{"id":834,"date":"2019-03-16T21:34:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-17T01:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/?p=834"},"modified":"2019-03-16T21:50:30","modified_gmt":"2019-03-17T01:50:30","slug":"interview-patrick-hickey-jr-minds-behind-the-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/?p=834","title":{"rendered":"Interview – Patrick Hickey Jr. “Minds Behind the Games”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It has been a long time since I have found something that inspired me to post here. That is until now, as many of you know I have a passion for games of all types (That is what makes me Nerdy right?). In June of 2018 I decided I was going to start a YouTube channel<\/a> and begin streaming my game play, not to get rich or be famous but as an outlet for my creative nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last few months have been an adventure of ups and downs and I do not regret a moment of it. But after being inactive for the last few months I threw my (fox) hat into the content creating ring once again and found the spark that I so carelessly dropped. I started to post videos to my YouTube channel and re-branded all my sites to reflect my re-commitment to what I know now is my therapeutic mental outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one thing I knew I must bring back to life was this blog. It was my first venue I created to share my love and passion of everything “Nerdy”. The question was where to start… Well that is where Patrick Hickey Jr.<\/a> takes center stage. While I was doing my usual support of retweeting and posting things to my twitter feed I received a message for Patrick asking if I did interviews on my YouTube channel. I thought about it and even though I was unsure if I had the chops to actually do a video interview, (I did consider it) I knew I had one venue that I could us that would be great for such a venture and it was just waiting to be revived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I private messaged Patrick and asked if he would be willing to allow me to interview him for my blog instead. I was pleasantly surprised that he agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Patrick Hickey Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Below you will find my interview about his book “Minds Behind the Games”<\/a>. This tomb is filled with interviews of the creators of 36 popular video games of the past and their stories of how they overcame obstacles and challenges to fulfill their passion and produce some of the most classic games titles of our time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with anything in life sometimes we need to look back at our past so our path to our future is clearer. And that is what the reading of this book and interview has done for me, and is what I believe his book does for the game developers of today. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  What was your inspiration in writing this book? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  I was 33 and had a pregnant wife. I had been\nwriting for newspapers, websites, blogs and magazines for over a decade at that\npoint and was super hungry to try something new. I sat in my manacle one night\nand realized I didn\u2019t want to be one of those parents with regrets. So, I\nstarted emailing developers I had interviewed over the years and contacting new\nones. Within a few days, the pieces started coming together and a month later,\nI had a book deal. That notion that it was so \u201ceasy\u201d pisses off a lot of people\nI know, but truth be told, I wasn\u2019t exactly a first-time author. I paid my\njournalistic dues in blood and have taught the subject for over a decade, too.\nThis, if anything, was my coming out party. For me to show the world what I was\ncapable of if I had more time, more space and a chance to create my own vision.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  What\ndo wish to achieve with the writing of this book? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  I want there to be far more transparency in\nretelling and history of the art of game development. Gamers think they know so\nmuch about the history of the medium, but there are so many untold stories out\nthere. I want there to be no reason for a gamer to ever go on Wikipedia to find\nout sexy stories on their favorite games. As a result, it\u2019s my quest to get to\nas many developers to share their stories so readers get to see how much, time,\nenergy, passion and fortitude is needed in order to create a game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  How\nmany Games \/ Developers do you feature in this undertaking?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  36 games are featured in the first book, but\ndozens more are mentioned and alluded too. As far as sources, over 50 on the\nrecord and almost just as many off-the-record for background and color. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  Being\nInternational Women\u2019s month how many of them were women? Have you noticed a\ndecrease\/increase of women developers in the industry?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  About five-seven developers featured are women\nand that was mainly because most of the games featured in the book are at least\n20-years-old. As far as a rise in female developers, absolutely, and I think that\u2019s\ngreat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  How\nhas the social media culture improved\/hindered the gaming industry? Is there a\nway to use it as a benefit and or is there a way to push through that mountain\nof information it has created?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  Mountains of information is absolutely\ncorrect, but you have to understand that there was once a time when games got\nzero publicity. You can\u2019t have it either way. There\u2019s no middle ground right\nnow. But just give it time- the industry is still in its infancy compared to\nmusic, film and literature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  Who\nare the top three developers that you feel have best kept the passion in their\ngame creating in your opinion?