
proven. However, there are often parts that prove rewarding during the long develop-
ment before the game is finished. But after doing so many games over the past thirty
years, working on, say, the user interface just does not get me all excited.
No, I would like to do a prototype and leave it to someone else to finish. But I feel I
still have the vision for the gameplay and I do not believe another person or group
would continue the gameplay as I envision it. So in the end I would feel that the game
was not what I expected, not mine anymore. I would always have the feeling that if I had
worked on it to the finish, the game would be better than what anyone else could have
done. I guess I would feel differently if I had not been as successful as I have.
Do you think focus groups or playtesting accomplishes for home games what
field testing accomplishes for coin-op?
Field testing served as a means to make sure the software and hardware was bug free
but this was a secondary benefit — this was not the real reason why it was done. Field
testing for coin-op games gives you a good idea how well the game stacks up against
other current games. It is easy to predict from the earnings and sales price how well it
will sell. Focus groups rarely gave any clear indication of how well the game would sell
either in coin-op or the consumer market.
For the consumer games,
I do not believe there is any
direct equivalent. The
playtesting or focus group
gives you some idea how well
the game will be perceived,
but in the case ofDr. Mutothe
ratings did not translate into
the sales expected. I believe
the reason is when a player
goes to an arcade he can
expect to see only a few new
games. So it is likely your
game will be seen. In the cur-
rent consumer market there
are numerous titles and it is
Chapter 6: Interview: Ed Logg 111
Dr. Muto