Dave Interview #1

8/9/02:shi-yu: Here is the first interview with dave :)

Shi yu: First Off let me say thank you for taking the time to sit down and answer our little sites questions.

Dave: Hey, no problem at all. It’s sites like yours that I want to help out in any Way that I can. My pleasure.

Shi-yu: The Fist question we would like to ask is are you happy with the way the project is turning out so far?

Dave: Are you kidding? This project has taken off beyond my wildest dreams. I Just had a production meeting with the programmers and artists last night and I was Thinking to myself how incredible this whole experience has been. The crew that we Have working on the WGU project is going to get a lot of attention once this game Comes out because they are giving 100% of their talent to make this the best Wrestling game they can. Not only that, but we’ve been getting calls from investors Wanting to finance the project and that’s something I’ve been working hard for Because these people deserve to get paid well for the work they’ve been doing.
Preliminary character and arena designs have also blown me away. Just wait until You see what we’be been working on. Wrestling gamers are going to wet their pants.

Shi-yu: Are your animators handling the immense task of creating moves and designing arenas?

Dave: They love it. You have to understand something about the people working On this game. They’re doing it because they love what they do. The WGU project Has attracted a lot of attention and it’s only going to get crazier. We’re going to make Sure that every artist, animator, and programmer gets credit publicly for the wonderful Work they’re doing on this game. We have special plans for them on the new website When it relaunches and it’s something no other company has had the guts to do. I’m Proud of our team and I’m going to give them all the attention and exposure they Deserve. And not just the animators. Our artists like Jessica Schreiber have been doing some exciting work that deserves attention as well.

Wrestling gamers will be happy to know that all animations in our game will be done 100% by hand. No jerky motion capture. It’s going to be amazing.

Shi-yu: Have you Settled on a Game Engine?

Dave: Absolutely, but I’m not spilling the beans just yet. Suffice it to say that I’m sticking up For what the fans asked for and I’m going to make sure that they get it. For one thing, The amount of moves per wrestler will be more than any other game.

Shi-yu: There are some Rumors going around about the WGU possibly in talks with some Indy Or Foreign Federations Can you confirm or Deny this? and If its true could you tell us witch one?

Dave: It’s true. I can’t say which ones until the contracts are signed but we have been Contacted by some prominent indie feds and indie wrestlers and we’re working on including Them in the game. We will have some very exciting announcements to make in the near future, Trust me.

Shi-yu: How has your meetings with Financiers, Developers, and publishers going

Dave: ? Again, I can’t discuss the details until everything is final. I have talked with various Potential investors and I have good reason to believe we’ll be able to finance the entire project up front. The guys on the team have been really good about understanding the financial aspects of this project and they all have their fingers crossed.

As far as talking to publishers and developers, I quit. Back when WGU started I wasted a lot of Time trying to talk to publishers on the fan’s behalf and they had no interest what-so-ever in listening To me then so if they want to discuss the WGU project they can contact me. My email address is Public knowledge so THQ or anyone else knows how to contact me if they want to. I’m willing to Talk with them. I would love the chance to help revive the glory days of THQ wrestling games. But I’m not Going to sell out the WGU project or the guys on the team. If a publisher wants to make a deal for the WGU game they’re going to have to take every member of the team with it. I would never leave any of my team behind.

Shi-yu: Have you decided on what system you want to Debut this monster on?

Dave: Yes, but it’s a surprise.

Shi-yu: Have you started work on the CAW mode?

Dave: Yes, we’ve begun discussing the technical demands of the edit mode. The programmers and artists Are confident they can make the CAW in such a way that players will have total control over the wrestlers Appearance. My main goal in creating the CAW system is that players should be able to create any Wrestler they ever dreamed of and make them look how they want.

Shi-yu: When you are working the appearance of the Creations are you going to have everything editable like in Smack down Just Bring It?

Dave: That’s the plan.

Shi-yu:If There is going to be a Career Mode Have you considered having Injuries in it?

