Playing Catch-Up: GEX's Lyle Hall at Gamasutra (by Alistair Wallis)
- January 18, 2007
- By Alistair Wallis, Lyle Hall, and Gamasutra
Profile[]
... “We were sourcing third party developers who had both the talent and capacity to develop the highest quality original games, and at a developer conference, another producer and I met Denis Dyack, founder of Silicon Knights,” he explains. “At the time, they were just finishing their Dark Legions game for SSI. We discussed our vision for producing and publishing games with big budgets and bigger expectations, and it matched perfectly with Denis’ ambition to build epic experiences. We considered three game concepts that Denis and his team had dreamed up, and I was instantly taken by one called The Pillars of Nosgoth.”
“Denis and his creative team were extremely passionate about telling a story; about taking the player on a journey and how they could bring a strong narrative and artistic cinema to a console game,” Hall continues. “I was all about the gameplay and how this unbelievable character and epic story translated to the controller and game mechanics. To me it was obvious this game deserved a Zelda-style take on a vampire action RPG, and it immediately struck a chord with Denis. We were convinced we could truly evolve the genre.”
The game was put into production, but Crystal Dynamics’ plan began looking shaky after the 3DO’s lacklustre release in October of 1993, after which two of the company’s founders resigned....
Crystal Dynamics were far from finished though - nor was Dyack’s vampire project, which was eventually released on PlayStation in late 1996, and on PC the next year under the name Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. The game was immensely successful, and was highly praised for its storytelling and atmosphere, as well as its Zelda-styled gameplay. “In the end,” says Hall, “Herculean efforts were made to complete that project: but it delivered on its promise.” ...―Alistair Wallis[1]
References[]
- ↑ Playing Catch-Up: GEX's Lyle Hall at Gamasutra (by Alistair Wallis)
