Jasen Torres, seasoned Gameplay Producer for Crytek’s upcoming Crysis 2 shares his take on German food, the impact of his influences on his video game design, the trials and the joys developing story in complex games like Command and Conquer.  His list of shipped titles will blow you away as will his diverse influences and background.

[Dust] Jasen, first of all thanks for helping out and being the debut interview on my blog.  We haven’t seen each other since we were toolin’ around in Montreal like we owned the place.  Let’s start with the obvious, share your rap sheet with us.

[JT] My name is Jasen Torres and I’ve been making games for 9 years or so. I’m originally from Los Angeles, California and I’ve worked on MMORPGs, RTS games, and now FPS games. My background is failure, mostly, always loving games but getting turned off on the “be a doctor” track in University.  I later realized I didn’t want to be a programmer either. At one point I had my own computer sales business, where I built gaming computers amongst others, but then I was crushed by the lethal combination of E-Machines and the $400 MSN dial-up coupon creating the public illusion that all computers should cost under $300 (remember that?).

[Dust] Oh yeah, I remember. I think I benefited from your bad business timing.

[JT] After a short stint in Video Game Journalism, I found myself at the basement of the design track in the games industry.

After working on games like War of the Ring and Dragonshard, I went to EA and worked on the Battle of Middle Earth and Command and Conquer series of games. I now work for Crytek, in Frankfurt, Germany, working on Crysis 2.

[Dust] That’s an impressive list.  And your new adventures have taken you to Germany to sign on with Crytek.  How’s the food?  Brauts?  Weather?

[JT] The beer and brauts are fantastic! The döner kebab is especially a favorite (its a Turkish sandwich, of sorts). The weather is not so fantastic. It’s gotten really cold lately, and I had to fly to Santa Barbara just last week which reminded me of California’s truly beautiful weather.

[Dust] What got you started in this industry?

[JT] Apart from failing in other endeavors, my love of video games pure and simple. I was playing around with level editors and making levels while I was at University. I guess I just didn’t know if it was a real career or not until I’d kind of past the point of no return in wanting to make games for living. After that point, it was just pure determination until I found my first job. People underestimate determination.

[Dust] Did you always want to work in games?

[JT] Definitely not. I was afraid I’d be poor, or it would turn out to be something to do for ten years, but when I became “old” I would have nothing to fall back upon. Luckily, that hasn’t happened yet. But if it does, I think I’m well-prepared for a life in crime, so I always have a second career.

I initially thought I wanted to be a doctor. I actually helped saw the legs off a cadaver in High School with a hacksaw! For some reason dead people didn’t bother me, but seeing live blood at University really did. Those videos of operations freaked me out. So I transferred. Twice. Until I just couldn’t avoid it anymore and began my path in the gaming industry.

[Dust] How is your new environment and its rich history going to influence as a game designer.

[JT]: You mean apart from avoiding all things Nazi related?

[Dust] Well, yeah there is that.

[JT]: You know, I hadn’t really thought of that aspect before now, interestingly enough. I know that Germans tend to be amongst the harder core of the gaming audience, so perhaps that might influence me. I know that I still want to do a spy game set in the Eastern European cold war that uses humor like Red Alert and No One Lives Forever…so perhaps I’ll be more driven to make that happen now?

[Dust]  I’m a huge fan of NOLF.  That setting would be perfect for something along those lines.  Good character, good setting, good conflict – sound like a good start to a story.  Do you think gaming is a story telling medium? If so, can you give any examples?

[JT] I think games are a rich story-telling medium, potentially the richest simply because people have room to create their own experiences. Have you ever had the misfortune of listening to someone describe their guild raid in World of WarCraft? They are re-telling a story in which they’ve participated. And the participation is the key.

When someone reads a book or watches a show, all they can get out of it is what the makers show them. Well, for the most part, anyways. They watch other characters make decisions and suffer the consequences for their decisions, which is a form of the same type of entertainment TV, films, plays, books have provided since the days of the campfire. You can talk about it with their friends and family, since they had a similar experience, but your experience is just in the watching.

Video games are different. Video games are closer to real human experiences, like going on a date or attending a party. You are going to be making decisions and, in theory, you are going to suffer the consequences of your decisions. The experience is more personal; it’s harder to describe to others and it means different things to each person. It’s a combination of the story in the game and the story you create by participating in the game. It’s almost like improvisational comedy- not watching improvisation but actually participating in it. The merging of story elements and player participation is where I believe the magic happens, and it can happen in a linear single player game or an open multiplayer game (like WoW)…it just happens differently.

[Dust]Working on C&C must have been a challenge.The games contain three distinct story lines depending on what faction the player chooses to play.  What challenges did you face in balancing this while creating this game?

[JT]: Our approach on those games was different. On C&C3 it was the same story told from different sides; the same events, just different perspectives, perhaps being at different locations during the same war. On Red Alert 3 it was different; because the game has a hallmark of time travel, we had each campaign contain the same starting point within the fiction but then have their own story after that point.