Dave: Injuries, money, stats, the works. The career mode we’re planning is a massive undertaking. It’s Practically going to be a game unto itself. But again, we’ll have surprises to announce about that, too.

Shi-yu: Are you thinking about going into a really deep career mode where you would like Start out in INDY and then work you way around and up in the different Fantasy Federation?

Dave: Bingo.

Shi-yu with this game have Internet Capability's Such as Downloading new stuff and or maybe even online matches?

Dave: Shhhh. That’s a secret. I ain’t talking about that yet.

Shi-yu: There going to Be CGI clips in the career mode if there is one?

Dave: You mean cinematics? We talked about it and it’s most likely. Mainly because I’ve seen what The WGU animators are capable of and they would whip up some incredible scenes, I’m sure of it.

Shi-yu: I as well as many other are wondering if this might be the first game where you could load you own entrance music onto the game has that even bean talk about?

Dave: It’s been talked about and we’ll make an announcement concerning theme music when the new site Opens.

Shi-yu: Are you considering the make your own entrance feature that RAW For the Xbox had?

Dave: Yes we are, but better.

Shi-yu: Are You going to be able to go into the crowd?

Dave: That’s something I can say for sure yet. It’s something the programmers haven’t discussed at this point.

Shi-yu: if you have Creations is it possible for them to be in the career mode as one of your opponents?

Dave: Oh, you’re going to love what we have planned for customizing the story mode. Stay tuned.

Shi-yu: When a Comp is talking with there be a voice or subtitles?

Dave: There will be voice overs at certain parts of the game but whether or not the majority is text or audio remains to be seen. It’s a matter of file size, really.

Shi-yu: Is there any chance of Commentary? is so could you give Joey styles Or Joel Gertner a call please lol

Dave: They’d be the first guys I called, they’re hilarious. But commentary is one thing we’re not worried about right now. It would be nice to have as long as it’s done right and if have any development time left over and the game engine is perfect then maybe we’ll work on some commentary. We’d hate to waste time on it until the game engine itself is fine tuned.

Shi-yu: Will there be a Create a belt Mode?

Dave: Yes.

Shi-yu: In Ladder or TLC matches would it be possible to do ladder to ladder grapples and stuff like that?

Dave: Again, our priority is to perfect the basic game engine before going ahead with tables and chairs. We want to make sure we don’t do a half assed job of something just to say it’s in the game. When we’re happy with the game engine and feel it’s perfected as far as normal singles and tag matches are concerned then we’ll tackle tables and chairs. We have every intention of including them, but not if they’re going to be glitchy and not fun to use. But what am I saying? Our programmers have some of the most polished God complexes I’ve ever seen so of course they can do tables and chairs better than you-know-who.

Shi-yu Will you be able to walk around or do moves on the top of Cages (not HITC's) not just clime down right away. (lets face it we all wana do a Diamond Cutter off the cage into the ring lol)

Dave: It’s on the drawing board so I’m hoping you will be able to. But one thing I’m even more happy about is the fact that our cage will have an actual door.

Shi-yu: will you be able to stack table like in Smack down 3 and set them up in corners like on WM 18 and could you have the fluid walking from table to table motion on SD3?

Dave: Like I said, we’re committed to doing tables right.

Shi-Yu Well thanks for your time Dave We will have more question for in in October. is there anything you would like to add or say to the wrestlinggamesunited visitors who are reading this interview?

Dave: First I’d like to thank you for creating this site! Everyone on the team is honored that you decided to support the WGU in this way.

And to all the fans reading this I want to thank you for your continuing support and I want you to know that the game is in good hands. I can’t wait to introduce the team to you and show you what they’ve been working on. They’re a fantastic group of guys and girls who are working their asses off to make this game for you. I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing fan clubs dedicated to them. You’re going to make them famous.

And before I go I have to thank Alek Talevich in Los Angeles and Rich Katynski here in Vancouver for Everything they’ve done to help make this game a reality.

It’s been an amazing experience for me so far and it just keeps getting better.