Rob Smith (PC Gamer) Interview
What makes you qualified to be editor-in-chief of a major PC gaming magazine?
A great enthusiasm for games, for PCs, and for the craft of magazine creation. Oh, and a bit of knowledge on how to combine the three in a compelling way thats going to ensure that anyone interested in PC games picks up our magazine, and not one of the others.
How did you wind up at PC Gamer?
Once upon a time I got a job working for a Game Boy games magazine in "the old country." Cutting a long (seven year) story short, I ended up at PC Games (at IDG), moved to Imagine to help launch PC Accelerator (RIP), and landed the best job in the industry when former head honcho, Gary Whitta, moved off to lead Total Movie magazine.
What game, released this year, will spawn the most sequels for the next five years?
Good one
Age of Empires will have numerous sequels. Hopefully No One Lives Forever will spawn one or two. Red Alert will keep going
but ultimately, Id be surprised if many of our current franchises are still going in five years (at least not in any style or format that we might think of them today).
Given that computers are sensitive pieces of machinery, whats the strangest object youve jammed into one?
I have the utmost respect for the computers I use on a daily basis, so I try to limit foreign objects entering them. Probably the worst thing, however, is some of the bile that Ive spewed at different points over the years when a card hasnt worked, a pin connector got bent, or I was just pissed (in the English sense) and pissed off.
Why arent female gamers targeted to the same extent as male gamers?
Because, sadly, there are so few of them. Regardless of the studies showing women to constitute 50% of the gaming audience, they arent the target audience (in general) for first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. If there were certifiably more of them, games would be targeted that way. Though you wouldnt know it when you see some of the campaigns, marketing managers know their audience, and know that its roughly 95% male.
PC Gamer has many women on staff. How does it feel when you get your butt whooped by a girl at Quake 3?
Actually, PC Gamer has only one woman on the editorial/art staff right now (Chiaki -- our Assistant Art Director). Lisa Renninger was the long-time managing editor, but she moved to Chicago where she could buy a house (hopefully). Thus, Ive never had my ass whupped by a woman (at Quake III, I should add, and not knowingly, but you never know on the Internet).
Playstation 2. Do you own one and will consoles kill PCs or will the two mate and produce unholy offspring?
No. Never will. Got a DVD player, so why do a I need one. And no they wont kill the PC because regardless of whether people like it or not, theres a social mentality built around the PC beyond gaming (home accounts, creating crappy holiday cards on the old printer, surfing for porn, writing resumes
) that wont be replaced by any of the new handhelds, and wont be available through consoles. Its a huge argument, and not one to go into here, but PCs are here to stay (for at least the next five years). But X-Box will kill the PS2 (tee-hee).
How does being the editor-in-chief work? Do you assign the games to be reviewed? After a review is submitted do you run through them to find spelling mistakes and grammatical errors? Have you ever told a reviewer that their review sucks and that they need to write it again?
Okay, day to day running is through different editors. One of my main responsibilities day to day is dealing with cover pitches, getting the artwork, working on the words, planning the coming months, etc. I also read every word submitted through freelancers and staff writers on-screen before it gets to the art staff (and then I read it again on page). Dan Morris actually assigns the reviews. He reads them first, then I read them and any questions are fired back to the reviewer. In the past there were times when reviews had to go back for wholesale changes (when I was in England, mainly), but PC Gamer has a very talented pool of freelance writing talent, and they know what theyre doing, so complete re-writes are rarely required (and Morris heavily edits anything thats weaker before it gets to me).
Playing computer games and consuming vast amounts of liquid (coffee, tee, alcohol, etc.) are synonymous with hardcore gamers. Whats your beverage of choice to maintain alertness?
Coffee. Black. Half an Equal (or alternative). Or tea (Im English, cmon). PG Tips. Hot. And so long as its after lunch, Samuel Adams Boston Lager -- the beer of kings (even though he was a terrorist
or patriot if you want to look at it like that). And for those late night edits, when the copy needs work, and I need some help
Glenfiddich (single malt whiskey).
