Ruffian Games finds itself in a unique predicament.‭ ‬Even before the Scottish developer had the chance to officially say hello to the world,‭ ‬the group was besieged by intense speculation linking it with the sequel to the Xbox sleeper-hit Crackdown.‭

But Ruffian hasn’t slipped a single hint about its secret project.‭ ‬No ambiguous quotes,‭ ‬no media-savvy innuendos,‭ ‬no telling recruitment adverts have left the group’s‭ ‬Dundee offices.

It was,‭ ‬in fact,‭ ‬the composition of the Ruffian team itself which ignited the speculation,‭ ‬as a vast majority of the newly-formed,‭ ‬close-knit group had worked on Crackdown across a range of capacities.‭ ‬One of which is Crackdown’s lead developer Billy Thomson‭ [‬pictured‭]‬.‭ ‬Thomson is one of Ruffian’s founding trio,‭ ‬along with industry veteran Gaz Liddon and Gareth Noyce.‭

The group informs us that it is not currently focusing its efforts on a PC or Wii title,‭ ‬adding that its secret project will not be an MMOG.‭ ‬While everything else remains up in the air for now,‭ ‬Thomson speaks to Edge about where he sees the future of console games and the state of the industry in which Ruffian has just stepped into.



Edge:‭ ‬There’s already much collective experience at Ruffian.‭ ‬How is that combined skill relevant‭; ‬in what ways will it aid you‭?
Thomson:‭ ‬I’d say I’ve got a few decent games under my belt,‭ ‬some of which I’ve been heavily involved in,‭ ‬but we’ve got‭ ‬people here who are very talented.‭ ‬Our coders scare the shit out of me.‭

One of the major benefits is that we have a wide range of experience‭; ‬I think we’ve got the talent here to make just about any game we wanted to.‭


When Ruffian was officially announced,‭ ‬one of the first‭ ‬statements you made was regarding the promise of online gaming.‭ ‬Is this going to be the primary focus of your output‭?
It’s not like we’re going to avoid making singleplayer games,‭ ‬we still see a massive market in them.‭ ‬But,‭ ‬moving forward,‭ ‬many games are pushing things like co-operative play.‭ ‬If you look at the consoles that are out there now,‭ ‬everybody’s encouraging everyone to stay online,‭ ‬particularly through your friends list on the‭ ‬360,‭ ‬and now with the PS3‭’‬s Home.‭ 

We definitely want to keep making solo games‭ – ‬we want to make great solo games‭ – ‬but we see the life of games online.‭ ‬Because when you finish your solo experience,‭ ‬if you want to get anything else out of the‭ ‬£45‭ ‬or‭ ‬$60‭ ‬you’ve spent,‭ ‬it’s going to be through online play.


Is this how you feel developers and publishers benefit from aapplying online elements,‭ ‬in that they can keep an audience interested in a franchise‭?
I think a lot of companies need to look at how they can expand their games and continue to get people playing them.‭ ‬Especially with franchises,‭ ‬companies need to look at things like downloadable content to ensure that‭ – ‬by the time the second game comes out‭ – ‬people are still playing the first.

I know the publishers are trying to push us to come up with game concepts that keep people from selling their games on,‭ ‬so it is something that publishers are definitely thinking about.‭


Its pleasantly strange‭ ‬to see‭ ‬a developer emerge at a time when‭ ‬so‭ ‬many are closing down.‭ ‬How do you feel the current economic climate will influence game development‭?
There’s going to be a lot of safe games,‭ ‬that’s for sure.‭ ‬There won’t be many people trying anything new because,‭ ‬if they fuck it up,‭ ‬then the whole studio could close.

But it’s clear that gamers are still up for new IP.‭ ‬I’m like everyone else‭; ‬I’m intrigued by new experiences.‭ ‬But publishers are usually a little bit cautious if a game is not going to quite obviously be a big hit.‭ ‬If there’s little data to support the fact that a game will sell well,‭ ‬publishers tend to avoid them,‭ ‬and right now in this climate I think we’ll be seeing a lot of that.‭


Many have suggested that the industry is fairly well-guarded from the global recession.
It’s completely obvious that the games industry has been affected by it,‭ ‬I mean there’s been so many closures in the last six months.


Talking of which,‭ ‬one of your colleagues suggested that there’s a layoff/recruitment cycle at hand here,‭ ‬where closures are often followed by new teams emerging.‭ ‬Would you agree‭?
Well it makes perfect sense,‭ ‬because you’ve got a lot of‭ ‬really talented guys losing their jobs as well as the rest.‭ ‬So if,‭ ‬say,‭ ‬four or five studios close down,‭ ‬then you’ve got at least enough for one fucking amazing team.