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This article comes from the official account of Wechat: ID:chuappgame, author: etc.

"if I had known it would be so difficult to start a business, I wouldn't have taken that step."

Editor's note: Looking Glass Studios is a development studio that can not be ignored in the European and American game industry in the 1990s. Games such as "Theft: the Dark Plan" and "Internet Raiders" have a profound impact on the industry. Take "Internet Raiders" as an example, the original name of the game is "System Shock", but the more appropriate and more hard-core translation should be called "system concussion". The background of the game is the familiar cyber punk and hacker intrusion, and there are many innovations in narrative techniques and game design. So, many years later, when Looking Glass developers came out to create new games, the name they came up with was "BioShock"-"biochemical shock", or "biochemical Raiders" that Chinese players are more familiar with.

Many "strange soldiers" in the Chinese translation may have blurred the original clear bloodline, in fact, developers never hide the inheritance of this bloodline. The creators of these games came from the same studio and later started their own businesses. We will tell their stories separately.

Jonathan Chey doesn't like to be in the limelight. He always evaluates his abilities and achievements humbly. However, Chey has a long resume in the gaming industry and has been at the helm of legendary studios such as Irrational Games and 2K Australia, leading a team to develop a series of groundbreaking games.

"Jonathan is a very smart game designer, and in some ways his efficiency is something I can never achieve." Ken Levin, co-founder of Irrational Games and creative director of biochemical Raiders: infinity.

Ben Lee, art director of Blue Manchu, an independent studio in Australia, describes him as a "pragmatic" developer. "he always knows what he's doing and, like us, makes mistakes from time to time, but never makes irrational or stupid decisions-everything Jonathan does has been well thought out."

Although his peers think highly of him, he prefers to describe himself as a "generalist" and "know-it-all". "I am a very mediocre programmer, a mediocre game designer, a mediocre business manager.... I know a little bit of everything, but I'm not an expert in any field. I just happen to have done a lot of different things."

The surname "Cheyi" comes from a Chinese surname. Chey, who was born in Sydney in 1966, lived in China with his parents and brother Stephen in the early 1970s. My father is of Chinese descent and my mother is of British descent and worked in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at that time. "being regarded as a foreigner, you will feel like a combination of a starlet and a criminal." "people were curious and suspicious about you," Chea recalled. "it was hard for you to go unnoticed in a crowd."

When Chey struggled to start a business when he was young, when he first saw the Pong game console, he was immediately fascinated and interested in video games, but he never thought he could pursue a career in game development in the future. Chea later returned to Australia to live with his grandparents. When he was a teenager, he had his first computer. Later, he accepted a scholarship from Boston University to study for a doctorate in cognitive science. As a result of a purely accidental opportunity, Chea joined Looking Glass Studios, a studio known for creating classic PC games such as Genesis: underworld and online Raiders.

"I guess they were desperate to find a programmer at that time, so they contacted the recruitment agency.... when they see my resume, they will probably think, 'Cognitive science and artificial intelligence are very close to our requirements.'"

Chea, a veteran game developer with decades of experience, believes that compared with other game studios of his time, Looking Glass is like an avant-garde rock band, with both skilled developers and a group of MIT graduates.

In the gaming industry, Looking Glass is regarded as the pioneer of "immersive simulation games". This kind of game often provides players with flexible tools and systems to encourage them to be creative when playing. At the same time, the studio also uses excellent environmental narrative, sound design and atmosphere to promote the development of game narrative.

Chea likes Looking Glass games very much, and he is also shocked by the love and commitment of his colleagues to game development. His experience at Looking Glass is more of a lifestyle than a job.

"if I have to work hard for 20 years in a row, it will be hard to bear, but I really enjoy the feeling of being completely immersed in this career. My colleagues and I often work late into the night and work overtime on weekends because there is nothing more interesting to do when we get home."

The newcomer, a newcomer with no professional experience, was thrown into the project team of the tactical mecha shooter Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri and repaired Bug in the final stages of development, which was released in 1996. Chea then joined the far-reaching development team of the first-person sneak game, Theft: plan Darkness.