Whats it like working with Greg Vederman (Technical Editor) and is he the egomaniac he appears to be?
Funny story: when I joined PC Gamer, I actually asked if I could steal Li Kuos (Associate Editor) desk so that I could sit across from The Vede and try to ensure I gave him crap for always being late on deadlines. What I end up seeing for much of
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the day is the various streaming porn heading into his computer. So working with Vederman is a constant source of amusement -- and he knows his stuff (otherwise hed have been fired for being a lazy git years ago). And egomaniac? Nah, hes a very sweet, very sensitive boy, whos looking for a little support through his current thinning on top crisis. Everyone should rally round -- Propecias not cheap.
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Do you read other gaming publications?
Absolutely. I also subscribe to about 20 other magazines (Ive lost count, but they clutter the house) and my fiancée gets a few too. Ive always been a magazine junkie. You can learn a lot looking at other magazines that arent gaming ones.
Is there one piece of advice that you would like to pass on to people wanting to get into the business of reviewing games?
Advice: reviewing games is not a business to get into. Its a potential supplement to other sources of income, but there are few people doing this for a living. Practically: submit sample reviews in the form of the magazine youre hoping to write for (dont grade a game out of five stars if you send it to us -- we use percentiles, for example). Be creative.
Do you watch many movies? And why do you always put those quotes at the top of your column?
I watch movies, but Im not a movie fiend like some of the people on staff. The quote contest was started by Gary Whitta. Ive tried to use it creatively to reflect different ideas, themes, or comments in the issue that month. That column at the front is very short, so its a good opportunity to make a statement (if anyone gets it) and give the readers a contest at the same time.
Give us your impressions of some of the game designers and programmers youve met over the years.
Wow, insider secrets?
- Paul Steed likes hot women. A lot.
- Richard Gray (Levelord) is completely mad. (And thats a compliment).
- Ed Fries (Microsoft, VP Games) doesnt look, sound or act like the man thats going to dominate gaming for the next two to three years.
- John Carmack is scarily intelligent, vocal, and funny, and really needs someone to write an autobiography at some point (Im willing).
- Warren Spector is possibly the most creative game mind at work in the industry today -- he eats, lives and breathes the design and future of interactive entertainment.
- Alex Garden is very tall, so is American McGee.
- Cliff Bleszinski isnt, but anyone happy to be called CliffyB has to be very, very contented with life.
- Chris Roberts shouldnt be judged on the Wing Commander movie.
- Stevie Case is incredibly bright, thoughtful and sensitive, and should be given a fair hearing when shes talking about games, rather than being pigeon-holed for other assets.
- John Romeros also a nice guy
so he produced a poor game -- who hasnt?
- Bill Roper is as friendly a senior company executive as you could meet.
Why is that Star Trek and Star Wars are two of the most abused game licenses?
Mainly because there was a license chase a few years ago before designers started really thinking about what to do with them. Licensed games will certainly improve because games are getting to be a bigger part of the extended franchise, and powerful entities like movie studios are taking more notice and wont want their franchises sullied by crappy game design, just to get a product on the market.
If Will Wright, John Romero, Sid Meir, Shigeru Miyamoto and American McGee were locked in a room with a pad of paper, some pencils, an endless supply of Cheetos and a P4, what kind of game would they produce?
An open-ended, mainstream-focused, visually incredible strategy game, with flawless control, an edgy, slightly scary storyline, and lots of heinous green frogs and mosquitoes in the first level. Itd sell billions.
E3 is supposed to be an overrated event, along the lines of the release of Star Wars Episode 1. Agree or disagree.
Disagree. Its a trade event, where we go to do business. Business usually gets done. And what could be overrated about drinking lots of Sonys booze, or Eidos Tomb Raider profits, or, well, any free alcohol for that matter?
Have you ever written something for PC Gamer then looked at when it was published and said, "What the hell was I thinking?"
Not for PC Gamer. Ive let things get to print that might have caused that reaction, but I edit myself more than anyone.
