Doctor__Boom

Wow. It's always humbling to hear stories like yours. When I was making SOCOM it was definitely a labor of love but a lot of the time it was "there's too much to do and too much to keep track of." I basically had no social life for the years I was making those games. So to hear your story really does make the time spent worth it all.

Regarding Battlefied, CoD, MOH: yes, I'm trying to and succeeding in avoiding all the WOW spectacle stuff. Those games do it well but it costs them tens of millions of dollars. I want to initially create a core MP experience that is all about teamwork, core gameplay, replay value, authenticity and yeah, even a little sly humor thrown in. I am confident you are not going to get some of the crazy stuff that we intend in those other games.

Regarding the key innovation in H-Hour: Sure, we're doing some clever things with MP game modes and will be working on "human drama in quiet moments" with the SP campaign but there are two things that are going to make H-Hour unique and stand out. The first is all the community tools and features to get like minded people together, playing together, and befriending one another. The other big thing is to be known for being the first to use analytics in a practical, meaningful way for gamers. Not just boot to kill, rounds fired blah blah blah. Exposure analysis. Interpersonal cooperation. Responsiveness to orders. Sportsmanship. Of course people are free to play any way they like (as long as they are not cheating) but we want to create a community that is know for esprit de corps, not griefing.

I've thought about the direction of SOCOM after I left Zipper/Sony. You know, it's just one of those things. People like to say that a series always changes after the creators leave and they do. It's natural.

Regarding the HD remake, I believe Sony is on record as stating that it will not happen.

I did play the old SOCOM games online--had to because of working on them. :) As is typical of developers, after working overtime on a game for three years, that game is usually the last one you want to play. It doesn't mean the game isn't good, it's more of a "been there, done that" sort of thing. Plus they put you to work on sequels immediately so more overtime...

I am ashamed to admit that I was not in a clan. No time for it and I would've been "that guy that only shows up for barbecues." Seemed unfair to potential clan mates.

Absolutely. First in line are Kickstarter backers. We will not forget the community that made the game possible.

Wow. I have no idea. I've had my hands full with Kickstarter stuff. One thing I learned right away after launching: You don't run a Kickstarter campaign. Your Kickstarter campaign runs you. :)

Yes. Similar but different. Spiritual successor and all that. As opposed to "sued for copyright infringement." ;)

But the process of research, finding inspiration, design, iteration, feedback and test will be identical. It works so we'll use it.

Well, we generally try not to say unkind things about anyone's work. Unless you're a journalist. Then it seems to be your job.

What I can say about the later SOCOMs is that they went off the road map I had envisioned and detailed. That was disappointing for me. I'm sure they put everything they had into those games but they were quite different from what I would have done.