Chea was involved in the development of the Dark engine, which was later used in the production of Internet Raiders 2. At Looking Glass, Chey met the screenwriter Levin. "Jonathan moved me immediately. You know, whenever you meet someone better than yourself, you think,'Oh, this guy is much smarter than me!'" Levin said.

"Theft" is one of the pioneers of sneaky action games, where players use shadows to cleverly hide themselves. Chewie, Levin and programmer Rob Feminel co-developed a film and television adaptation game, Star Trek: astronaut, but the project was later cancelled. Levin says Looking Glass has great talent and an incredible culture, but nothing is perfect, the flip side of a loose development environment is poor financial conditions, and studios are always on the brink of bankruptcy.

In 1997, three people left to start a new development company, Irrational Games, with the goal of preserving Looking Glass's game-making culture but trying to do better in business. However, these guys didn't have much industry experience at the time, and Chey and Levin never even finished a game with the project. In the early days, the three people had no offices, projects or funds, so they had to work in the bedroom of an apartment. "at that time, the concept of independent games did not exist, and if I had known that starting a business would be so difficult, I would not have taken that step." Chea admitted.

Shortly after the studio was founded, Irrational reached an agreement with French publisher Cyro to develop a single-player campaign for the action game FireTeam. The collaboration later ran aground because Cyro decided to change the game to multiplayer play. During the turbulent times, Levin was worried about the future, but Chey remained calm. "Jonathan is not depressed. He believes that there is a way to go. Don't worry too much." Levin said.

Fortunately for Irrational's initial work, Irrational received a call from Paul Neuilat, co-founder of Looking Glass, inviting them to make a game using the Dark engine. Chey said the cooperation "saved us." Looking Glass allows them the freedom to use the "Dark" engine to make any game, provide office space, and borrow some developers. "in retrospect, it's a little strange for them to do so." "I guess they were eager to find people to expand their product line," Chey said. "

After some consideration, Irrational proposed to develop a sequel to the classic sci-fi game online Raiders. The original "Internet Raiders" was developed by Looking Glass and released in 1994, when EA owned the rights.

The total cost of "Internet Raiders 2" is $1.7 million, and the R & D cycle has reached 18 months. Chey recalled that making "Internet Raiders 2" was an incredible experience, but it was also a difficult project to complete. During the development period, several of the founders of Irrational assumed a number of responsibilities, of which Chey held three roles: as a project manager, responsible for the day-to-day management of the studio, and programming games.

Jonathan spends all day processing programs and spreadsheets on the computer. " "he needed to write code and manage the team, and the management tools were so bad that Microsoft Office could hardly work," Levin said.... in addition, the engine is still in the development stage and has not yet been completed. if any tool breaks down, we have to get him to fix it. "

Doryan Hart, a former Looking Glass developer, described Chey as a "clear-headed realist" and a "balancer" who reconciled Levin's creative ambitions. "if Ken (Levin) is gasoline, then Chey is like a brake pad."

Levin also believes that Chea has more overall vision than him and complements him in character. "when I walk into the studio in the morning, I always have doughnuts in my mouth. Jonathan will sit at his desk and drink a cup of scented tea, never pushing at work." "I'm different," Levin said. "I'm like an ADHD, and it's hard to concentrate on sitting down and writing."

"as project leader, Jonathan's job is probably the most difficult because he needs to manage my creation properly to make sure the project is completed on time. We must not screw things up."

Irrational Studio's photo "Internet Raiders 2" was officially released on August 11, 1999, with mediocre sales, but received praise from the media and players and won many awards, which fully proves that Irrational has the ability to make first-class games. Today, Internet Raider 2 is widely regarded as one of the best PC games of the 1990s.

Feminel left Irrational shortly after the game, and Chey was exhausted and tired of living and working hard in a dilapidated apartment in Boston, so he decided to go back to Australia. After nearly 10 years of hard work in the United States, he wants to go back to his hometown to relax and bask in the sun.

