David Braben Interview

      David Braben Interview for uk.games.video.playstation
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AM: Will you be supporting the Sony Playstation?

DB: Yes.

AM: What projects do you have under development, and how many.

DB: We have several, but I can't discuss them I'm afraid.

AM: Have you had the chance to delve deeply into the Playstation
    hardware?

DB: That's a difficult one, the Playstation has a lot of libraries, it
    has excellent hardware. It certainly drives games in a certain style.
    Its graphics capabilities are superior to its mathematical ability.

AM: How do you rate Playstation software to date?

DB: Its getting a lot better. I don't go a bundle on one-on-one fighting
    games, of which there are quite a lot.

AM: Are there any releases in particular that you admire?

DB: I quite like the "Die Hard Trilogy"............. and the effects in
    "Alien Trilogy".

AM: What sort of effects?

DB: Well, the sounds from the films produce a good atmosphere.

AM: Yes, I love that quick firing machine gun sound!

DB: Yes.

AM: The appeal of "Elite" seems to have been, that around an excellent
    shoot-em-up was a game full of choices and exploration, do you think
    that open-ended style has a market with Playstation owners?

DB: [no hesitation] Oh yes.

AM [thinking on his feet] So why hasn't it happened?

DB: Its hard to get it right. There's a lot of pre-judgement out there.
    Some people think, "a Playstation game *shall be* arcade", or "*shall
    be* something else". When we were trying to sell "Elite" it was
    rejected for being too different, it wasn't "Space Invaders" and
    there wasn't a "goal". EMI rejected it.

AM: You and the Beatles? [laughs]

DB: Exactly!

AM: What's your favourite colour? Sorry, just kidding. Can you indicate
    when we might see a Frontier Developments game for the Playstation?

DB: Not this year.

AM: Mid way next year?

DB: That's about right, yes.

AM: Now that you work with a team, do you still write the core routines
    and code, or are you now more in the role of Director?

DB: More as a Director, but I will roll my sleeves up to do vital bits,
    but not on a day to day basis.

AM: What is it that you'd like your games to offer players, that makes
    them stand out?

DB: Depth and attention to detail, I suppose .......I don't know.

AM: Since you've been using home computers and consoles, over the the
    years, which do you remember the most fondly?

DB: [no hesitation] The BBC.

AM: Do you still play computer games?

DB: Occasionally, mostly from a professional viewpoint, rather than to
    relax. I watch the magazines for games to look out for.

AM: Which games do you play?

DB: "Duke Nukem" is a good laugh.

AM: Have you played "Resident Evil"?

DB: No I haven't yet, ........it looks interesting.

AM: Thanks very much, David.

DB: Thats okay, Angus.

                           End of interview