Topic: Spyborgs Interview with Daryl Allison

[NWR_Neal]

This thread is for the discussion of NWR's interview with Daryl Allison about Spyborgs.

[Halbred]

I'm more excited now about Spyborgs than I was at E3, though I was still enthusiastic about it there.

[NWR_Neal]

I was unenthuiastic about Spyborgs after E3. Now I'm more enthusiastic.

Quick question to any person who reads this: Why do these interviews get no Talkback love at all? Is it because you have to go to the actual site to read them?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Cuz no one's enthusiastic about whatever this game's called.

[NWR_Neal]

Cuz no one's enthusiastic about whatever this game's called.

Well, considering I've done interviews for at least four games in the past month, it makes the work going into them seem futile.

[Flames_of_chaos]

I think the game looks really interesting, Bionic Games have a great pedigree behind them.

[GK]

It's looking more & more interesting though I still wonder why they went with only 2-player co-op.

[NWR_Neal]

It's looking more & more interesting though I still wonder why they went with only 2-player co-op.

I've got to agree with that. Why have three characters if you're only going to have two-player co-op?
There might be some other explanation, and in all honesty, it's a small gripe in my opinion.

[that Baby guy]

Battletoads:  One of the characters gets captured by the villain.  In the sequel, a different one is captured.

[NWR_pap64]

I was unenthuiastic about Spyborgs after E3. Now I'm more enthusiastic.

Quick question to any person who reads this: Why do these interviews get no Talkback love at all? Is it because you have to go to the actual site to read them?

Maybe providing a link would help. I know we want people to go to the site and read the articles, but a link would perhaps inspire more comments.

[NWR_Neal]

I did that with my last interview and still no one cared.

[GK]

Battletoads:  One of the characters gets captured by the villain.  In the sequel, a different one is captured.

True though in Battletoads I always saw it as a neat way to cope with the limitations of the system story-wise. So yeah, small issue. A non-issue really since I can't remember the last time I've shared a console with 3 gamers at once anyhow.

[Mop it up]

Quick question to any person who reads this: Why do these interviews get no Talkback love at all? Is it because you have to go to the actual site to read them?

I can't speak for anyone else, but a lot of what has been posted on the site recently involves games which don't interest me. In the case of interviews, I don't care so much about what goes into the process of making games.

[NWR_insanolord]

I was unenthuiastic about Spyborgs after E3. Now I'm more enthusiastic.

Quick question to any person who reads this: Why do these interviews get no Talkback love at all? Is it because you have to go to the actual site to read them?

Part of it is having to leave the forums to see it, but, to be honest, it's mostly just that I don't really care about an interview with somebody I've never heard of about a game that I'm only somewhat interested in.

[NWR_Neal]

So what games interest you guys?

[Jonnyboy117]

I love Talkback, but you have to realize that 90% of our readers never use it, no matter how much they enjoy (or hate) a particular article. It has always been that way.

Spyborgs didn't demo well at E3, but this interview suggests there is more depth than we could see at that time. I'm still skeptical that Capcom can make a brawler that would interest me, but Spyborgs has some potential to do that.

[Mop it up]

So what games interest you guys?

Nintendo games, especially Mario games.

I also don't usually comment on articles like this because I can think of nothing to add. For example, I read the Metroid Prime Retrospectives which were posted earlier this month but didn't have anything to say.

[GK]

I'm still skeptical that Capcom can make a brawler that would interest me, but Spyborgs has some potential to do that.

Final Fight & Captain Commando(well, the arcade version anyway) didn't interest you?

[BeautifulShy]

I was unenthuiastic about Spyborgs after E3. Now I'm more enthusiastic.

Quick question to any person who reads this: Why do these interviews get no Talkback love at all? Is it because you have to go to the actual site to read them?

Maybe providing a link would help. I know we want people to go to the site and read the articles, but a link would perhaps inspire more comments.

This.
 I think every article,interview, news, whatever should have a link that goes from the forums to the front page.

Also with these interviews I think if there is a dearth of info about a game such as No More Heroes 2 or Metroid Other M.That can help boosts the game interest.

I think the last few interviews you have been focusing on unknown games that might be overshadowed by bigger titles.

 Maybe you could do something like with the Tales of Symphonia 2 interview and let us come up with questions.
Just something to think about.

[NWR_pap64]

Time to chime in my two cents on this...

First of all, don't feel bad guys if you aren't interest in an interview or article. No one is forcing you to comment on them. You can read them and comment, read them or don't comment or don't read then at all.

The reason Neal and many of us feel a tad disheartened when some of these articles get ignored is because a lot of work goes into them. We sometimes ask a developer for an interview opportunity, or they come to us. Regardless of what happens we are always glad that we get content for the site. Its a win win situation since we get an exclusive article and the company gets to showcase their titles.

While there's no obligation in reading the articles or even posting about them it does help to get some comments every once in a while and show support. And for those who don't know the game or the developer maybe this is the right opportunity to get to know the team behind the game? Who knows, you may have found a game you never even heard of and it catches your interest.

Again, no obligation but support is always appreciated .