Chey didn't think about continuing to work for Irrational, but just a few months later, Levin discussed Irrational's idea of setting up a branch in Canberra and invited him to be the head of the new studio. At the time, publisher Crave Entertainment had signed the debut of Irrational's Canberra Studios, and the pair decided to create a superhero real-time tactical game called Freedom Force, which was released in 2002.

Levin said that Freedom Power was the company's first private brand created from scratch, and Chey was in charge of the whole project. Chea set up a new studio and finished the game with the help of chief programmer Carl Sunderland. "at first, I drove to Canberra from Sydney with a few suitcases, no team and no office." "18 months later, we had our own office, a team and a game, and I was proud of the Power of Freedom," Chey recalled. "

On the list of producers for Freedom Power, Chey's title is lead designer. "I think that experience taught me how difficult Ken's job is. I never doubted him, but I finally got first-hand experience."

Power of Freedom pays homage to the classic American superhero comic sequel under the helm of Chea, Irrational's studio in Australia has a strong technical strength, while Levin's team is better at designing. Although there are cultural differences, the two divisions of Irrational complement each other and form a good chemical reaction. Over the next few years, Irrational continued to produce games such as Tribes: Vengeance and SWAT 4, but the studio was on the verge of running out of money.

In 2006, Irrational was acquired by Take-Two and later merged into 2KGames. The two studios were renamed 2K Boston and 2K Australia respectively. With funding from Take-Two, Levin and Chey led a team to develop a spiritual sequel to Internet Raiders 2, the 2007 release of Biomedical Raiders. Biochemical Raiders was originally developed separately by the Boston team, but as the project grew, Irrational quickly realized they needed more people.

During the development of biochemical Raiders, Chey served as the director of product development and was in charge of the entire project. He admits that this identity allows him to meddle in all the affairs of the project.

Although biochemical Raiders was developed by several different teams in the United States and Australia, as the project was nearing completion, Chea and his colleagues flew to Boston to assist in the last critical period of research and development. " I feel like I'm back in the days when we were making Internet Raiders 2, and we were sitting in the office trying to make the game better until it looked good at the last minute. " Levin recalls.

Back in Australia, Cheychey, who runs the Irrational branch, has mixed feelings about "biochemical troopers". On the one hand, he is convinced that "this will always be one of my favorite game development experiences", on the other hand, "biochemical Raiders" has also brought him unprecedented pressure, a feeling he does not want to relive. Chea attended a near-disaster press conference in New York, when the team was about to demonstrate a demo, only to find a Bug that caused the program to crash. They had to work with a technical team as far away as Australia to recreate and fix the loophole at the last minute.

Biochemical Raiders has experienced a long development cycle, and some of its designs have caused controversy and even nearly been cancelled, but it has been well received since its publication. Unlike previous masterpieces, the game has been a huge success at both commercial and word-of-mouth levels, selling 1.5 million copies in its first month and winning several game of the year awards. Levin describes biochemical Raiders as an experimental mix of shooters and immersive simulated RPG games. At the same time, it has led more people to discuss the narrative and artistic value of the game-discussions that should have come in the era of "Internet Raiders."

Some academic critics believe that biochemical Raiders shows the philosophical side of video games, however, it is difficult for Chea and 2K management to agree on what the studio should do next. As the discussion over the project turned into a "dispute", the 2K Boston and 2K Australia teams were broken up and members were transferred to other project teams. Chey found working for a big company unsatisfactory and left 2K in 2009.

Levin can understand Chey's decision. "running a large 3A game project is very complicated and there are too many changes."... every game will eat part of your body. " "those games put more pressure on Jonathan than I did, so when biochemical Raiders was nearing completion, he was almost swallowed up," Levin said. "

After leaving from 2K, Cheyi entered a three-year non-competition period. During that time, Chea didn't do anything meaningful or really valuable related to the game. He traveled around the United States, often rode a bike, learned some undergraduate chemistry, and applied to enter medical school, but was rejected. He also takes care of his garden in his spare time. "I guess that's why some people call the non-compete period 'gardening leave'."

