I was browsing Direct2Drive to see if I could buy Civ 4 as a digital download. Sadly with no luck since it’s available everywhere with the exception of Europe. Then, under the new release list, I saw Derek Smart’s latest effort and felt this really sick curiosity about it.

I guess I don’t need to explain who he is and what kinds of games he creates, but I’d say that I consider him a controversial figure. Which triggers some honest curiosity. He started to employ a type of mmorpg development before the mmorpgs started to impose themselves on the market. He has one foolish vision, one type of game. He sticks to it and, year after year, he keeps developing the exact same game, wrapping it up in a somewhat (un)finished state so that he can release it and get some money to continue with this ongoing development. Along the years he kept updating the technology and adjusting and enriching the game mechanics, moving step after step closer to that crazy vision he had. From many points of view he anticipated a bunch of trends and, despite all the harsh critics, he still managed to survive and keep creating the games he loves. These games sucks and are awesome at the same time. Between all the indies developers he is surely the craziest but also one of the most interesting for obvious reasons.

It’s not something easy to frame. You can just download and (try to) play a demo of his games to see clearly what’s wrong. But at the same time it’s hard to not feel fascinated by the scope of what he tried to create along the years. There are so many reasons to just dismiss his games as complete clusterfucks, but, still, an undefinable appeal remains. It has some value and deserves that curiosity.

With the release of the previous “episode” (Universal Combat) he changed the name of the “brand” and started a bunch of parallel projects, creating a whole lot of confusion if we consider that it’s still essentially all about one game. To understand what the hell is going on and which type of product was the one just released I started to dig his website and forums and also found a link to an interesting interview that is the actual reason of what I’m writing here. With the time he is starting to sound more… reasonable. Oddly calm and rational even if still firm in his positions. It’s quite fun to read him badmouthing his publisher without a worry. He really seem allergic to any kind of control. Some of his comments are really awesome and I think he is totally right when he says that his games reflect his personality. This is a collection of those parts I consider interesting, even outside the specific context:

– I had two solid offers for the game, but at the last minute – after several discussions with the president – we reached an understanding which later became an agreement. So I went with them instead. I go by one simple rule: I am better off dealing with the devils I know, than the angels I don’t.

– I have a love hate relationship with my publisher. They love me – I get the job done and make them money. I hate them – they cause me too much needless aggravation. At the end of the day, its all good because for good, bad or ugly, we need each other. I think.

Computer Games – How hard is it to come up with new ideas for your space sim series?

– Not very hard, to be honest. The hardest part for me – in any of my games – is the actual implementation of my grandoise ideas. Especially when you consider that most computers won’t even run the darn thing. Ideas – at least for me – come easily because the vision I have for my games is an ever evolving one.

Computer Games – Is A World Apart being made for the die hard followers of your game franchise or are you making it easier for new players to come into the series?

– From the onset, AWA was developed for fans of the existing games. There is absolutely NOTHING in it that would cater to anyone outside that group. I’m not, never have been and never will be, a sellout. If I decide to develop games for another type of market, I will spawn a new franchise. Until that time, the people who have supported my games through no less than six incarnations, are my primary concern and focus. Sure, the publishers can go try selling ice to eskimos, I could care less – as long as I get paid.

Most gamers have a hard time wrapping their heads around what goes into developing subsequent titles in a franchise. In fact, one print magazine reviewer (who shall remain nameless) recently said to me that the magazine EIC said that they won’t preview it because they think that not much has changed between UC and UCAWA. I laughed out loud when I read that; which just goes to show just how clueless some of these chaps are. There are so many clones, derivatives etc littering the shelves – all from big name publishers – and yet, nobody seems to mind. It is one hellaciously corrupt system indeed.

Computer Games – You are throwing in space, planetary and foot combat into A World Apart, and you have ambitious game designs that most developers won’t even touch. Are you worried about diluting your work by throwing in too much into the kettle so to speak?

– No. If I was worried about that, I wouldn’t be doing it. John, you’re from the old school and I think that over the years, you know my style: I don’t care about what people think. Its my game – I’m the one funding its development – I’m the one calling the shots. So, I can do what I bloody well like and have no regard for those who think they know whats best for me, my franchise properties or my fanbase. Only I know that and I think I’ve proven that time and time again. There’s a damn good reason why I’m still in business when all around are falling by the wayside. Its because I stick to my vision and make no compromises for same. Devs who lose their way, are those who lost the vision. Lose the vision and you lose the fanbase. Lose the fanbase and you’ve lost the farm.

Computer Games – In addition to the retail version, an electronic add-on pack for owners of Universal Combat will be available for download. Are you a fan of this form of distribution and will we see more of this for PC games in the future?

– I am not married to any particular distribution method. The main reason for my separating a retail version from an electronic versionwas to ensure that – going forward – my sole business income didn’t come from publishers. Most publishers – are terrible when it comesto paying their bills. A dev spends more time and money trying to get them to cough up what they owe, than what they actually owe. So, the condition of this new deal was only if I were allowed to keep the online distribution rights.