Will adventure games die off completely?
No. Theyll have a bit of a renaissance, but most of their gameplay mechanics will be merged into RPGs, which is probably the biggest potential growth area, and incorporates most elements of every other game type.
Where do you draw the line in terms of content and subject matter?
In PC Gamer? Tough one. You should see some of the craziness that didnt get in. Some that did see print shouldnt have (see Q.19 above!). We dont plan on offending anyone, but were also creating an entertaining read, and that involves pushing some limits every now and again. Well try not to step over, since with 400,000 buyers, its really easy to offend someone. (I didnt even know that Godammit was considered a bad word until it was in one of the movie quotes at the head of the column and a bunch of people were very quick to point out that I was going straight to hell, not passing go, not getting a second chance. (Idiots.)
Who the hell won: Bush or Gore?
You sent me these questions about three (or four) weeks ago and we still dont know (officially). But Gore won, all they have to do is count the votes that were cast. Simple really. The other winner was the UK, with the Queen rescinding the declaration of independence (I must have been sent that email about 20 times).
If Ralph Nader was a game designer what kind of games would he make?
Ones that screwed up every other right-thinking game designers ideas, so good games wouldnt make it to the shelves, and hed sell five copies and still claim a moral victory. (Moron).
Is censorship for the gaming industry as dangerous as everyone makes it out to be?
Censorship in any form of media is bad. The main issue with the games industry is simple adherence to the ESRB ratings that companies voluntarily subject games to. Theres no danger in that, just as there isnt a problem with not selling R rated movies to kids. If censorship of content is suggested, then thats scary, and thats why the industry is being proactive in ensuring that it is being seen to be complying with its own standards.
Have you ever fallen at an awkward moment?
In England. On ice. In the middle of a road. In front of a car. Dislocating a shoulder. Very awkward.
Whats it like being a Brit living and working in the U.S. of A.?
Bloody marvelous. Chicks dig the accent. I get sun. Im actually good at football (soccer) over here. I am, what would be termed in my country, a "jammy git."
Do you do an Austin Powers impersonation?
Every single day of my life
er
baby!
Do you receive much email on a daily basis and what is the general tone?
From readers? I get Letters to PC Gamer, plus letters to the Editor, and the Ednote mail for the quote contest. All-in-all, too much to go through on a daily basis. The tone depends on the issue. "We rock," "Vederman sucks/rocks/is he single?" "My CD is broken/doesnt work/rules the world/wheres game xx," "Your review on p 112, paragraph four in the first column stated that a Star Trek Ion Fusion reactor used dilithium crystals, when it clearly states in episode 4 "Riker Gets It On" of season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, that Ion Fusion reactors only use TRIlithium crystals. How could you make such a basic error?" Etc.
Is high fiber, low fat the way to go? Or is it some kind of alien plot?
High fiber is the way to go if you need help in going. Thats no alien plot.
Who would we have to bribe to get on the cover of PC Gamer?
Me.
Some people use their old CD-ROMS as frisbees. What is your favourite use of crappy game CDs?
(Theres a u in favorite?) They make good coasters -- but dont microwave them, they stink awful.
(Ive been campaigning for years to get a "u" added to favorite. But I suppose its one of those hopeless cases, like my petition to abolish Standard Time and bring back 8 Tracks. Omni.)
Its a standard question but well ask it anyway, what is your favorite game of all time?
Actually a tough one. Probably Doom -- what an experience. (Though there was a game called Quazatron on the Sinclair Spectrum (Powerdroid on the C64) that was absolutely brilliant. MGM Interactive remade it as Machine Hunter a few years ago and screwed it all up by taking out the best parts.)
Canadian Trivia Question: Name the Canadian writer who recently won the Booker Prize for fiction. (Bonus if you know the title of the novel.)
Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin. (And shed been nominated before (at least three times, I think) and this was the first win).
Someone got the CTQ right?! Congratulations, Rob!
PC Gamers official site.
Conducted by Omni