Blade Runner Game Director Louis Castle: Extended Interview | Ars Technica

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  • čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
  • Ars Technica is proud to present our extended interview with Westwood Studios co-founder Louis Castle - the executive producer, art director, and technical director behind the influential 90’s point and click PC adaptation of Blade Runner. Learn more about the challenges Louis and his team overcame in converting the Blade Runner universe into an interactive environment, reinventing adventure games and taking players on an audiovisual journey on par with Ridley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece.
    --
    00:00 Introduction
    00:30 The Landscape of Mid-90s Gaming
    01:23 When Westwood Got Involved
    02:44 Building The World With New Tech
    08:07 Blurring The Lines Of Reality
    13:20 The Team & The Gameplan
    17:38 Building Blocks Of The Characters
    25:21 Staying True To The Film
    27:37 Getting More Funding
    28:55 Finishing The Game
    30:40 The Power Of Planning
    31:30 Evolving Tech During Development
    33:40 Using Dirty Buffers For Live Renders
    35:00 Boosting Sales Via Low-End Machines
    36:43 Realism Of Unreliable Clues
    39:47 The Meta Of Making NPCs More Human
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    Blade Runner Game Director Louis Castle: Extended Interview | Ars Technica
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Komentáře • 60

  • @MattHall
    @MattHall Před 3 lety +22

    These extended interviews are such a gem

  • @TitusFFM
    @TitusFFM Před 3 lety +26

    I remember buying it in late 90s I think it was 4 CDs and this was the game I played for hours. Exploring every detail enjoyed it so much. Thank you for the interview.

  • @Indigo_Gaming
    @Indigo_Gaming Před 3 lety +25

    This is super interesting. Very rare to see such a nice, personable game dev who is both incredibly savvy in both technology and creative design.

  • @lachlangordon9806
    @lachlangordon9806 Před 3 lety +13

    We miss you Westwood :(

  • @dennis7782
    @dennis7782 Před 3 lety +14

    This is one of my fav interviews you did, thanks for uplaoding the whole thing!

  • @leif54
    @leif54 Před 3 lety +2

    I love hearing him talk. Its so much information in every sentence he speaks.

  • @peterdelevoryas4684
    @peterdelevoryas4684 Před 3 lety +10

    Yes!!!!!! Thanks for releasing this, I already watched the shorter segments like ten times.

  • @stevemuzak8526
    @stevemuzak8526 Před 3 lety +2

    At that time it was the most realistic game I ever seen. It's still impressive even in 2020. Great Blade Runner atmosphere. I'm soo happy that is still available and playable on modern pc's.

  • @mrqe5
    @mrqe5 Před 3 lety +10

    He's almost 60, but looks so young. Nice 👍

    • @kaspartambur
      @kaspartambur Před 3 lety +2

      Speed of thought and sentences also feels like he's just a freshman!

  • @slot9
    @slot9 Před 3 lety +6

    This was excellent!!! I am taken aback by the really cool ideas and systems that were in what I thought was a linear adventure game!

    • @kaspartambur
      @kaspartambur Před 3 lety +1

      yeah, this interview actually makes me re-look at the whole game in a new way!

  • @177Darksharp
    @177Darksharp Před 3 lety +13

    Love this game. Wish someone would do a proper remaster in Unreal 4/5.

    • @Indigo_Gaming
      @Indigo_Gaming Před 3 lety +2

      Remake. A remaster updates the original game using its original assets/technology. Porting the game into a new engine with fully 3D models would be a remake, not a remaster. :)

    • @fabricem.5977
      @fabricem.5977 Před 2 lety

      You'll love BR 9732 project by Quentin Lengele

  • @ESPLTD782
    @ESPLTD782 Před 3 lety +2

    Soo glad they put this game on GOG. I still play it

  • @ColorauGuiyino
    @ColorauGuiyino Před 3 lety +2

    This guy is just a genius.

  • @Fuuntag
    @Fuuntag Před 3 lety +2

    I have heard Louis talk through this about 10 times now...never gets old.

  • @famistudio
    @famistudio Před 3 lety

    Thanks Ars! Love the extended version! :)

  • @stephanemignot100
    @stephanemignot100 Před 3 lety +3

    Thanks to GOG and the ScummVM team I can play this game on a 2004 eMac!

  • @smokydogy
    @smokydogy Před 3 lety

    Quality upload, thank you kindly

  • @beefchampion2792
    @beefchampion2792 Před 3 lety

    Great interview! You guys are one of the best channels on youtube!

  • @robertledet
    @robertledet Před 3 lety +3

    amazing game. great interview!

  • @saugatmanandhar6473
    @saugatmanandhar6473 Před 3 lety

    I love this video. Great interview!

  • @murkyseb
    @murkyseb Před 3 lety +1

    Really interesting. I want to hear more from this man

  • @LIANG14
    @LIANG14 Před 3 lety

    This is awesome work!

  • @Chocolateness2000
    @Chocolateness2000 Před 3 lety

    This one is really great!

  • @JoesGuy
    @JoesGuy Před 3 lety

    Looking forward to seeing what happens with this remaster.

  • @ricepony33
    @ricepony33 Před 3 lety +14

    Love these extended interviews.
    How about the No Mans Sky team?

    • @candyman666ification
      @candyman666ification Před 3 lety

      one mans lie lol

    • @jm3267
      @jm3267 Před 3 lety +1

      Agreed, I think an interview about their difficulty with managing fan/publisher expectations and how they've worked to try and support and expand the game for the last few years would be incredibly interesting!

