What have been the team’s highlights of 2019?
VISITING INFINITY WARD EXPOSED THE EMOTIONAL SIDE TO GAME DEVELOPMENT.
The original Modern Warfare on PS3 was my obsession. I’d play into the early hours every night and twitch through the next day’s work. So it was incredibly rewarding to catch up with that game’s original team in Los Angeles as I visited Infinity Ward to play the prequel. What I found most endearing is how passionate devs like animation director Mark Grigsby were for their game. Our meeting got a emotional as Grigsby discussed coming back to Call Of Duty (he’d left IW after Modern Warfare 2). The mask had slipped, and through Grigsby I could see how emotionally invested all devs are in their games.
IT’S PREDICTABLE BUT CAN YOU REALLY FAULT US FOR TAKING CONTROL?
Visiting Remedy Entertainment in Finland was an early highlight. Back in February, members of the development team across various disciplines expressed a distinctly united vision for their new weird shooter Control, offering comment and insight that made its way into our monster feature in issue 161. The experience gave me an greater appreciation of the development process, which I hope I more than hinted at through what I feel remains some of my best work. When Control released, I enjoyed unpicking its mysteries all the more, and am enjoying it still thanks to the photography mode.
A LONG TIME AGO (WELL, APRIL TO BE EXACT) IN A CITY FAR, FAR, AWAY…
Anything Star-Warsrelated is always a big deal, and the same was as true for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order as it was for the films that inspired it. In April I went out to Chicago to attend Star Wars Celebration to watch the full unveiling of the game alongside very excited fans and chat to the game’s talented developers. Fan events are always a buzz, and the Celebration was a great environment in which to really get into the details of the game. As a bonus, the first full trailer (and subtitle reveal) for Rise Of Skywalker was also revealed. What a double dose. You can’t get more Star Wars than that.
IT’S ALWAYS A HIGHLIGHT USING GREAT ARTWORK IN THE MAGAZINE.
Two of the magazine covers I designed this year harked back to my early times on the Official PS1 Magazine over 20 years ago. The Crash Team Racing issue (OPM #160) and the FinalFantasy-VII-Remake-led Hot 50 issue (OPM #164) had me feeling all nostalgic for the good old days! Looking forward, working with the incredibly talented David Nakayama on this issue’s quad split-run of covers of awesome games due out in 2020 was also a highlight. David’s work has fronted our annual preview issue for the last three years, and his work also graces front covers of numerous Marvel comics. Beautiful stuff.