Irrational Games Interview

Irrational Games' official Freedom Fans website has been updated with a new in-house interview with lead programmer Chris Kline. Here's a bit of what he had to say:
Q: You are a relative newcomer at Irrational, how does IG's development process differ from your previous experiences?

A: I've been at Irrational for 3 years now. The fact that I'm still a "newcomer" says a lot about the company and our team!

I would say that there is a lot more exploration in our development processes here, and a lot more opportunity for every individual to contribute to the final product in a unique way. That's because it's almost impossible to define what makes a game "great" or "fun" before you start building it. The best you can do is start with a talented team and a good idea based on a lot of experience. From there the process is iterative, and at any point in time *anyone* might come up with that one idea that really makes the game shine.

Making games is not like stamping widgets. I like the idea that we know roughly what kind of game we're building, and when it will be done, but it's a giant mystery as to exactly how or when it will stop being a piece of technology and start being a game, or why it will be fun. Every day when I walk in the door someone could say "hey, come look what I did" and show me something amazing and unexpected. It keeps me motivated.