David Jaffe on his next title and Aussie game censorship

Angus Kidman
Monday, 07 December 2009 05:43

IT Industry - Development

His first release from his own company Eat Sleep Play remains shrouded in mystery, but God Of War creator David Jaffe says that he's already decided on the game he wants to work on when that title is finished.



"I had a light bulb moment of the next game I want to do," Jaffe revealed during a videoconference Q&A that kicked off the second day of the Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) games development conference in Melbourne . "Finally, last night I had this idea of 'Oh my god I have to make that next'."

Jaffe didn't offer any other concrete information, but said that the concept would need a relatively low budget (under $3 million) and would likely launch on PlayStation Network (PSN), Sony's online-only games distribution environment. "I'm envisioning that as a PSN title. I'm a big digital distribution guy. I know the PSP Go has got slammed but I f***ing love that I can go online and I've been buying games like crazy. I think PSN has gotten a bad rap because Sony should be focusing on commercial PSN products and it's got a lot of this arty-farty stuff instead. There's a little bit of a perception hurdle we'll have to overcome if we want to make that game."

Jaffe similarly declined to give many details about the first Eat Sleep Play title expected in 2010, citing his company's contract with Sony, which has signed the group to exclusively develop PlayStation titles. However, he said that much of the secrecy that shrouds game development seems pointless, contrasting the large amount of information that leaks about movies years before they release with the more secretive games industry. "I've never quite understood why we have to keep things so close to our chest in this industry. I think that's kind of an old-fashioned mentality."

Game development is a highly fluid process, he noted. "We are cutting stuff out of our current game on a weekly basis. It's like, with a movie you have a screenplay and you go out and you shoot it. With a game, you're making the movie while you're writing the script. Things change and it's very fluid and viscous."

Jaffe himself has been a prolific blogger, though he is currently in a self-imposed period of online inactivity. Surprisingly, he remarked that he wasn't convinced a high level of public visibility on forums and blogs has a major impact on sales. "I've never seen anything that indicates to me that from a pure sales standpoint, it makes a lot of difference."

Jaffe also displayed a resigned attitude to the censorship that happens with many gaming titles, especially in markets like Australia which lack an R18+ rating. "There's a government board and if they say it's too offensive, in that case there's no fight to fight -- it is what it is. There's not much you can do if you're making games aimed at a mature audience. We never like to cut it, but what are you going to do? You're dealing with governments."

"There's absolutely an inconsistency in the consciousness about video games. The reality is people still see a lot of these things as kids' toys. It's utter BS."