Most memorable quotes of 2019

(Originally published on Jan. 27, 2020 on my old Wordpress blog.)

One of the most exciting parts about working as a journalist is getting to speak to people who are much smarter than me. Whether they're CEOs, developers, or even fellow writers, it's a lot of fun to poke other people's brains about their projects and/or the industry as a whole.

And in 2019, I was fortunate enough to have done a lot of interviews with all sorts of insightful folks, and I attended some great gaming-related panels and presentations as well. Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite quotes from the last year based on those events, along with short explanations about why I found them so interesting or amusing.

"But part of me is hoping and expecting and looking forward to the day when one of our younger creators comes up with a brand-new IP – that will be the third, fourth, fifth, who-knows-what pillar – to support Arc as a company. But I still need to work really hard right now so I can stay as their mentor when that day comes."

Guilty Gear designer Daisuke Ishiwatari

Though my profile of Japanese developer Arc System Works came out in February, it was actually based on a trip I took to Japan in summer 2018. I wasn't planning on doing any freelance work initially – it was just a vacation I was going on with friends – but I knew I had to at least try. I contacted various PR folks and companies, and Arc was generous enough to lend some time for a chat.

As I wrote in the story, Arc has a fascinating history, one that stretches back to the Super Nintendo era. Known mostly for its anime fighting games, Arc is also a studio that's in the midst of a transition. While top designers like Daisuke Ishiwatari and Toshimichi Mori are nowhere near ready to retire, they've begun to groom Arc's next generation of developers.

And this quote from Ishiwatari shows how much he's been thinking about that process, if only to make sure that Arc will stick around for another 30 years. It's also a stark reminder of how young the gaming medium is, and that some of the veterans from the '80s and '90s are still around and wish to pass on what they've learned.

“It is up to all of us, individually [and] for each individual situation, to be honest with ourselves, to trust ourselves, to trust the people around us ... and really endeavor to push through every one of those fucking doubt walls because on the other side is always something better than where you were at in the beginning.”

God of War director Cory Barlog

One of my favorite panels of the year was at GDC 2019, where I attended Cory Barlog's presentation about making the God of War reboot (I wrote a recap of it for Variety). Like a lot of talks at GDC, it was a frank and honest look at the development process. But what made Barlog's speech special was the way he examined the physical and emotional toll it can take to helm such a large project.

Barlog constantly struggled with anxiety and self-doubt throughout God of War's development. But he learned to just keep pushing through those walls – not just for the game and his team's sake, but for his own mental health as well.

“Right from the get-go, we wanted to do something that fully embraces the supernatural, strange world. … Just getting weird has been a core philosophy of this game. Let’s just get weird, let’s embrace that."

Game director Mikael Kasurinen

During GDC, I also met with Mikael Kasurinen from Remedy for a hands-on preview of Control. Like Remedy's previous efforts Alan Wake and Quantum Break, Control is an action game with a supernatural premise, one filled with alternate dimensions and telekinetic powers. But that wasn't strange enough for the studio; as Kasurinen told me, they wanted to get really weird with the game.

It's a fun quote that reflects how fully committed Remedy was to this unique world and story. And if the amount of Game of the Year awards Control has received is any indication (I'm still working through the game myself), it seems like all that weirdness has paid off.

“We just got access to all the finished episodes for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and I can see two people on the team watching them right now. We’re pulling special effects references and up-to-date character references out of those just to make the game match the show as much as possible.”

Bonus XP president Dave Pottinger

For one of my sponsored stories, I spoke with BonusXP about their upcoming game, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics. Based on the recent Netflix show (which is really good if you haven't seen it yet!), the game is a strategy RPG that aims to expand the fantasy world of Thra.

Working on a game is hard enough, but working on one based on a TV show that isn't out yet is a whole other thing. When we did the interview, Age of Resistance wouldn't debut for another month, so BonusXP had to be really careful about the early scripts and episodes it received from Netflix HQ. I just found that process fascinating, and as a Dark Crystal fan, I can't wait to see how Age of Resistance Tactics turns out.

“I’m really desperate to make a really gritty, violent game. I feel like I’ve done too much whimsy now."

Artist and designer Rex Crowle

Last summer, I had a chance to preview the '80s-inspired action-adventure game Knights and Bikes. It's the first game from indie studio Foam Sword, a small team mostly made up of designer Rex Crowle and programmer Moo You. Crowle was previously at Media Molecule, where he worked on colorful and family friendly games like LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway.

Knights and Bikes follows in that tradition with bright colors and a storybook-like aesthetic. It wasn't an intentional thing – it just reflects Crowle's tastes and style when it comes to making games  – but his joke here is hilarious nonetheless.

"It was important to me that there was a diversity of different kinds of people and different kinds of weapons as well. ... What's interesting about this person? Do they have secrets? Do they have trust issues? Everybody has baggage, but that's part of falling in love with somebody."

Kitfox cofounder Tanya X. Short

In February, I found myself in the aftermath of a snowstorm in Montreal, Canada. I was there with a coworker to film a trio of videos, one of which was for indie studio Kitfox Games. The focus was on Boyfriend Dungeon, which is a delightful-looking mashup of the dating simulator and dungeon crawler genres. In the game, you actually get to date your weapons ... but before you start wondering about the awkwardness of dating an inanimate object, know that these are magical artifacts that can transform into people, too.

While it sounds a little goofy, the premise gives Kitfox the freedom to create a diverse and compelling cast of characters. And the more I talked to Tanya, the more I could see how serious Kitfox was about making Boyfriend Dungeon an inclusive experience, one filled with romantic situations that – as she says here – anyone can relate to.

“I think there’s something about the game that speaks to this moment in time where the whole weight of the world often seems to be crushing people. And this game is just about a goose, you know? Nothing more, nothing less. If the game has done anything, it’s managed to create a little space of relief, which I think is fantastic." 

Composer Dan Golding

In October, I traveled to Melbourne, Australia for the first time to cover a week-long series of events known as Melbourne International Games Week. It was an amazing experience, and I got to learn about a side of the industry I never really knew much about. Luckily, this was also around the time that Untitled Goose Game (from Aussie studio House House) was starting to blow up, so I made that the focus of one of my stories for GamesBeat.

Among the people I spoke with was Dan Golding, who composed the soundtrack for Goose Game. While Golding felt too close to the game to ponder about its massive popularity, he did offer an interesting theory about why it'd gotten so big: There are so many problems with the world right now, so many things for us to worry about and agonize over, that it's nice to have something silly like Untitled Goose Game to distract us for a little while.

Judging by the endless goose memes and inside jokes within the UGG fandom, I have to say I agree.