"I don't want to lie, it was a bit complicated at first." Patrick Klaus recalls, "When I joined the studio in 2019, my predecessor had just left and we hadn't released any games yet. ”
Klaus is the general manager of EA's Montreal studio Motive, which was founded in 2015 by Assassin's Creed co-creator and renowned female producer Jend Raymond. Raymond switched to Google's Stadia team in October 2018, and it took about two years before EA Motive released his debut title, Star Wars Squadrons. At the time, EA Motive was still actively building an ambitious new IP, but it didn't go well.
"Motive used to develop campaign content for Star Wars: Battlefront 2, but it's really a very young studio. I think in the first few years of the studio, like some of the other more established studios, we were trying to find our place. ”
Krause admits that Motive isn't as well-known today as other EA-owned studios like BioWare or Criterion, but he hopes that will change over time.
"I remember on my first day, I organized a public Q&A event. An employee asked me what my vision for the studio was. "I told him, 'Wait, give me some time—I want to hear what all of you like to do.'" 'What genre and style of game is our team passionate about?' What is EA's positioning for us at a tactical and strategic level? We first have to find our place, and it takes time... In 2020, the successful release of Star Wars: The Flying Squadron gave us a lot of confidence. ”
Klaus called the release of Star Wars: The Flying Squadron like a milestone for Motive. "In our industry, it's more important to publish a game than to shout any slogan." Motive planned to launch a new IP game codenamed Gaia, but sadly, that project was eventually canceled.
"We did our best." Klaus revealed, "We wanted to try out ideas by building prototypes and iterating to achieve breakthroughs in gameplay. We hope to provide players with something fresh and unique gaming experience... Two years after the team conceived the idea, with the support of EA headquarters, I decided to halt the project. As a relatively young studio, we couldn't take too much risk for commercial success. ”
"In the world of game development, canceling a project should not be considered a taboo. Exploring different things brings variability as part of the creative process. I think it's very important that we were not forced to stop the project by EA headquarters, but made our own decision. After all, our team is too young to fantasize about reaching the skies in one step. We must consider the risks to ensure that the studio operates sustainably. ”
With the cancellation of the Gaia project, Motive launched Project B, which is to develop a remake of Dead Space (which will be released in January 2023). "In order to keep building the studio, you need some good Plan B. Many times, Plan B ends up turning into a stunning Plan A. "After completing the Dead Space remake, we will next make an Iron Man game that has a chance to go one step further." ”
Klaus admits that not everyone within the team is interested in restarting the Dead Space IP. Dead Space is a sci-fi survival horror game series created by EA Visceral Studios (now closed), and many of the developers of the original game are now working at Krafton's studio Striking Distance Games, which is working on a spiritual sequel.
"A lot of my colleagues are passionate about the Dead Space IP, but some are neutral. But I would say that everyone wants to make Dead Space all the time. In a sense, everyone has become an avid fan of this IP, which also shows that the sci-fi story of "Dead Space" is indeed attractive. ”
Klaus also chatted about the Iron Man game, which is currently in pre-production. "For us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: we can create a full-fledged big-scale triple-A action-adventure game around a beloved superhero IP." "We're going to take this project very seriously," he said. Sounds a little scary too, right? After all, we had to finish a mega game and try to meet the expectations of millions of players. We will approach the Iron Man IP with confidence, humility and enthusiasm. ”
According to Klaus, the game will bring innovative gameplay and tell "a new Iron Man story."
"We needed to take the time to try something and make sure we found a creative vision and direction that was both fresh and unique that would set it apart from other Marvel games or action RPGs already on the market... This will be our focus for some time to come. ”
Original translation https://www.eurogamer.net/ea-motive-boss-cancellations-in-video-game-development-shouldnt-be-a-taboo-thing