Gamasutra recently got the chance to sit down with Scot Bayliss, head of Midway's Chicago studios, to discuss a multitude of subjects, ranging from his start in the gaming industry to titles being produced by Midway. As can be imagined, it isn't too long before Mortal Kombat figures into the interview. One aspect of the conversation turns towards the MK team itself, where Bayliss discusses a side of the team not commonly seen: its work dynamic and how well the team works together. From the article:
Bayless noted a transformation that the Mortal Kombat team is undergoing. "It has to do with the fact that, I think, Ed [Boon] has been tightening his focus on the things he believes are essential." There is a kind of free-form arrangement of people around Boon. "We've got really talented producers, really talented art directors, we’ve got really talented technology guys. But they tend to be very agile about how they move around from thing to thing. They've got a lot of stuff going on. They’ve got Armageddon going on, we're working on some next generation stuff, we've been involved in some PSP work with people on the outside. We've got all this stuff going on. And they're multiplexing through all those things."
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The Mortal Kombat team is like a studio itself. Bayless explains that Midway is reaching the point where key franchises are taking on the aspect of being a full franchise, not just a single title in development. "I think for a while, Ed was sort of uncomfortable with that. Because his history has always been, 'I do this, and when I'm done, I do that.'" Bayless describers a time when Boon intimated, "Gee, guys, I’m not sure I can do all this at the same time."
However, Boon found that his best team members have been able to step into roles or places where Boon might have taken responsibility for a certain thing before. "And it frees him up to drill down on the creative." Now, Boon's time is focus on two major efforts. "One is driving the creative, proactively. 'Here’s what we should do.' And the other one is that iteration, which is hugely important."
The other MK-related part of the interview comes when the subject of MK on Nintendo comes up. The first system that is mentioned is the Nintendo DS, where it's confirmed again that there are no plans to bring MK to the DS. From the article:
Which next-gen platforms will Midway pursue? "We're going after everything. And that's not unconsidered." Bayless says, describing the big idea: "Let’s put things where it matters, let's put things where it makes sense. Let's try to get in all the spaces it does make sense."
"But to be honest, I would be skeptical about putting an M-rated, unlicensed football game on certain platforms. That platform is aimed at an audience that isn't interested - or if they are interested, their Moms and Dads won’t let them play it."
"The same is true of Mortal Kombat. I'm not going to be a big fan of putting it on Nintendo DS. It would be hard for me to believe that's a good idea. It might even be able to make some money, but it's not a great use of our time.
"Our goal is to create great IP," Bayless concludes. "And to project that IP wherever it makes sense. So are we excited about Wii? Yeah, actually, we are. You should see the proposals that are showing up in my inbox. It’s awesome."
The discussion then leads into talk about the Nintendo Wii, where it's strongly hinted that the Wii may not just get MK: Armageddon, but also possibly some exclusive games. From the article:
"My experience at the [E3] show was, this—" Bayless makes broad, sweeping arm motions "--doesn't work. Or it works kind of marginally. What did work was this--" Bayless makes controlled, tight motions. "I think that makes a pretty big impact on how you design your game."
"The other thing all fighters live and die on is responsiveness," he continues. "Right now, there are some profound questions about that controller and timing. But is it interesting? Is it an interesting problem? Heck yeah!"
Despite a Wii version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon announced for spring of 2007, Bayless remains generally hesistant about bringing Mortal Kombat to a platform known to draw a young audience, adding, "Is there something else we might do with Mortal Kombat that could be appropriate for that audience? Maybe. We’re actually kicking some ideas around." Does this mean Mortal Kombat for Kids? Bayless laughs. "We can't tell you what they are, but they're pretty cool."
"We actually have some very concrete plans that we're chewing on right now," he concludes. "And we're pretty serious about it, and you'll probably hear about it next year, but we just can't talk about it – as much as I'd like to."
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
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