Jason Avent is hard at work. We caught up with him recently to discuss his mammoth RPG (roleplaying game) project at Climax,Sudeki. Now we get down to the nitty gritty: Avent's fascination with the genre.
Polygon: Personally speaking, what are your favorite RPG series?
Avent: I don't have one right now. I think some of them are really good at some things, but none of them are perfect.Final Fantasy is great but too long and too repetitive. I'm too old for most of the PC titles because you have to spend hours and sometimes days just getting into them. I really likedOcarina of Time, but the latest Zeldadoesn't live up to the heritage in my view. I used to really like the PC RPGs because often the amount of immersion you get out of it is directly proportional to what you put in—that’s when I didn't have to work or go shopping with girlfriends (I’m not a big fan of doing it, but you have to take the good with the bad I guess). If you’re lucky enough to be at the age where you can spend literally days and nights just playing games, you should appreciate it because it doesn't last for ever! When your parents tell you to go outside and play football, ignore them. It’s your right to stay inside. You may have Golem’s pale skin, but you might just be having the time of your life! These days I only have time for one game, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we all do ...
Sudeki
Polygon: What do you think it is about the genre that has made it such a force?
Avent: RPGs are “immersive” and reward the investment of time with goodies that make a difference to your stature in the game. Traditionally, they're appealing because they give you a reason to keep playing and really draw you in for hours and hours.
Polygon: Have any Xbox RPGs impressed you (other than your own)?
Avent:Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ has definitely impressed me. It's not super accessible, but it's very well done.
Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™
Polygon: What do you think of the future of RPGs on Xbox? Will Xbox Live play a big role?
Avent: Of course it will. It's a license to print money when it's well established. The Xbox is a very powerful machine that makes things that were previously impossible possible.
Polygon: Will RPGs be around forever?
Avent: Oh definitely. I believe that most games will eventually have RPG elements. Grand Theft Auto 3 is an RPG; Devil May Cry is an RPG. RPGs are about character development and story.
Polygon: Do you see the roleplaying genre evolving in the future, or is a revolution due?
Avent: I think genres are blurring and merging. With the power of consoles and PCs increasing, you don't have to focus your game on just one thing any more. Look at Battlefield 1942, Halo, Planetside, and GTA 3. What genres do they fit into? If you say Halo is just an FPS (first-person shooter), is it the same as Doom? IsGTAa driving game or a shooting game, or an RPG with accessible character development? You can argue that GTAis an action adventure game or just an action game—or ultimately ... just a game. There will always be fantasy games, sci-fi games, and whatever else is marketable at the time. I would hope that if game design progresses properly, all games will have something for everyone—both the five-minute blast and the 10-hour marathon session. Hell, we might even be able to get girls to play more, so we don't have to go shopping with them all the bloody time!
Jason Avent, perennial trolley-pusher and part-time gamer, expects to see “the one game he has time for” on the store shelves early next year.
