Kiwi Talkz #105 - Mike Wikan Interview (Metroid Prime Trilogy, Game Design, Crunch, Booz Allen Hamilton, Shigeru Miyamoto etc.)
Mike Wikan is a Game Designer who has worked on Duke Nukem, Donkey Kong and DOOM. He is most well known for being Lead Designer on the Metroid Prime Trilogy during his tenure at Retro Studios. He is now Creative Director at Booz Allen Hamilton
WEBSITE - https://www.boozallen.com
#metroid #metroidprime #gamedesign
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
01:27 - How Metroid Prime Was Developed/Techniques That Were Used
07:06 - Working With Nintendo/Language Difficulties/Translators
08:11 - How Nintendo Operates
09:09 - Shigeru Miyamoto Story From Donkey Kong Country Returns
11:12 - Tanabe Was The Reason For Spider Ball & Boost Ball Guardians Difficulty
12:17 - Fixing Things In Metroid Prime Trilogy
13:14 - Nintendo Analysed Every Bit Of Text In Metroid Prime Trilogy
14:03 - Who Was Responsible For The Lore/Luminoth Language
15:56 - Sketching Background /How Mike Learned Coding, 3D Models, Design etc.
19:45 - Growing Up In The Military/Taking Military Experiences Into Metroid Prime Development
22:16 - Mike Had To Do Non Detailed Sketches Before Handing Them To Artists
24:10 - How Quadraxis Boss Was Designed/Gameplay Ramping/Game Engine Camera System
30:28 - MP2 and MP3 Didn’t Have Crunch
31:09 - The True Story Behind Metroid Prime 2’s Initial Development
32:20 - Metroid Prime 1 Crunch/Management Of Retro Studios Changed After Metroid Prime 1
34:00 - How Booz Allen Hamilton Gaming Development Works/Avoiding Crunch For Creatives
36:35 - How To Manage Creative Staff Properly
39:05 - How To Prepare For Curve Balls In Game Design/The Pillars Of Game Design
40:52 - Meta Ridley Boss Fight In MP3 Inspired By Lord Of The Rings/Original Meta Ridley Design Fight In MP1
42:26 - Mike Wikan Loves Lord Of The Rings
43:15 - Mike Is Very Introverted/How He Breaks Through It
46:35 - Being A Lifetime Learner
47:18 - The Problem With AAA Game Studios & Lack Of Leadership
49:01 - Breakdown Of Gaming Studios Profits From Game Sales
51:28 - How Nintendo Operates In Terms Of Managing Staff
52:03 - Eastern Game Design Vs Western Game Design
52:53 - Gameplay Trumps Graphics/Story Never Sells A Game
54:22 - AAA Games Designs Flaws/How Mike Guides Game Designers
57:10 - How Management Works Once You Have More Than 45 Staff
57:47 - No Excuse For Western Developers Not Adapting To Eastern Game Methodology
58:58 - Mike’s Managing Style At Boon Allen Hamilton
1:02:35 - What Games Mike Wikan Plays/Bullet Echo
1:05:31 - Mike Will Play Metroid Dread & Prime 4
1:06:40 - Where To Keep Up With What Mike Wikan Is Working On
1:07:44 - What Was Being Fine-tuned With Metroid Primes Audio/Clark Wen
1:09:45 - Mike Is Extremely Thankful To All The Metroid Prime Fans To This Day