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Interview: Bill Roper on leaving Blizzard, signing with Namco, and picking a game title.
Date: August 15, 2004
Source: Flagship Studios France (Site dead.)

FlagshipStudios-Fr Interview

FlagshipStudios-Fr: How long since your departure from Blizzard did you thought about creating Flagship studios?

Bill Roper: We didn't leave Blizzard to start Flagship Studios, and in fact, we had hoped our resignations would not have been accepted. Once we realized that Vivendi Universal was electing to allow us to leave rather than discuss our concerns directly with us, we realized we didn't just want to continue to make games - we wanted to do so together. The morning that we said our goodbyes to all the great people we had worked with for so many years at Blizzard North was also the first time we seriously discussed forming a new company.

FS-Fr: Why have you chosen Namco as your publishing partner?

BR: From the very beginning of our search, we wanted to establish a relationship with a publishing partner who has the same dedication to creating and supporting excellent games as we do. In Namco, we found just that match. They are excited and dedicated to starting a new PC division, bringing their vast experience in the gaming industry and tailoring it to the particular needs and interests of the PC gamer. Both Flagship and Namco want to create something extraordinary, and this was the motivating factor in our partnership.

We also wanted to have a high amount of creative freedom, and fortunately Namco recognized the work we had done in the past and agreed that this would be in the best interest of the game. We have a wonderfully interactive relationship with them, and our organic design process makes it very simple for them to see where we are with the development of the game at all times. Since we love talking about games, we're glad to hear their thoughts and opinions on what we're doing, and having the game in a constantly running state makes those discussions much easier and productive.

FS-Fr: When you left Blizzard, did you already have the game you are working on in mind?

BR: No. The day after we left, Erich and Max Schaefer, Dave Brevik and I got together at Dave's house and threw out some ideas on both what we wanted out of a new company, and what we wanted to do in regards to making a new game. Dave came up with the core idea, and after a few minutes of trying to knock it down, we all agreed it was a great concept. Dave has always had an amazing high-level vision for what makes a great game, and I think that this one ranks amongst his best ideas.

FS-Fr: Have you already an idea for the title of this game?

BR: We have been throwing around a few different names for the game, but we want to find something that both gets the idea of what we're creating across to the player and sounds cool. We have a few we like, so hopefully we'll be able to choose one sooner rather than later.

FS-Fr: Can you supply us with information about it, such as story, when and where will the action take place, etc.?

BR: Because we are at such an early in the development of the game, we're not saying much right now. We know how frustrating this can be - we want to talk about our ideas, too - but we have to make sure that when we do announce the game and share our vision and world with people, we have something that we can all really grasp onto. What I can say is that we're creating a game that is easy to learn and has a huge amount of replayability . In terms of the game's design, we don't want to do the same thing again, but for people that have played any of the games we made in the past will be excited about the direction we're heading and will find many of those elements within our design.

FS-Fr: Can you send us one (or more) exclusive concept art?

BR: We are working hard on a lot of character, monster, and item concepts right now, but we honestly don't have anything we want to release quite yet. We think that it is important for us to get a solid direction right now in some areas, and when we feel like we are more on the path, we'll share more of what we're doing.

FS-Fr: During E3, you presented a video. Will you also attend to the ECTS and will you show us screenshots of the game?

BR: We won't be showing the game in any form at ECTS, although we have been discussing attending the show. Travelling right now really comes down to how we're progressing on our development schedule and how the event benefits the game. We all think London is an extremely cool city and usually use any excuse to go there, but we'll have to see how things move along over the next couple of months.

FS-Fr: Among all that you could say to us, what could you give us as an exclusive info concerning the game and/or the studio?

BR: The only “exclusive” info we can talk about is that we're in the middle of hiring! We've brought some new people onboard in the past few weeks, and we're working to update the bios section of the Flagship Studios website to reflect out recent additions. If you want to see what we're looking for in team members - as well as what jobs we have available - check out the Jobs section on our website and stay tuned for updates on who we've added to the team.