[Flames_of_chaos]

I think the last few interviews you have been focusing on unknown games that might be overshadowed by bigger titles.

There is nothing wrong with building hype for smaller games, this is why smaller companies or big companies with a new title take the time to participate in an interview in order to build hype or educate our audience about their game.  Bigger titles will always have their huge level of hype but not all games are equal so I think its a wonderful way to gain content for the site and allow our audience to potentially get excited about a game while at the same time giving a smaller game some publicity. Conduit wasn't ever a huge mega blockbuster game nor was Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. 

Pedro is right since it takes quite a bit to setup an interview, come up with questions and then wait for the answers. I always think its delightful and fascinating to learn insights about the industry, a game, the process of making a game and other interesting facts straight from the people who are making the game or in charge of the game since you would usually never hear from it somewhere else.  Take for instance in my interview the guys behind Furry Legends said that Nintendo of Europe is willing to help with feedback and other aspects before the game lands on WiiWare.

[vudu]

Take for instance in my interview the guys behind Furry Legends said that Nintendo of Europe is willing to help with feedback and other aspects before the game lands on WiiWare.

I'm just speaking for myself here--and please don't take this the wrong way--but I'm going to share my thoughts on the matter and I hope it helps.

I don't know what Furry Legends is.  I didn't read your interview because I didn't know anything about the game and therefore had zero interest in learning about it.

You need to tell me why I should care. 

You may argue that it's not your job to "sell" me on the game, and that's a perfectly valid point.  But if all you're trying to do is relay information to people who already have interest in the game you're cutting out a large portion of your potential readers.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

1.  this thread doesn't refer back to the original article in the opening post.  that's a no-no.

2.  the actual article has no direct references to other resouces/game pages already set aside on the main site.  i believe the information should be readily available and noticeable together.  I think more attention should be given to the general game info pages since they serve as info gateways.

3.  on the issue of "I don't know what Furry Legends is," the subtitles for the headlines should always be descriptive to a certain minimum degree, to help the reader identify what the product is at a glance.  this descriptor is especially important since most of the front-page stories have NO graphics/game art attached to them.

From SpyBorg's NWR info page:

"We chatted with Capcom Senior Producer Daryl Allison about the past, present, and future of Spyborgs"
- kinda weak, we have an idea who's working on Spyborgs, but not the kind of game it is

"An old school brawler with a new coat of paint..."
- better, it's implied this is a pow-pow-smash action game

"This brawler impresses visually and is designed for co-op play..."
- a co-op brawler, this sets off the right signals in the reader

"Spyborgs returns with a new look and brand new gameplay details..."
- doesn't help

^ These are mostly things I look for that would help me better connect with the content of a site update.

[BeautifulShy]

I think the last few interviews you have been focusing on unknown games that might be overshadowed by bigger titles.

There is nothing wrong with building hype for smaller games, this is why smaller companies or big companies with a new title take the time to participate in an interview in order to build hype or educate our audience about their game.  Bigger titles will always have their huge level of hype but not all games are equal so I think its a wonderful way to gain content for the site and allow our audience to potentially get excited about a game while at the same time giving a smaller game some publicity. Conduit wasn't ever a huge mega blockbuster game nor was Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. 

Pedro is right since it takes quite a bit to setup an interview, come up with questions and then wait for the answers. I always think its delightful and fascinating to learn insights about the industry, a game, the process of making a game and other interesting facts straight from the people who are making the game or in charge of the game since you would usually never hear from it somewhere else.  Take for instance in my interview the guys behind Furry Legends said that Nintendo of Europe is willing to help with feedback and other aspects before the game lands on WiiWare.

I have no problems with you taking a look at a unknown or overlooked title. In fact I encourage it.

[Smash_Brother]

1.  this thread doesn't refer back to the original article in the opening post.  that's a no-no.

2.  the actual article has no direct references to other resouces/game pages already set aside on the main site.  i believe the information should be readily available and noticeable together.  I think more attention should be given to the general game info pages since they serve as info gateways.

3.  on the issue of "I don't know what Furry Legends is," the subtitles for the headlines should always be descriptive to a certain minimum degree, to help the reader identify what the product is at a glance.  this descriptor is especially important since most of the front-page stories have NO graphics/game art attached to them.

From SpyBorg's NWR info page:

"We chatted with Capcom Senior Producer Daryl Allison about the past, present, and future of Spyborgs"
- kinda weak, we have an idea who's working on Spyborgs, but not the kind of game it is

"An old school brawler with a new coat of paint..."
- better, it's implied this is a pow-pow-smash action game

"This brawler impresses visually and is designed for co-op play..."
- a co-op brawler, this sets off the right signals in the reader

"Spyborgs returns with a new look and brand new gameplay details..."
- doesn't help

^ These are mostly things I look for that would help me better connect with the content of a site update.

This sounds like some pretty solid advice to me. An eye-catching sentence is a must for any article. You have only that sentence to make the reader go "Ooo! I should check this out..."

Also, I totally agree with more links to websites, media, etc. Anything and everything you can do to make it easy for the reader to see more about the game is always good.