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It’s not often a hobbyist
gets to talk to someone important in their time consuming past-time, but
the gaming gods have smiled on us, providing us our first ever
interview, and it’s a whopper!
Paul Blagay has worked on a wide range of video games, from the
Genesis Mortal Kombat 3 to Tak and the Power of JuJu on
modern systems. To PlayStation fans, he is one half of the creative
force behind the promotional disc NBA 2 Ball, the most sought
after release in the entire US library.
Mr. Blagay graciously took time out of his current programming
assignment to sit down with Game Rave and talk to us about his
job and NBA 2 Ball.
Personal Data Track
GR: How old are you?
Paul: I’m 35 now.
GR: How long have you been working in the video game industry?
Paul: I have been in the industry since 1993 – so almost 12 years.
GR: What is your job description?
Senior Programmer
GR: How many projects have you worked on, and your favorite project
you worked on?
Paul: About 15 projects. The favourite would have to be Mortal Kombat
3, I think back on Sega Genesis.
GR: Current projects, either professional or personal, that you are
working on?
Paul: Currently working on 25-to-life for PS2 / Xbox.
GR: What was your favorite past and current platform to work on?
Paul: At the moment I would have to say the Xbox has been one of the
more fun machines to work on. It's set up to take away a lot of the pain
that platforms like PS2 gave you. This leaves you to concentrate on the
more important things like game play (what a concept).
I must admit being favorable to working on Sega machines. I loved the
Saturn for instance. It was a true hacker’s machine. The last of them I
think.
Consoles became more uniform after that.
GR: Do you play games in your spare time? If so, what's your favorite
game to play?
Paul: I don’t get to play as much these days. It's hard to get that
motivation after working on them all day. Recent favorites have been
mostly on Game Cube such as Mario, Zelda, etc. I loved
Prince of Persia on Xbox though; truly a quality game. Mario 64
DS has been fun also… having completed the N64 version, this is a
new challenge.
GR: If you were given the chance to take any game from any system
from any point in time, and remake it with your personal additions, what
would it be and why?
Paul: Wow, tough question. I think it would have to be going way back to
the Atari ST / Amiga days. I don’t think I played a game more than I did
'Dungeon Master' on the ST. I think a lot of games of that genre
have gotten overcomplicated (at least for my tastes). Going back to the
roots of simpler but ingenious game play is my idea of where games
should be.
GR: Have you been able to get a sneak peak at the development kits of
the next generation systems (PS3, XB2. GC2)? If yes, which would you
want to have a stab at first?
Paul: Obviously due to legal reasons I can’t say a lot. Having seen
public statements of the systems, I would have to say I’m most excited
about Xbox2, and Gamecube2. The PS3 will probably have the media
attention, but if PS2 is anything to go by, it’s going to be a beast to
work on. I hope Sony addresses this problem.
GR: What would you like to see in a game system?
Paul: I think I would like to see something truly innovative. I think
the Eye-Toy was a step in the right direction, although I think the
content is pretty poor. [I’d like to see] new and interesting ways to
interface and interact with the system.
Graphics power is leveling out. Yeah, you get more polys, etc,
but gamers have been wowed by graphics for a while now.
GR: Outside of gaming, what's your favorite way to unwind?
Paul: I play Soccer, being from England. It's my great stress reliever.
I also spin records / CDs, and am quite into the dance music scene.
NBA 2 Ball
De-classified
GR: Was it a scratch build, or an
adaptation of an existing project?
Paul: It was developed using NBA Jam Extreme as a base engine
(arcade game).
GR: Is this basically a full game, or is it a rigid demo with say a
restricted number of teams each that can be played as?
Paul: It is a full game, but as you probably know the rules for 2-ball
are quite simple. You pick from the teams and rosters that were in place
when this product was manufactured.
GR: Was this ever planned as a full release game?
Paul: This was never planned as a full release to the consumer.
GR: Where if you know was this actually released, and in what
quantities?
Paul: It was released only as a giveaway for the NBA All Star Game. I
can’t remember what year it was, but at a guess, probably around 1998-99
or so. I’m not sure the exact quantities but it was very limited. Maybe
500..?? I’m not sure.
GR: How did the development and lead times run for this game
considering that there were only 2 of you working on the game itself?
Paul: The game itself had to be done in about a month or so in time for
the All Star Game. As I mentioned earlier we took the base from NBA
Jam Extreme, so that helped a lot.
GR: Were you proud of it?
Paul: I hope to be proud of everything I work on. I think it turned out
well for such a quick turnaround.
GR: Do you keep your own copy of it or any of any other games you
worked on?
Paul: I have a copy of every game I worked on and display them on the
wall in my office.
GR: What's it feel like knowing you've helped create what some
collector's consider the "holy grail" of PlayStation items?
Paul: Ha-ha, really! I had no idea. I must admit that is pretty cool to
know. I will treasure my copy then :)
Fortune Cookie Corner
GR: Many of our readers are hoping to one day break into the gaming
industry. As a senior programmer, what advice would you give them that
will help them reach their goal?
Paul: Things have changed since I was starting out. However for me it
started with a passion for games, and teaching myself to code. I then
showed my work to a company and they decided I had shown enough to
warrant a job. I think you need to be able to think outside the box and
try things out. Everyone can get a college degree, but that doesn't
necessarily teach you how to think beyond the rules and theory. Mess
around on your PC, try stuff out.
GR: Was it hard for you to get your start?
Paul: The last question answered most of this. I was put straight in the
deep end in my first position working on an Atari Jaguar title. Quite
the beast to program for, but I was an Atari fanatic so quite happy :).
Game Rave would like to thank Paul Blagay
and the folks over at RokSoft Entertainment for their help in setting up
this interview for our readers.
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