Quinn Duffy Interview
This interview, with designer Quinn Duffy, was conducted by FoX in July 2000.
1. Name and Rank?
Quinn Duffy, Rank? Sometimes, but only if I don’t wash my socks.
2. What are some of your interests outside gaming?
Lessee. Hmm. Um. I know I have some because I often go home and do stuff. I watch a lot of movies, I’m interested in a lot of mechanical stuff like cars and motorcycles, some outdoors stuff like hiking and mountain biking (North Shore baby!). We recently tried sea-kayaking and that’s a hobby I could see continuing. And I’m married so I’m also interested in whatever my wife says I should be.
3. What games have taken up residency on your hard drive recently?
Well, I’ve got a total piece of garbage at home so there are very few games that I can play there. I have been playing Ages2 and Myth, Gettysburg (although that’s a game where I don’t feel like I’m actually doing much to help). At work we keep a regular game of Rogue Spear going, a little Unreal Tournament and I’ve been playing Ground Control a little bit.
4. What was your life pre-Relic (College/Work)?
Pre-Relic? Prior to Relic my life was a boring waste. I was at a company in Calgary called Virtual Games (which was owned by the same group that owns VR1). We were working on a fully 3D RPG-shooter set on a space station (sort of Babylon 5 meets William Gibson). This was pre-Quake (I think Duke Nukem 3D had just come out) so it was a very advanced game, but the company had no real ability to sell it. After that, we worked on about 10 demos of various games to try and sell our services and then I left to start my own company doing small Internet games. Then I ran out of money and had to look for work. Before all of that I was in University and before that I was just a kid.
5. How/When did you become a part of Relic?
I hadn’t even heard of Relic when I started to apply at various companies. I had an interview at Westwood (which, at the very least, told me that I was moving in the right direction career wise.) My brother, Colin, was selling this guy Alex Garden a motorcycle and they got to talking about games. My brother said that I had worked in Calgary for a few years and Alex gave him his card. I came out to visit my brother one January about two and a half years ago and met with Alex and several other Relic folk. I didn’t even know I was being interviewed; I just wanted to make sure they were legit before I really applied. I never even got to see Homeworld, but I saw the way these guys worked together and how passionate they were and I took the job when they offered it to me a week later. I also gave them the name of a very talented modeler, animator and programmer, Kelly O’Hara whom I had worked with in Calgary and I think that sweetened the deal.
6. Was the idea of making Sigma overwhelming when proposed?
Yep. I’m not going to lie here. It was and remains a big scary project. But it works. I wasn’t originally hired to do Sigma, so I had to switch my brain from Project X (or whatever you want to call it because the idea’s still kicking around) to Sigma and that was a time consuming transition.
7. When did development for Sigma begin? Was it your first project for Relic or where you a part of the Homeworld team as well?
Sigma began with a small core group in December 98. So it’s been underway for a while. The first step was to develop all of the technology, now we’re working on the game. In between there, several of us went back and forth between Homeworld and Sigma to help finish up Homeworld. I did some ship balancing and lots of playtesting last year. Before Sigma started, I was on Homeworld for about 10 months working with Erin Daly.
8. Were you surprised when Sierra balked at making Sigma? Was Microsoft your next choice or was Sigma shopped around for awhile?
A little. Sierra is a very good publisher, but they’re aggressive about maintaining a lean portfolio…something like that. Microsoft was an immediate choice because they had the support and the experience to take a risk on a game like this. Working with them has been really positive for the team and the game.
9. How do you think Sigma did at E3?
Sigma did fantastically well at E3. We really weren’t sure how it would be received but we got lots of validation from the press and from other members of the industry. Considering how early the game is in development, we kicked ass. And after walking around the show for an admittedly short time (we were stuck doing press demos for the whole three days) Sigma looked as good or better than anything out there.
10. Does the community help in anyway to shape the game with ideas and input?
Absolutely. We read the message boards as often as possible and there are some fantastic ideas there. We really have to control ourselves and avoid the temptation of doing them all. We’re also going to be doing extensive testing on the game with our beta testers and down at MS.
11. Any favorite animal combo?
There are some very cool animal combos. I like anything with a gorilla in it because it combines visually so well and looks so mean.
12. Anything in perticular that you think will amaze people when the game is released or that continually amazes you any time you play it?
The variety continues to amaze. We’re constantly coming across creatures that no one has ever seen.
13. Are you afraid you and rupract are going to get beat as badly in Sigma by the community as you guys got beat in Homeworld?
I’m not afraid because I know it will happen! Knowledge is power and I’ve faced my fears. I feel no shame.
14. Who is the current Sigma multiplayer king?
Depends who you ask.