I would say a story like C&C3 is harder to pull off; it’s a challenge to make the player feel victorious at the end of the campaign if all of the factions have some sort of victory in their own eyes. I think a story like this tends to ride heavily on the events that happen and the quality in how they can be interpreted by the player to keep them guessing when and if they play the next faction’s version of that event. We had some really cool moments in C&C3 that supported the missions and made the story feel almost dynamic within the mission (which is a grand illusion). So that was pretty cool.

What is difficult in a story like Red Alert 3 is keeping the suspension of disbelief throughout each campaign. If you go too far into the realm of “anything can happen”, then the player can’t form any expectations or make any predictions, and that is sort of the key with engaging story, right? If anything could happen and anything did happen, no one would know what to make of it and it would be a mess. In Red Alert 3, we tried to keep it afloat with strong main characters that had distinct (if not stereotypical) personalities. They might seem somewhat less-dimensional than other characters, but it is on purpose to keep the story moving forward without losing the player in a somewhat comic-book world. So it is a fine red line trying to keep things interesting but believable and not breaking character with the character’s the player has gotten to know.

[Dust] How does it work, does gameplay influence story or does story drive gameplay?  How do you prefer to work?

[JT]: I tend to create a campaign skeleton that tells a general story of battle and faction themes in order to get the gameplay desired and the flow of a campaign of war / act structure.

[Dust] Sounds like a story outline.

[JT]  Yeah, of sorts. Then it is a process of wrapping a real story on top of the outline (with the help of the writer, the story producer, etc) and shifting around to accommodate what is most important at any one point.  This skeleton rolls out with mission definitions and story beats, which is then taken to mission designs and the story script. That’s how I’ve always done it, at least.

Generally, in RTS games, those two elements don’t stomp on each other as much as the format of storytelling (being a person that controls an army of guys).

[Dust] Sounds as logical as game development can get.  Easy, right?

[JT]  Yeah, piece of cake.

[Dust] When I think Crytek, I think technology. These guys have been leaders in the engine world for a long time.  What’s your role there?

[JT]: For this project, I am the gameplay producer. It basically means I drive quality and decisions to make the game higher quality (in all areas, not just gameplay), as well as trying to solve problems and enable people to reach success. It is definitely a different role than I’ve been in the past with more project management related issues, team responsibilities, etc. We’ll see how I feel about it in the end. =)

[Dust] Can you share what you’re working on now?

[JT]: I am working on Crysis 2. We unveiled the Nanosuit 2.0 and a new website at Gamescon in August: http://www.crynetsystems.com

[Dust]  I can’t wait.  It looks amazing.  Changing gears here, what are you playing, reading or watching right now?

[JT]: I just finished the single player of Halo: ODST and enjoyed it. I’ll check out the multiplayer of that next, and I know I should have Uncharted 2 here any day. Oh, I also played Batman: Arkham Asylum for a good 4-5 hours before my save file somehow became corrupted, which was greatly disappointing as I was relishing being The Bat. I also just finished reading Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon, and I am on a second pass through my favorite TV series right now- The Venture Bros. Season 3 (an awesome show in which it’s lack of fame makes me lament our popcorn culture where millions will tune in to watch reality dating shows).

[Dust]I know you like classic movies and novels.  Have any of them crept into your games? Influenced your design philosophy?  How?

[JT]: Well, if you look at the campaign locations I chose for Red Alert 3, there’s a lot of creep right there. I think classic movies and novels influence my outlook because they remind me that something doesn’t have to be a totally original or complex subject to be great; the quality of what makes something great is many things but it does not have to be one of those two things.

I think they have influenced my design sense in how I value presentation. I want to give my protagonists entrances like Rick from Casablanca and flaws like Edmund Dantès from The Count of Monte Cristo. I want my villains to have dimension like Count Dracula or Max Cady; they aren’t evil for the sake of being evil, they actually think they are in the right or have justified their tormented existence. I want to showcase an expected ending and take the player on a journey that gets there in a way they’d have never expected (something I think most games don’t do very well).

[Dust]Who are your influences?

[JT]: Stevie Ray Vaughn for his soulfulness and pure ability. Baldur’s Gate II for its almost endlessly rewarding experience. System Shock II for its drenched ambiance. The original EverQuest for the most engaging co-operative gameplay (raid encounters, The Rings of Dain quest) I’ve ever experienced (and testament people band together to endure hardships).  Hideo Kojima for his complete refusal to compromise his vision.  Martin Scorsese for his ability to get the absolutely most out of much less than his peers. Whomever designed the Gauss Cannon from the original Half-life because its my favorite FPS weapon of all time. There are so many more…

[Dust] Jasen, I hope you know that you are on many a “who inspires you” list, including mine.  I’m a big fan of your work and it’s nice to peel back the curtain and see what make you tick.  Best of luck and I can’t wait to get my hands on your next game.  Thanks again for helping out.

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