Dev Box Interview: Darksiders General Manager David Adams

Written by 2.o | January 7, 2010

It usually takes a small army to create the video games that we play, and, most of the time, all of the focus gets put on the game itself, and not on the people that came together to make it. Our Dev Box interview series takes a look at some of the unsung heroes that have committed their lives to entertaining all of us. In this week’s expanded Dev Box we are letting Vigil Games General Manager David Adams provide us some insight into who he is as a gamer, and how he ended up working in the game’s industry.

Name: David Adams
Title: General Manager
Company: Vigil Games
Most recent title worked on: “Darksiders” (Xbox 360, PS3)

What game has most influenced you, and why?
The first “Zelda” on the NES. It was the first game that I sat down and really enjoyed exploring the world. It was like a banquet table of cool stuff to do: exploration, bosses, pushing blocks (which was cool as all out back then), swords, potions, secrets, etc… etc… etc… When I went over to my friends house and saw him blow a hole in a mountainside with a bomb I was instantly hooked. I begged pleaded and stole to get that game and I’ve never looked back.

What are you playing right now?
I am currently playing 3 games. “Spirit Tracks” (just picked this up over the break, and I am probably half way through), “Bayonetta” (got this on launch day and I am already several hours in), and “Assassin’s Creed 2″ (I like to have one nice long epic game in the pocket to go back to from time to time).

I am also mid-”Arkham Asylum.” This game came out during our crunch on “Darksiders,” so I got pulled away (and it’s always hard for me to go back to a game I’ve been off of for awhile). However, I REALLY want to go back and finish it because it’s right up my alley.

What was your first break in the games industry?
When I was in college me and a few friends of mine made a shareware game called “Crush!” It was a crazy space-themed turn-based sports game with zany rules (including teleporters), plenty of team customization, and some decent strategy. After awhile selling it shareware, we got the game published and added league play and multiplayer – dubbing the supped up version “Crush! Deluxe.”

It wasn’t much of a game by today’s standards, but it was very satisfying as a developer since I got to work on almost everything: I was the only programmer, I did some of the art, sound FX, VO work (awesome VO work I might add – JK), and pretty much anything else you can think of. It was game development in its purest form.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” – Sun Tzu

I had that quote printed on my office wall for the longest time.

Where do you look for inspiration?
Just about anywhere I can. Obviously, I play a ton of games – PC, 360, PS3, Wii, old PS2 and Gamecube games, DS, whatever I can get my hands on. I love to troll reviews of old games and pickup classics that I missed (Discovered and played “Alundra” awhile back – which was awesome!).

On top of that I get inspiration from a myriad of sources: movies, books (I read a lot of books), board games, etc… I was even inspired by an episode of Iron Chef America (that’s a long story), and a news story about people that fall in manholes because they are too busy texting.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about game development?
The biggest lesson I have learned is that making games is REALLY hard. Well, at least good games. The effort involved between making an OK game and a GREAT game is nearly exponential. When I see a game that just knocks everything out of the park I do a mental hat tip to the team that pulled it off, because I know the amount of dedication and effort that went into making that happen.

Out of all the things you have to do when working on a game, accepting when something isn’t good has to be the hardest. Bringing that level of objectiveness to your work and being able to say “Look, I know we spent a couple weeks on this, but it just plain sucks and we need to trash it and start over” is not an easy thing to do. I think intellectually people think they are capable of doing that, but honestly not that many people are.

Who do you think will come out on top this console generation?
Hmmm… I hedged my bets and bought everything. Personally I really can’t say – I play games on all platforms, and enjoy them all – whether its “Gears of War,” “Uncharted 2,” or “Zelda” (to name a few).

What do you think is the biggest problem current games suffer from?
Scope and budget. It’s hard to make money on a game these days. I think there are a lot of cool ideas out there ready to be made, but they are stifled by the fact that the amount of money it takes to complete a game on a current gen console (except maybe the Wii) can be extremely prohibitive. Only the really big successes make money.

What is the most important thing that has happened to gaming in the last 10 years?
Online. Whether it’s an MMO, co-op play, downloadable games, or whatever. That integration has been going on for quite awhile, and will continue for the foreseeable future.

Where do you see gaming in 5 years?
I’m not much of a prognosticator. I’m sure there will be more online content, more downloadable games (how can you not love Steam – you can get awesome games for like 2-5 bucks every once and awhile), more places to play games (just started playing phone games personally, I suppose there are still a few places in my life I can’t play something – sleeping? – so I’m sure there are still a few places people can stick them).