The fact is, direct distribution is going to be the wave of the future and the preferred distribution method for indie developers in the future. You have NO idea just how much crap we have to put up with – even when these publishers are selling our games and making money from them. Most of them shouldn’t even be in business – and won’t be for long. It is inevitable and we’ve already started seeing this already. Why would any indie want to ally themselves to a publisher when you stand little or no chance of ever getting money for your work, when you can simply go direct? When you go to online distributors with a monthly payment method, you get the money directly and frequently. They don’t pay, you yank the product and take it elsewhere. With publishing contracts, termination is not an easy – nor straightforward – affair. So you are usually stuck while some bastards in suits have your game, are making money from it and either not paying at all or habitually paying late.

Computer Games – You are well known for your outspoken viewpoints on a number of topics. How do you think your public persona has affected the interest in 3000AD’s games, if any?

– There’s no such thing as bad publicity. If I really cared about how my persona affected my games, I’d have packed up and moved to Canada by now. Everyone has a personality and I am no different. I just don’t make excuses for mine and certainly don’t tuck it away in the closet. Just like my games, you either like and respect me, or you don’t. There’s no in between – and I could care less either way.

There is a big difference between being an experienced outspoken person who knows what he’s talking about; and just being a clueless outspoken loudmouth. I didn’t need to prove myself to anyone; my work, my accomplishments and my uncompromising standards, say it all.

Computer Games – Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Universal Combat: A World Apart?

– Only gamers with a passion for advanced and uncompromising games, need take a look. Everyone else, move along; nothing to see here; no matter what the publisher’s marketing team cooks up.

Computer Games – The Battlecruiser/Universal Combat franchise has been your life for over a decade now. Any chance you might become bored with it and try out a new genre or setting for your games?

– Nah, I’m never going to get bored. My ultimate long term vision is much too ambitious to afford me that luxury.

He sounds like a cowboy in the far west of gaming :)

About the games it seems that he released two this year. Universal Combat Gold (UCG, DS loves acronyms), which is just a minor update to the previous released game and only available as digital download, and Universal Combat: A World Apart (UCAWA), which is the actual new “episode” with a reworked graphic engine, art assets and a bunch of things that only Derek Smart himself or someone with his same degree of crazyness could identify. And I’m truly ashamed to reveal that I decided to reward at least his stubbornness and perseverance by buying the new game…

His plans for the next couple of years are crazier than ever and I really do expect some fireworks out of this:

Press Release Announcement

THIS is the seamless sci-fi MMO you’ve been waiting for. But if you’d rather kill rats, dance like an uncompromising dufus in a bar, well then, have fun with that.

Universal Combat Online (UCO) is our massively multi player online game. Based on a vastly improved version of the Universal Combat – A World Apart engines, it contains a plethora of new advanced technologies and content to make it the ultimate futuristic battleground with our pioneered vast seamless space and planetary worlds.

Engage in space or planetary battles with hundreds of other players across a vast persistent game world with several galaxies hosted on linked server clusters. Fly an agile fighter or lumbering capital ship; run around in first person with various weapons of mass destruction; helm a submarine undetected up an enemy invested sea or drive at break neck speeds into battle at the wheel of dozens of vehicles. The choice is yours. Its your game. How will you play it?

True skill based gameplay, zero grind. Whether you are a skilled commander of a behemoth space carrier roaming the space ways or a newbie Elite Force Marine defending your planetary base; your own personal skills determine your survival.

Advanced grouping features allow various types of team based gameplay; whether it be fleets or guilds. Built in support for voice chat (internal as well as external apps such as TeamSpeak, Ventrilo) as well as an advanced chat interface.

Build, control and defend space or planetary cities and bases. Become a trader for profit or control the flow of contraband weapons in a combat invested planet or space way. The choice is yours. Who do you want to be today?

Full PvP engagements with NO sissified rules.

Good luck with that :) At least he knows how to pitch his things. If all goes as expected we will see this only by 2010 and it WILL be a huge clusterfuck. But at least it will be an awesome one. I only wish he could take back the old Battlecruiser brand. “Universal Combat” still sounds too much like a lame b-movie instead of a niche, hardcore title. Humor and Derek Smart don’t go along well, what is so fun about him is that he always sounds so damn serious, so he is fun in a sort of spontaneous way.

It’s also nice to see him babysitting his players. Jokes aside, it shows how he is passsionate about his games.

EDIT-
I just found a biased article about some sort of conference with Derek Smart to present his last game (I think).

It’s interesting because he comments one of the last topics that have been discussed around here (fear change):

For Derek Smart has never made a game that he thought his fans would like, he has made games that he would like to play. He confesses, “If you listen to every angry fan or every negative review, you would just eventually get fed up and give up. But, if you try to improve on where you went wrong and continue to make the best game possible, you will gain a faithful fan following.”

Derek also talked on the death of a franchise. He advises that the reason many franchises fall along the waysides is that they try to fix upon what made the series work in the first place.

EDIT-2
It’s also so fun reading his “open letters” to the magazines reviewing and systematically digging his games :) There’s one for each version of PC Gamer (here and here).

The comedy value is incomparable:

Unless you took a wrong turn at Albuquerque on your way to the water cooler and ended up at the ass end of Alpha Cygni when you were clearly *told* to go to Tau Ceti, how could you miss the action?

If not by the game, I’m amused by Derek Smart :)