Recoil Games

Interview with Samuli Syvähuoko of Recoil Games

Samuli Syvähuoko leads the life of a happy man

eXp: Recoil Games, founded eight months ago, consists mainly of, what I'd call, "the best people Scandinavia has to offer". Former Remedy employees, demo scene veterans, people that worked on critically acclaimed games and other software like 3DMark, Splinter Cell and FlatOut. With this rather unusual pool of knowledge and experience, what's the goal you want to achieve, what's the impact you want to have with Recoil Games?

Samuli Syvähuoko: Thanks for the kind words.

From the start, our goal has simply been to become a development studio that will be known for some of the most innovative industry-shaping triple-A titles - with all based on original IP. We know this is a very ambitious goal, but nonetheless, that's what we are shooting for with all our ammunition.

As for the team, I can't stress enough how critical it is to find the right people - especially the founders and the other key people. After all, they are the ones who will define the creative and professional potential of the whole studio for years to come. Luckily, so far, we have been very fortunate with our recruiting - but we are far from done.

eXp: Seeing how Remedy grew to be one of the world's most highly awarded gaming company, why did you guys leave to found Recoil Games?

Still life with the company's logo

Samuli Syvähuoko: Being an entrepreneur, I departed ways with Remedy back in 2000 to found a new company, Fathammer (it got acquired last year). In addition to me, two
other Recoil co-founders have a Remedy background. Samuli Viikinen spent ten years at Remedy specializing in level design while Aki Raula spent seven years, also in level design.

To answer your question, all of Recoil's founders felt it was a suitable moment in their careers to start a game company of their own - instead of working for someone else.

eXp: What we can read so far on your company's official website is an explanation of the self-invented term "Cinegames". Basically, it describes games that will be emotionally moving, and stylistically movie-oriented. Do you feel as this is what previous games are missing, or is it the logical next step in the developing process of this new medium?

Samuli Syvähuoko: I think games are too far behind movies and television serials in terms of interesting narrative and especially realistic and gripping human drama. I do think it is a very logical step for games to develop further in this regard, and we have set this as a special focus area for all our games.

Recoil Games share a neat building with nVidia's Finnish residence

eXp: One part of the term "Cinegames" stands for the cineastic theme you want to put into your first game, Earth No More. Yet there won't be any cutscenes whatsoever. What exactly is the movie element that makes an ordinary game a Cinegame then?

Samuli Syvähuoko: If you look at all the major movies, each one of them has a unique look, sound and feel. We have analyzed tons of movies and have extrapolated various elements from them that we think can be utilized in the audiovisual portrayal of games. But until the release of Earth No More, we want to keep these methods and techniques to ourselves.

eXp: In Earth No More, instead of falling victim to an attack of spooky, bionic aliens, mankind produced its most dangerous enemy completely on its own. Does this have a deeper meaning on today's world? Should we possibly stop wasting our planet?

Samuli Syvähuoko, Jarkko Lempiäinen, Mikko Kautto, Samuli Viikinen and Kalle Kaivola

Samuli Syvähuoko: Yes, we do want to deliver a message. In Earth No More, we will witness the consequences of humankind's ongoing mistreatment of the planet's environment and resources. In essence, that's the game's central theme.

So, an important part of the storyline deals with global warming, pollution, and resource abuse, and the ramifications that are being caused by the climate crisis. We do like the fact that the game is rooted in modern realities rather than the game being about another been-there-done-that alien attack.

eXp: A large part of your team is used to developing in self-created engines. Earth No More, however, will be using the Unreal Engine 3. What are the reasons that made you choose this engine?

Samuli Syvähuoko: Basically, with licensed tech, we can start prototyping right away. This means we can nail the core gameplay down a lot sooner than with tech built from scratch. This fact alone was reason enough to go this route. With UE3, the UnrealEd level editor is an especially useful piece of software.

eXp: We guess it could be too soon to ask, but how's your viewpoint on having mod support in your games?

Samuli Syvähuoko: We will definitely consider it.

Men at work

eXp: I've heard that game developers really are the new rockstars. Do pickup lines like "I'm a famous developer, babe!" work well in Helsinki's clubs?

Samuli Syvähuoko: Well, I'd love to say yes, but I have to give you the dry answer:

Once games are truly regarded as a mainstream entertainment and art form - also from the development point of view - then, maybe, some of the best game developers can reach the status of a minor celebrity. But I've not seen this happen anywhere yet.

I think once a few more generations of people have been brought up in a world where movies, music and games are all equal, then the world will be a different place.

This interview was done via e-mail

Autor: Robert Zetzsche (rz)
Erstellt am: 29. Juni 2007, 17:35 CEST