Written by: David Laprad
Published: April 21, 1999
It seems the sun cannot set in Dallas without a group of game designers coming together and forming a 3D action game development studio. It also seems for every successful 3D action game, an add-on is created. Combine these with a robust measure of talent and the results can be pure gaming magic. One such design studio, Gearbox, is among the most promising due to the legacy of games attributed to its team members. No doubt this attracted Sierra Studios, the publisher of Half-Life, to the group for the official expansion.
Sierra Studios will release the expansion, titled Half-Life: Opposing Force for its celebrated 3D action thriller this fall. In the game, players return to the Black Mesa Research Facility to engage in a new episode of solo action, and will also be offered an enormous variety of fresh multiplayer content. Gamers boot up as a soldier, not Gordon Freeman, on the opposing force, and experiment with a host of militaristic, experimental and alien weapons. Features include a fierce new alien race as well as interaction with more human characters.
We interviewed Randy Pitchford, long-time distinguished member of the 3D gaming community and top cog at Gearbox, to get the scoop on the emerging company and its first project, Half-Life: Opposing Force.
AVault: Who are the members of Gearbox and what is their past game design experience?
Pitchford: The Gearbox team currently consists of about 10 designers, artists and programmers and is growing. The team will be introduced during the upcoming launch of www.gearboxsoftware.com, which should open before E3. The team does include some of the Prax War content team, including Brian Martel, Rob Heironimus, Landon Montgomery, Stephen Bahl and John Faulkenbury, as well as some other very talented individuals familiar to the 3D game development scene. The collective experience is vast and very impressive to me. Our developers have contributed to many of the most acclaimed games ever made, from Civilization to Duke Nukem 3d.
AVault: What brought this group of designers together?
Pitchford: After Prax War, most of the developers began getting offers for some nice opportunities with design studios. But, the one thing none of the companies offering us jobs would let us do was stay together as a team. So, the core of the RBR content team decided we'd see what was out there. There was a lot more interest in us from publishers wanting to utilize us as a full team than I expected. That interest fueled our desire to press on with Gearbox Software armed with all the experience as developers in the industry and as business builders at RBR.
AVault: How will the team distinguish itself among the growing collective of 3D game developers?
Pitchford: We are building a long term plan that has several facets to it. First, we believe the talent is the most important part of a design studio. I feel fortunate that we have star talent in each department, and we've constructed a hierarchy that allows engineering, art and design to compliment each other instead of drown each other out, the trend at many other studios. Second, we're approaching the process of development differently than the Dallas environment is used to. There's no shortage of creativity with any of the 3D game developers and there's no shortage of talent -- certainly the same is true with Gearbox. We'll excel by focusing on the path to completion. Hopefully, we'll avoid the trap many studios fall into where schedules become meaningless and ship dates slip forever. It will require some refinement, but our goal is to reach the point where we can be more predictable in development than the norm.
