[game_preservation] Arthur C. Clarke dies, aged 90

[Billy Cain]

Hello group!

 

I worry about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

 

MobyGames, while an awesome resource and I do love them, is *not* the end
all be all of who worked on what in the video game industry. That
information sometimes stays 'in the studio.'

 

Of course many games are not listed yet (it's all done by fans), and many
studios and individuals are cut out of the 'public' credits for one reason
or another (they quit, got fired, were a 'secret' advisor, were contract
labor, were outsource providers, etc.). I know this for sure because my
studio does work for hundreds of video game companies and we receive credit
on *very* few of them. 

 

Developers and publishers seem to be wary of letting the general public know
all the details of a game's production for one reason or another. 

 

I would not be surprised to hear from an individual developer that Mr. Clark
did do consulting or design work for a game, but I would be surprised that
the marketing group didn't take advantage of this as a bullet point feature.
That said, they may not have seen it as "compelling" to their fans. 

 

One man's opinion.

Billy Cain

 

VP of Development / Geek
Critical Mass Interactive, Inc
7427 North Lamar Blvd., Suite #200
Austin, TX 78752
(512) 219-1600 voice
(512) 219-1976 fax
www.criticalmassinteractive.com

 

CMI is currently sponsoring:
- GameCamp!:  <http://www.gamecamp.org> http://www.gamecamp.org
- Game Education Summit June 10-11, 2008:
<http://www.gameeducationsummit.com/> http://www.gameeducationsummit.com/
Link our networks:  <http://www.linkedin.com> http://www.linkedin.com
Our contact info always synched in Outlook:  <http://www.plaxo.com>
http://www.plaxo.com

  _____  

From: game_preservation-bounces at igda.org
[mailto:game_preservation-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Captain Commando
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 6:22 PM
To: IGDA Game Preservation SIG
Subject: Re: [game_preservation] Arthur C. Clarke dies, aged 90

 

Andrew,

While Arthur C Clark is referenced in a few videogames and some of his books
have been made into games, he's not really been part of the credits of them:

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,2889/

Some of these say 'special thanks to' but it seems more like they are saying
'he's been a big influence on us!' rather than 'Arthur C. Clark consulted
for our game and told us how to design part of it.' The one reference where
he's listed as an actor sounds as if it's an interview, but without the game
I can't tell if it's an interview about the book, about the science, or
about the game.

So while Clark was an important part of the science and science fiction
community I don't think he can really be said to have an influence on game
design other than through the narratives of the universes he created. Sadly,
I think we have to draw a line there.

-DM




On Tue, Mar 18, 2008 at 3:27 PM, Andrew Armstrong <andrew at aarmstrong.org>
wrote:

I was wondering if we wanted to put a memorial page for a great Sci Fi
author in the memorial project - if we do, say, and I'll put one up.

In any case, I'm sure people here might be interested in knowing he's
passed away: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7304004.stm

Andrew
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-- 
The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

"Until next time..."
Captain Commando 

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