Chapter 26 Interview: Doug Church ................
Chapter 26 Interview: Doug Church ..................
In an industry increasingly intent on delivering a more cinematic, highly
orchestrated, and largely scripted experience to gamers, some developers
have continued to buck the trend. These mavericks insist that it is not the game
designer alone who should create a game experience, but instead the
designer and player in collaboration. By creating games where players make
meaningful and complex choices, these designers endeavor to emphasize the
interactivity that, among all art forms, only games can provide. It is interesting
to note that most of these developers are somehow tied to the history of
Boston-based developer Looking Glass Studios, which in the 1990s created a
string of uniquely compelling games that were far ahead of their time. One of
the original small band of designer/programmers there at the start of Looking
Glass, Doug Church was one of the primary design visionaries of the studio. In
particular, his three gamesUltima Underworld,System Shock, andThiefall
pushed the boundaries of what an immersive and systems-based game could
be, all while blending in innovative storytelling techniques. Church is that rare
designer who has fully abdicated the authorship of the gameplay experience
to his players, counting on their creativity to complete the equation that leads
to a truly compelling interactive experience.500