Gregg Barnett Interview

       Interview by James Kinnear of ghostmaster.net
                Taken from the official site

     I got the chance to interview the lead developer of Ghost
     Master, Gregg Barnett...

     ghostmaster.net: Tell us a bit about some of the projects you
     have worked on in the past?

GB: Ok, but I've been in the game business for a long time, since
1982 in fact, when I started with Melbourne House in Australia. I
started with a series of games centred around a character called
Horace (Hungry Horace, Horace Goes Skiing), before doing the C64
version of The Hobbit (one of the first graphic adventures), then
'Way of The Exploding Fist' (the first home computer beat 'em up).
I followed this with 'Rock and Wrestle' (the first wrestling game
actually), then a host of NES and SNES titles, usually based on a
film, tv or more esoteric license. I then came to the UK in 1992
and opened up Perfect Entertainment, where I did a series of
adventure games based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Then in late
1999, I set up Sick Puppies for Empire, bringing along Ghost
Master as our flagship title.

     ghostmaster.net: What was your role in the development of
     Ghost Master?

GB: Well, it was my idea and initial design, then I brought in
International Hobo to help with design while I directed the title.

     ghostmaster.net: How and when did the idea of Ghost Master
     first come to light?

GB: It was in 1999, before we set up Sick Puppies. I wanted a game
that could serve to launch a studio. It had to have an original
hook, high potential in terms of production values and appeal to
both the casual and the hardcore game player. I played around with
flipping the usual conventions, in particular putting the player
in charge of delivering the scares, rather than the usual rushing
headlong into them. This was also about the time that reality
television first came our way, so I came up with something the
equivalent of manipulating people in a Big Brother house and
watching the resulting chaos.

     ghostmaster.net: Does the final game differ much to when it
     was just an idea?

GB: As with most big original games, it is always hard to hit the
nail exactly on the head first time around. The end result is
definitely more puzzle based and less RTS based than originally
intended. The other thing that always happens in the case of big
games is the loss of features due to time or technical
constraints. In this case, a lot of the enemy design and even
ghosts combating and scaring each other was unfortunately lost in
the process.

ghostmaster.net: Are you pleased with the game's success so far in
the UK and Europe?

GB: I don't actually have any exact sales figures, but it appears
that while the sales have been OK in the UK, they have not set the
world on fire. This has been a little disappointing, if not
mystifying, particularly as the bulk of those who get into the
game love it. However, with the current release in the US, we are
confidently expecting that to change.

     ghostmaster.net: Many fans from ghostmaster.net are sure that
     map editors and mod tools would really open up new doors for
     the game, and like the idea of having a modding community.
     Have you anything planned for the near future?

GB: I'm sure these fans are correct (in fact most fan comments on
sites like yours are well worth listening to), but the time and
cost associated with setting that up for this game would have been
prohibitive. Any sequel however, would have some degree of
modding, if not total modding capability.

     ghostmaster.net: What's the latest on mission packs? Can you
     give us any info here?

GB: Well, something interesting is happening a bit later in the
year. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to say more.

     ghostmaster.net: Would you consider releasing new maps and
     ghosts as available to download online?

GB: Yes, of course, but these do take time to create.

     ghostmaster.net: Do you have a favourite ghost from the game?

GB: Well, I suppose the predictable answer is Boo. He was always
voted most likely to succeed as a sidekick, and your poll seems to
indicate that he hasn't let us down.

     ghostmaster.net: Are you working on any new projects other
     than Ghost Master at the moment?

GB: We're currently preparing a few ideas for our next game(s),
including obviously a Ghost Master sequel. Which path we take will
be decided in the next month or two.

     ghostmaster.net: What's your favourite horror movie of all
     time?

GB: Well, I've seen most of them, from the cheapest to the
biggest. Hard to say, but I guess as I like (modern) zombie movies
a lot, I'd have to say George Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead'.

     ghostmaster.net: Which ghost are you most like?

GB: Oh, probably Clatterclaws, keeping a good high perspective on
things and then every so often scaring the bejesus out of
somebody.

     ghostmaster.net: Why was there a long gap between the
     European release and US release?

GB: Things generally take longer in the US because of the size of
the market (e.g. magazines have much longer lead times for adverts
due to huge print runs), plus they wanted to wait a bit so they
could run it into the Halloween season. Also, the game had to go
through the usual approval process by our US publisher, Vivendi
Universal. A positive is that we used this time to clean up the US
version a bit (the patch being integrated).

     ghostmaster.net: Can you tell us about the train mission? We
     saw screenshots of this, but it didn't appear to make it in
     to the final game.

GB: Ah, that would be 'Trainspooking'. For a while it had been
intended to be the final mission, still ending as a cliffhanger
though. However, it turns out that a long narrow train does not
make a great game world, so we wrapped it into a game-engine movie
instead.

     ghostmaster.net: So do you get much time to play Ghost
     Master?  What is your favourite level?

GB: I don't have near enough time to play many games to a deep
degree unfortunately, plus when you've worked on a title for such
a long time, you really don't want to play it all the time.  That
said though, I do get to play Ghost Master quite a bit due to
press and PR events. I usually give them a full dose of Facepacks
and Broomsticks, followed by Summoners Not Included and
Ghostbreakers. Ghostbreakers is probably the best level from a
gameplay standpoint, but Facepacks is definitely my favourite
because it captures the original essence of Ghost Master best -
scaring sorority girls and cheerleaders, while fighting off
wiccans! What more could you ask for?

     ghostmaster.net: Finally, what's it like to go in to a game
     store and see your game on the shelf?

GB: The Ghost Master team had quite a few first timers on it, so
the question is really more pertinent to them. I've seen lots of
my games in shops, and while you never lose the thrill, it
certainly isn't like it was for the first one. That said, I'm sure
most of the team scampered around all their local outlets on the
first day!

     ghostmaster.net: Thanks for taking the time to take part in
     this interview Gregg.

Ghost Master is out now. Don't forget to buy your copy from your
local games store, or via the Store.













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