E3 Interview: SOE Seattle’s Matt Wilson Discusses the Design and Conception of The Agency

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The MMO Gamer: The Agency is one of the few titles that is not either licensed or a sequel to a pre-existing MMO that I’ve seen so far this year.

There’s a lot of debate on the subject of licensed vs. original vs. sequels… what’s your take on the subject, working on an original title? Is the freedom you get working off a blank slate worth the trade-off of the possible pre-installed fanbase of something like, say, The Lord of the Rings?

Matt Wilson: It’s a great question, and we actually debate it internally all the time, too. I think the interesting aspect of it is neither one makes making the game easier, honestly.

One, you’re working with a license company, and there’s all the rules… A good example is DCUO which was announced here at E3, I know a lot of people who work on that project, and the nice part about it is if I say “Hey, you get to play with Batman or Superman!” immediately you know what the game is, there’s a lot of context, and that kind of thing.

But, on top of that, you might have been introduced to Batman or Superman via the comic books. I was introduced to Batman or Superman through the movies, and those are different. All of a sudden, what are my expectations and what are your expectations coming into the IP?

The positive on an IP-related game is that it’s that instant recognition, it’s that you have made a decision, just based on that, whether you’re going to try the game or not. Trial of the game increases based on a license. Whether you stick with it or not, that still comes down to how well we develop the game, but I think the trial aspect is good.

Now, from my perspective, and I think Hal’s perspective, we really feel privileged, honestly, to create a new IP. It’s much more difficult to create a new IP, in my opinion, than it is to work off a license, from the rules and regulations side.

What I mean by that is, “Hey! You get three wishes, you can have anything you want!” What are your three wishes?

At first, you have a great idea of what that first wish is. But then, the second and third wish, you’re like “Oh God, what am I going to choose?! I could have all the money in the world… but I would rather have a teleport system!”

That’s kind of what creating a new IP feels like some times, which is you can create whatever you want, go for it. At first, you’re like, “Wow, we’ve got a great idea!” and it’s really important when you’re creating that new IP to frame it down, build your sandbox that you’re working within, treat it like it’s an existing IP, and base all your decisions on that. It’s really easy to explode if you’re not careful.

I think even though we’re creating a new IP we still use the spy and espionage genre, the movies, the books, all of those to go, “Hey, have we gone astray? Would we be able to put this in the game, has it ever been in a Bond movie? Has it ever been here? Has it ever been there? No. Do we still want to put it in? Maybe.”

We have all those debates internally, but I think that number one, it’s a privilege to be working on a new IP. I think it’s awesome. I really am excited that Sony gave us that opportunity. Does it make our lives harder? Yes it does, because you could not like our game simply because of decisions we made on the IP, whereas a licensed IP you’re generally going to get a big group of people.

But, the flip side to that I think is it allows us to be really creative and work through those systems, and I’ve enjoyed the hell out of it, honestly.

The MMO Gamer: I like to close out my interviews on a more philosophical note, as opposed to, “What are your features, when is it coming out, and how many exclusives are you going to give me?”

So, my usual question: Why do you make games? What compels you to get up every morning, drive into SOE and do what it is you do?

Matt Wilson: Well, I’ll tell you what it used to be, and I’ll tell you what it is now. What it used to be was, as a kid I thought, “Could I make money making games?”

I don’t even know if it was whether I was making money, it was more of that’s where I want to be, I want to be in the gaming space, that’s where I spend all my time, that’s an exciting, creative area.

I was a techno-geek, so I was all nerdy and into programming, and I made my own games as a kid. Then, when I got into the real world and had to get a job, I was just like “I’m going to go that route.” I had to do product support, testing, engineering, the whole nine yards to get all the way up to being able to do what I do now. But, all of it was driven on “This is where I want to be, and this is the space I want to be in, and I enjoy my job from a fundamental aspect.”

Now, I really care a lot about not only creating the game, but creating a strong team. Over the years, where I get a lot of satisfaction is working with a lot of the creative people, whether it’s Hal, whether it’s our Art Director Cory, the entire team is almost like a family in some way, and it’s really exciting—you spend a lot of time with these people, you put a lot of blood, and sweat, and tears into developing the game, and personally, I like to see everybody grow, their growth, their success, and in the end I like to see the magic.

There are hours, and days, and months of non-magic in developing games. But, then there are those days, those hours, maybe it’s late one night, maybe it’s early in the morning, that you see the magic occur inside of the game, and that payoff is just huge.

Honestly, that’s the addictive part of working in the gaming space, it’s no different than playing an MMO. There’s a lot of grind, but every now and then you get the big payoff, and that payoff usually involves your team. That’s the same thing, the same thing I would say in games, that the big payoff is working with a team, and when it all comes together and you get that little bit of magic, it’s just an incredible experience.

The MMO Gamer: Thank you very much for joining us, we appreciate it, and we hope we can do it again some time.

Matt Wilson: Absolutely! Thank you.