61 Frames Per Second

Deus Ex Machiwuhuh: Where is Warren Spector?

Posted by John Constantine

Warren Spector is what we here at 61 Frames Per Second call “a mule of epic proportions”. His mulishness can be measured by a number of standards. For example: how many people could make a decent videogame about Mark Hammil dogfighting giant space cats? How many people could make a medieval stealth game and actually have it feel speedy and good? How many people could make Deus Ex? Precisely one person. He rules, but it's been quite a long time since we've seen him 'round these parts.

Now, admittedly, everyone knows precisely where Warren Spector is. He and his assembled crew of visionaries from Junction Point Studios have been at Disney Interactive since 2007. The long-lived rumor, which popped up again just this past December, is that Spector has been working on a Mickey Mouse platformer alongside Disney Feature Animation and Pixar. Sounds like a match made in heaven to be honest. Some of gaming’s brightest designers have worked on Mickey Mouse platformers. That’s just a rumor though. The fact is that Spector hasn’t had a new game on the Markey in half a decade and Junction Point hasn’t published anything at all. What’s the hold up Warren? We miss you!

Spector actually sat in on a roundtable discussion with other famous gaming faces like Will Wright, David Perry, and another of others. Spector touched on subjects all too familiar for him, like creating single-player experiences that require lower time investments from players while still having potent narratives. He didn’t mention his new game though. Maybe this year, the year Eidos will show off their Spector-less Deus Ex 3, will be the year Warren re-emerges. If it isn’t, and you’ve got a hankering for the man, I heartily recommend you go play Thief or Deus Ex again. Or head over to The Escapist and read Spector’s four part essay series, Gaming at the Margins. His theories on the medium are off-base here and there, but are nourishing food for thought all the same.

Related links:

FMV Hell: Star Studded Casts - Do you Give a Crap?
F**k Your Future: Mirror’s Edge, Blade Runner, and the Future City
Behold: The Internet's Effect on Erotica
A Decade of Gaming Excellence

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+ DEL.ICIO.US

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Posted Mar 25 2009, 06:30 PM

Filed under: disney, will wright, deus ex, thief, eidos, wing commander, deus ex3, junction point studios, pixar, david perry, mark hammil, mickey mouse, Disney interactive

Comments

Bob Mackey said:

I've been waiting to see what the dude's been working on since last year's GDC. It HAS to be good, right?

March 25, 2009 8:38 PM

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.