Paul Barnett Speaks, Part One: His Griefer Son, the Meaning of Creativity, and Dating Games Workshop’s Daughter
In a two-part, hour-long interview Steve sits down with Paul Barnett from the Warhammer Online team to talk about… well, whatever they felt like, mostly.
Paul Barnett is one of the people I’ve always wanted to interview. Even before I took this job, I’d watch previews of Warhammer Online featuring Q&A sessions where it looked like the PR department had just force-fed him twelve shots of Jagermeister and then shoved him in front of a camera.
I couldn’t help thinking to myself at the time, “Now that’s journalism!”
Having never met the man in person, I had only those videos to base my expectations on for my own Q&A with him.
I came prepared for some light Warhammer-related banter. And, in this half of the interview, that was pretty much exactly what I got.
Until I asked him if there was anything that he, personally, wanted to talk about… and things took a much more interesting turn.
In response to reader comments, click here to proceed directly to the next page if you’d like to get straight to the game-related topics of discussion. If you want the full Barnett Experience, read on.
The MMO Gamer: I usually start off these interviews by asking the person I’m talking to introduce themselves, but today I am sitting here with a man who requires no introduction: Paul Barnett, the creative director of Warhammer Online.
Paul Barnett: Thus rendering the introduction.
The MMO Gamer: Yes, thus rendering the introduction.
Paul Barnett: Irony level set to nine!
The MMO Gamer: I had to say something before you spoke, of course.
Paul Barnett: [laughing]
The MMO Gamer: Anyway, we’re sitting here in the lovely Triple Point offices…
Paul Barnett: What a lovely table.
The MMO Gamer: …in San Francisco. Yes, it’s nice, isn’t it? What is this, Formica? [knocks]
Paul Barnett: This is apparently Formica all the way through, it is 100% Formica. Very rare, and it’s on the 11th floor in a very minimalist building.
Which makes you wonder where these PR companies spend all their money, because they clearly don’t do it on the fixtures and fittings.
The MMO Gamer: On hookers and blow, the important stuff.
Paul Barnett: There’s also a massive lack of man dolls. I was round the back having a look on their desks, they only had one man doll in the entire building, and it’s actually made of paper.
The MMO Gamer: That’s shameful.
Paul Barnett: It is shameful.
The MMO Gamer: Particularly for a PR company representing games.
Paul Barnett: Also, I don’t know whether you noticed this, but when you walked in did you see all the computer game magazines?
The MMO Gamer: I did.
Paul Barnett: I’m confident that they have a room, and it’s just full of whatever it is that they’re doing.
So like if they’re doing a con for movies, they have loads of DVDs out, and they just run through it. And that’s why there’s not many fixtures, because they have to redress it every time they have different people coming in.
That’s my current theory.
And what are we doing? Look at our refreshments. Explain to our good people how our refreshments are going.
The MMO Gamer: One can of Coke to split between us.
Paul Barnett: [laughing] One to split, “Yeah, can you guys share, is that okay?”
The MMO Gamer: The luxurious lifestyles of a creative director and a reporter.
Paul Barnett: It’s good to know that even PR companies in these harsh, difficult times are trying to stretch their money out.
The MMO Gamer: They’re concerned for our well-being. Coke has high-fructose corn syrup in it, you know.
Paul Barnett: And it’s sort of a stimulus, a caffeine stimulus.
So, I hustled them when I turned up, I told them I had to be given some index cards. That’s because the moment I’m with these people that’s the only time I have any power is right at the beginning.
I checked and I thought “Oh, I could do with some index cards.” It was that, or coat hangers. And I thought well, I’ll ask for them. And I got them.
Aren’t they great? [shows me package of index cards]
The MMO Gamer: They are.
Paul Barnett: It’s like an entire pack of them!
The MMO Gamer: Going to take those home with you as your swag from the show?
Paul Barnett: I’m going to use them when I talk. I’m doing a talk which is very rare, which I don’t like doing, which I don’t want to give, but I’m giving it anyway.
I’m having to do lots of things I don’t like doing. I’ve got slides, which I hate using in talks. And I’m gonna have to have these cards with just a bit of crib notes on it. Because the talk is upsetting me so much, and I’ve written out so many things that I definitively want to say, and in the practice run through I keep missing bits, and so now it’s upset me.
So I’m going have to write it out.
And like you, I’m suffering from the stacking up of appointments. I was supposed to have this morning to go through my final runs of practices and get my talk sorted out. And I haven’t got anywhere near it yet.
Continued on next page…
#mmo Paul Barnett Speaks, Part One: His Griefer Son, the Meaning of Creativity, and Dating Games Workshop’s .. http://bit.ly/VVCBG
Paul Barnett Speaks, Part One: His Griefer Son, the Meaning of … http://bit.ly/eF6Fk
Paul sounds really cool! Its people like this that help the industry thrive and grow.
when does the edited version come out?
Agree with Martin T, there is a lot of unedited lameness, especially at the start!
That guy Paul is a bit too flippant and silly for my taste, there isn't much substance in this. I much prefered the interview with the guy from AoC… recommend it to all who haven't read it yet.
You know, I was thinking about cutting the entire first page, and picking up where we actually started to talk about things game-related… but then I realized: How can you cut down on Paul Barnett? Heresy!
Stay tuned for part two if you think Paul Barnett doesn't give substantive answers.
[...] Part Two of Steve’s interview with Paul Barnett picks up immediately after where they left off. [...]
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@thatbarnettblok currently flipping through through this http://is.gd/FXN5 and you are just an awful, awful man
[...] Mythic’s Creative Director, is front-lining a round of some very interesting interviews. MMOGamer has a brutally honest interview where the interviewer explains exactly why he stopped playing [...]
you know, if you think that being flippant and silly are not good traits for a game designer, than dont play games, video games are still, games. youre supposed to have fun, FUN, dont expect these people not to enjoy their lifes, and just because your life revolves around games, you should'nt expect everybody to spend all ther time giving you COLD,HARD,FACTS
wow you read a lot into John's comment… 0.0
[...] Paul Barnett Speaks, Part One: His Griefer Son, the Meaning of Creativity, and Dating Games Workshop… [...]