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Dyack: Yeah, I’m Controversial
By Kris Graft
August 6, 2008
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“’Outspoken,’ ‘provocative’ … people come up and they say that quite often. It’s not an intention of mine but it seems to be the case.”
Denis Dyack, president of Ontario-based Too Human developer Silicon Knights, is one of the more outspoken designers in the industry.
Whether he’s talking about his problem with game previews, or placing wagers with forum posters, Dyack says what he feels, and that often places him at the center of attention.
“I’ve been told that I’m controversial so often, I guess it’s true,” Dyack told Edge in a recent interview.
“’Outspoken,’ ‘provocative’ … people come up and they say that quite often. It’s not an intention of mine but it seems to be the case.”
One of Dyack’s more notable controversies was when he railed against game previews after Electronic Gaming Monthly published a negative preview of Too Human in 2007.
“Should the press review preview [versions of games]? I think the answer is absolutely not, but it still happens.”
He mentioned other topics that he has commented on in the past. “…How are publishers and developers going to continue to make money under the escalating prices that we have? What about original IP versus sequels? Marketing versus development time?
“There are all these issues that a lot of people are quite frankly really afraid to speak up about…All these issues are very tough issues.”
Dyack continued, “There’s a lot of potential negatives that come with speaking out. ‘Saying it like it is,’ I think, can be very, very difficult.”
The designer explained his viewpoint on controversy from a social perspective.
“If someone sees a mugging on the street, a natural reaction is just to turn your head and walk away and not get involved,” Dyack said. “I guess I’m one of those people that cannot help not getting involved. I’ll get involved and I’ll do something.”
You’ll beat off the mugger? we asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get shot one day. But if it’s the right thing to do, then I try to do that, and I guess that’s how I get coined as a controversial figure.”
I don't mean to sound creepy or anything, but is that the Temple (pagoda) at Ueno Zoo in the background of the picture on his desk?
LOL, it shouldn't be that controversial that someone wants to say what's on his mind. I guess Dyack's too human.
lol, ok bad joke!
Seriously though, this is a cultural problem, not a Denis Dyack problem. If no one tries to be the guy who stops muggers than all you have is a world full of muggers that think what they do is perfectly fine. Someone has to question social norms through alternative behavior, even if they get shot in the foot.
Sometimes it's good to lose so you win for other people. That's what I think anyway.
EDIT: Just wanted to add too. Instead of waisting time harping on people that are honest, why doesn't the industry question pr speak that's clearly dishonest more often? I'm not speaking about Edge magazine of course, but some PR or financial guy says their game or company is great and it's the greatest thing since hot pockets. Or people say what's on their mind but they act like an arrogant jerk about it so they get away with it.
I don't know, seems like the game industry's suffering from a severe case of "you can't be a real person." All other art mediums have revolutionaries breaking off and saying, "this is about people." but with games I don't think those ideas have disrupted the thoughts of the gaming market.
Dyack ruined his reputation by engaging with the animals at NeoGAF. That's not the place to go to talk about games. They don't talk there, they simply react. It's immature and more of a David Jaffe kind of place. But his posts there created an unfair negativity that has spilled over to other websites like Kotaku and Joystiq. That's not good for Dyack or Silicon Knights.
>>You’ll beat off the mugger? we asked.
lol