Immediately after that, Chea began to form a team with the aim of creating an online exchange card game. To that end, he contacted former colleagues Ben Lee and Garad Woods at Irrational and 2K. "one day Jonathan suddenly contacted me and asked me if I was interested in working with him on an independent game. I just quit a week ago." Ben Li recalled, "although we haven't spoken for several years, it doesn't matter. I respect him very much."

Starting afresh, Chey founded independent studio Blue Manchu in 2011, then teamed up with colleagues to launch his debut as "Card Hunter" in 2014. Chey has been focused on developing large-scale 3A games, and making independent games is a considerable shift.

"I don't know if I can go out on my own and make smaller games on my own." "although I made games with a group of good developers within a large team, that doesn't mean I can make games on my own," Chey said. "or do it with a small number of partners-especially given that I spent a lot of time managing teams and projects in my last job."

Chea prefers the freedom to develop games independently rather than work for a big company to promote Card Hunter at the PAX show. During the Blue Manchu period, he had the flexibility to reorient the project, but it would be very difficult in a 3A project with a budget and schedule. "it's never to my taste."

Woods also believes that Chey is frustrated by working for a large company because any major changes or adjustments in the project design have to be approved by the company's management team. "Jonathan doesn't like the way he works that way. Now he can do it himself as he pleases." Woods said.

Chea admits that Card Hunter has not been a great success and is overshadowed by other card games. But it brings a lot of money to Blue Manchu, allowing the studio to continue to do more interesting things.

In 2019, Blue Manchu launched the strategic shooting game Void Bastards. Looking Glass Studios closed in 2000, and the immersive, highly narrative games they produced were not popular at the time, but today's players have fully embraced the style. Arkane Studios and other studios fully believe in these ideas and have completed some high-quality spiritual sequels. Chey said that when it saw that Nintendo was also practicing these ideas, it knew that they were already mainstream in the industry, so "Vanity bastards" was also a hybrid experiment with these ideas and Blue Manchu ideas.

Although its tone is rooted in what Chey calls British science fiction nightmarish bureaucracy, Hart points out that both it and Card Hunter reflect Chey's cold humor. "I think the closer he is to the game, the more distinct his personality will be in the game."... the Vanity Bastards feels like a Jonathan Chey-style game. "

Chea feels the same way. "it's more like a game I made than Internet Raiders 2 and Biomedical Raiders."

Void Bastards, which has been released on several major platforms, says he makes independent games in a very lazy and self-indulgent way. At Blue Manchu, project cycles can be lengthened, teams are not subject to deadlines or strangled by publishers. "We can never stop until we think we have the best time."

Independent studios mean that they are generally small. Blue Manchu currently has only six or seven people, and Chea has no plans to expand the team. 'Chey seems happier and more relaxed than in the past, 'Mr. Woods said. "it must be nice that he's already famous and doesn't have to take orders from anyone anymore."

The size of the Blue Manchu is also a reflection of Chea's character. Hart revealed that Chey was not a great social person when he worked at Looking Glass. Chea himself said: "I'm not very good at dealing with people." In the early days of Irrational, Levin drove with Chey from Boston to Baltimore to try to sell his new game to potential publishers. During the 12-hour trip, Chea didn't say a word for hours in the car, which was maddening.

"Jonathan is silent, but I want him to talk, because once he speaks, you will find this guy very interesting. He is very humorous, but most people have no idea that he is also knowledgeable and very smart when they first met him."

Interestingly, Chey always speaks in a self-deprecating, humble tone-when talking to people, his expression rarely changes and his voice is rarely raised. Chey's character is calm and calm. Hart describes him as a rock in the ocean, often patiently looking for the most appropriate words to express his ideas, which makes people feel secure and reassuring.

The future of Blue Manchu is still "loose". Chey said the studio will continue to push games outside the mainstream and try new ideas. "I don't like to compete directly with a lot of people, especially in 3A games. If an independent studio tries to do this, it is tantamount to setting itself a too difficult task."

This article was compiled from: https://www.theswinstandard.net/ 2021-10-15 / jon-chey-a-rock-in-the-ocean-of-australian-games-development/

Original title: "Jon Chey:'A rock in the ocean' of Australian games development"

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