Developer Interview: Matthew Crump

Feb 13th, 2008 - 10:27pm 0 Comments

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MC: My name is Matthew Crump.

SWT: What is it that you do on the Sims Stories?

MC: I am the senior designer on the Sims Stories. I work with the scripting group, primarily. I manage their day to day tasks and handle any of their needs.

SWT: If someone were to show up tomorrow and had to take your job. What would they have to do?

MC: A lot of it has to do with liaising with the rest of the team. The QA, the Artists, the Programmers. Helping create connections between the scripting group and what they need and what these other guys can provide at the moment. It basically has a lot to do with managing day to day activities of the scripting group. We have a very specific task list and we have to meet our goals and dates. I really make sure we do that and I provide any support that is needed at that point. That includes scripting some times. Lately it hasn’t been as much scripting as management.

SWT: So what is your background and what led you to work on The Sims?

MC: Wow, my background. I’ve been in the industry for about 12 years. I wasn’t a computer science major or anything like that. I’m actually a drama major, acting! It is very interesting because I got into this industry by chance. And it actually worked out. It was kind of utilizing skill sets I learned in the theatre and tried to apply them to video games. I got to work with Richard Geary at Origin Systems and began my career on Ultima’s. I tried to apply all I learned in theatre towards Ultima games. It was actually kind of fun and it kind of just grew into this. So for the past twelve years I’ve been making console and pc games. I arrived at Aspyr by way of another company called Amaze entertainment. I came here because it was Sims games. I thought it was a really cool to be able to work on this license.

SWT: With that background you have, does it really help you create believable scenes?

MC: I think so. And thankfully a lot of my other designers have that background too. We have a theatrical background so we are able to craft a story in a way that makes it a little more dramatic and that reads a little bit better than maybe if we didn’t have that background. To create cut scenes for instance, just our eye for a cut scene with a theater background allows us to put that information out a little different than if you didn’t. I defiantly enjoyed applying that background. The scripting side is a bit more technical but when you see the whole thing together is when you notice the connectivity’s.

SWT: What are your key influences when you start creating a game like The Sims Castaway Stories?

MC: You know it is interesting. When I make games, and when I start off on a project and I try to imagine what types of games I like to play and are fun. I take it a step further and talk to my girlfriend. She is not a big gamer. I run the concept by her and ask “Is this something that the concept alone speaks to you?” It’s kind of how I approach it now to get feedback from my close friends and my loved ones. I give them a concept and don’t let them worry about the game play. In the next stage I may let someone try a level or know a little more about the concept. I pull them a long and get them more excited. So I defiantly involve a lot of other people. On the Sims Stories specifically when we come up with concepts I will write it up. I’ll talk to a lot of the other designers and other people on the team and find out what they are thinking. On this project my focus has pretty much been on one group, just the scripting side. It has been more focused. Even when it comes to design meetings on how we handle a specific aspect, we defiantly try to talk through bits and pieces of it to create the whole. That is how I kind of feel it works.

SWT: So Sims Castaway Stories is due out soon. What are you really excited about getting into the hands of players? What do you think will blow them away?

MC: I think that it is vastly different from my previous experiences with the Sims. In Sims, generally, it takes place on a very specific lot and neighborhood and the people in that neighborhood. This one is a very different setting and I love the setting. I love the fact that it is an island and it is a very cool setting. It has some really cool things going on. It’s beautiful to see it. That is what is most exciting to me. I am pretty sure the audience will feel the same. The whole story line feels like your surviving and I think that is going to catch people.

SWT: When you go home, do you go home and play Sims? What do you do in your spare time?

MC: Truthfully I haven’t gone home to play the Sims in a while because I work on it all day. When I go home, one night I might focus on playing some Madden. One night I may go play an MMO. Then lately, Ill go home and just read. I’ve been reading a lot lately and not looking at a screen. Or I will go out and watch a movie. Lately, and I am pretty sure for the next week I will be playing Bioshock a lot.

SWT: What is on the top of your MP3 list?

MC: Lets find out. (He pulls out his MP3 Player). This is probably going to be scary. The top of my MP3 list is … Smoky Robinson and the Miracles. Old Mo-Town. Because when you are driving home in Austin Texas you need something to mellow you out.

SWT: Thank you for your time. Is there anything you want to leave the fans with?

MC: I hope you have fun and enjoy the game. I look forward to making more.

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