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  Super tough question. I think all developers have a plethora of passion. You can\u2019t be one without it. However, if I had to pick three, that I\u2019ve interviewed for the first book and my next two books in the series, I\u2019d probably tell you, Michael Brook, who did a host of sports games for EA and Sega in the \u201890s and played a huge role in the development of the genre. He also was a producer and designer on NHLPA 93 and NHL 94, my two favorite hockey games away from NHL Face-Off 99 and NHL 2008. Howard Scott Warshaw<\/a>, the creator of Yar\u2019s Revenge is super charismatic and has this deep, thought-provoking mind that understands how games are supposed to make people feel. Every time we speak is like a learning lesson for me. The last would be Tony Barnes<\/a>. He\u2019s been in video games for over 30 years and he\u2019s the industry\u2019s best kept secret in my opinion. So many great stories. So energetic. But in the end, that\u2019s not really fair. Over the course of writing this book and the next two editions, I\u2019ve learned something from every developer I\u2019ve spoken to. Not one jerk in the lot. That says a lot about the people involved in this industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  Do\nyou think publishers (Activision, EA, etc.) have hindered the creative\ninspiration\/passion in gaming development?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  Now, possibly. But in the \u201880s and \u201890s?\nAbsolutely not. EA was a magical place back then. They made dream concepts a\nreality. The same thing goes for Activision. They put the developer first and\ntried to make them the marketable entities they deserve to be. Without the\ncontributions of these companies, there may not be an industry today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  Currently\nmost developers\/publishers release unfinished games under the guise of\nbetas\/demos, how has this effected industry? Is this necessary in the current\nfast paced digital landscape? Does this culture lay at the feet of the\ndeveloper or publishers?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  I\u2019m not a fan of things like Steam Early\nAccess and Betas, but they do serve a wonderful purpose in connecting players\nto games and developers before they are released. Some games never make it out\nof Beta- and for that reason. Think of it as another version of quality\ncontrol. One the industry desperately needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  What\nare your thoughts on DLCs content? Is this a product of developers\/publishers\nreleasing a game too early due to the current culture or a way to prolong the\nviability of their titles?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  DLC have existed in other forms, dating as far\nback as the late \u201880s when companies the likes of EA would release \u201cdata disks\u201d\nto update their Earl Weaver Baseball series. Big difference between patches and\nDLC BTW. DLC add existing content, patches fix and correct issues. Not a fan of\nthe Patch Nation the industry is now, but DLC are cool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  Have\nmicrotransactions effected the gaming culture? Are they needed in the current\nclimate in your opinion?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  Yes they have and as you know, in the case of\nThe Star Wars franchise, nearly ruined it. I don\u2019t think they are needed, at\nall. And the issue is, you create a situation where someone has to pay to be\nable to advance in a game or get a character, they wouldn\u2019t be able to access\notherwise. I am all for paying for all of the game\u2019s content upfront over\nplaying a free game I have to invest in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  What\nare your top 5 games you have fond memories of? Which ones would you love to\nsee reborn to harness the power of current consoles and PCs?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  Super tough question, but here we go. Pok\u00e9mon\nBlue, Super Contra, Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon\u2019s Trap, NHL 94 and probably Final\nFantasy VII. As far as remakes go, not a fan of games being remade. I want to\nremember the initial experiences I had and have new ones, with new IPs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nerdy:  If\nyou had a time machine what would your words of wisdom be to game developers as\na whole? Who would you seek out first?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hickey Jr.:<\/strong>  I think that\u2019s the reason why I\u2019m writing\nthese books. I don\u2019t want to go back in time, I want to talk to these people\nnow, before it\u2019s too late. The things I\u2019ve gleaned from all of these\nexperiences is that passion isn\u2019t always contagious, and these developers and\ntheir works of art are worthy of discussion from both an entertainment and more\nimportantly a scholarly perspective. If I had to go back in time, I\u2019d tell all\nof these developers not to give up- the world needs you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Patrick Hickey Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hickey is a full-time Lecturer of English and Assistant Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com<\/a>. He\u2019s also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is now diving into voice acting, Hickey is now starring as the voice of the main character of the upcoming Shotgun with Glitters Survival Horror video game, \u201cThe Padre.<\/a>\u201d Dedicated and passionate, Hickey is eager to share his unique vocal talents on interesting projects. Add in his experiences as a journalist and educator and he\u2019s a unique talent ready to make a great project, greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to thank Patrick for taking time from his busy schedule to answer my questions. This was super fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are interested in reading this awesome book you can purchase it here! http:\/\/patrickhickeyjr.com\/minds-behind-games\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay Nerdy my friends!
Nerdy – aka Richard Keen Jr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been a long time since I have found something that inspired me to post here. That is until now, as many of you know I have a passion for games of all types (That is what makes me Nerdy right?). In June of 2018 I decided I was going to start a YouTube […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,26,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games","category-interview","category-review"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/mFhcROOz-e1552786152969.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=834"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":842,"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions\/842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/talkingnerdy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}