  • @raphaeldwain7834
    @raphaeldwain7834 Před 2 lety

    Great interview

  • @NicolaMela1
    @NicolaMela1 Před 3 lety

    Super interesting! I wish there was some game footage tho

  • @m9000k
    @m9000k Před 3 lety

    I love the Blade Runner game and I still have it :)

  • @Lazarus1119
    @Lazarus1119 Před rokem

    Interesting... the special ending he refers to with turning on the replicants and steele being alive was cut from the game.

  • @celozzip
    @celozzip Před 2 lety +1

    he must be livid at the remaster

  • @hawk5946
    @hawk5946 Před 2 lety

    Remember Sound Blaster cards?

  • @iforgotthenamemate
    @iforgotthenamemate Před 3 lety

    Bring the Team resposnible for spec ops the line!

  • @NeilRieck
    @NeilRieck Před rokem +1

    Rendering farms? I haven't heard that phrase since the original days of Babylon 5

  • @esdrasminikoski
    @esdrasminikoski Před 3 lety

    Can you guys Interview the creators of myth the fallen lords?

  • @nicholasfitzkee5881
    @nicholasfitzkee5881 Před rokem

    This is a great interview, but can anyone confirm that this game will really run on a 4.77 MHz 8086? He mentions that several times. I can certainly imagine targeting a 486 or first-generation Pentium in the mid-90s, but nobody was using 8086/8088 hardware back then. Current hardware specs all mention Pentiums, but since they are GoG or SCUMMVM, it's hard to tell.

    • @SavageArms357
      @SavageArms357 Před 4 měsíci

      Yeah, I'm confused why he mentions that, because the recommended system requirements on the original box suggest at least Windows 95 and a 90mhz Pentium.

  • @ESPLTD782
    @ESPLTD782 Před 2 lety +1

    I always wanted to take max Payne and put him in a blade runner world. Lol I feel like he would fit perfect with his narration and style.

  • @vonpiro2397
    @vonpiro2397 Před 3 lety

    1:20 Ecstatica

  • @sunlin894
    @sunlin894 Před 2 lety

    I just read the transcript of this interview....and it suddenly hit me what i was confused about how they solved the "clue" dilemma.... it wasnt anything innovative ...they just used liked lists in the programming. For every clue one bit of info is "name of npc that passed the main character this clue last". You then link back to that character and the same...."name of npc that passed this npc the clue last", ....link...link....link. Until you know origin and path from npc to npc of a reliable or unreliable clue that arrives at main character. To test if an npc "knows" about a certain clue ...see if they have any value in their link node. If "null" then....they dont know. C Programming 260 & 265 college.

  • @Nutsaur
    @Nutsaur Před 3 lety

    17:01
    That ending doesn't exist.
    I've tried to get it, looked on CZcams, looked at Wikis, and it doesn't exist.

    • @EstrangedEstranged
      @EstrangedEstranged Před 3 lety

      You tried it on the GoG version or on the regular version?

    • @EstrangedEstranged
      @EstrangedEstranged Před 3 lety +1

      In the abridged interview footage this ending is shown as L.Castle speaks - czcams.com/video/Zkwpa5YPhx8/video.html I'd assume that ScummVM have broken some things when porting the game, just like they have caused a lot of game breaking bugs when porting Lure Of The Temptress to ScummVM, another game with simulated NPCs.

    • @Nutsaur
      @Nutsaur Před 3 lety

      @@EstrangedEstranged
      As far as I know it was a regular version.

    • @stroggoff
      @stroggoff Před 3 lety

      ​@@EstrangedEstranged That is simply not true. There are not any known game breaking bugs in the ScummVM release. In fact, many original game bugs have been fixed. However, if you have spotted one, you are welcome to report it on our (ScummVM) bug tracker and it will be fixed ASAP.

    • @stroggoff
      @stroggoff Před 3 lety

      This is indeed the case. That ending does not exist, or rather is not possible to get it. There is some extra dialogue in the game that is more or less along the lines of what Louis Castle mentions, but it is untriggered, since the conditions for it are impossible (they are conflicting conditions). There is a plan to restore this in the "restored content mode" but that is currently work in progress and I cannot offer any ETA.

  • @aaet4872
    @aaet4872 Před 3 lety

    This guys voice got slower and slower with each chapter

  • @DanielElia2036
    @DanielElia2036 Před rokem +1

    So sad they lost the original master 🤦‍♂️
    We want back games like blade runner.. now storytelling in games is so boring and linear .

  • @CsendesMark
    @CsendesMark Před 3 lety

    3 replicants did not like this video :D

  • @damazywlodarczyk
    @damazywlodarczyk Před 3 lety

    The guy is just lying, you didn't invent voxels and the game was not open world.

    • @sunlin894
      @sunlin894 Před 2 lety

      Im not going to get into the particulars of what i think he is embelishing the truth on -or exaggerating the details of ....i.e. lying....because i have the game....but to not take away from the accomplishment of a great looking game for its time - and the pixel rendering and lighting effects for the game technology of the time still drops my jaw - and unique detective role play that seems to have some basic A.I. where decisions are influenced by past choices...he does seem to be talking it up like he's in an interview for a job or still selling the idea to get a contract for sure....nice dude though...smart....has a good pitch.

    • @sunlin894
      @sunlin894 Před 2 lety

      Yeah and at the end he says it was a short story.....wrong....a novel. Not lying but certainly a game salesman....a pitch man. Nice dude though. Especially when he says " whos going to know we cut this out....only us....ha ha ha" does that mean whos going to know we didnt achieve what im saying we did achieve....ha ha ha ....who could know...lol