#105 - Mike Wikan Interview (Metroid Prime Trilogy, Game Design, Crunch, Booz Allen Hamilton, Shigeru Miyamoto etc.)

Mike Wikan is a Game Designer who has worked on Duke Nukem,
Donkey Kong and DOOM. He is most well known for being Lead
Designer on the Metroid Prime Trilogy during his tenure at Retro
Studios. He is now Creative Director at Booz Allen Hamilton


WEBSITE - https://www.boozallen.com


 


#metroid #metroidprime #gamedesign


 


 


TIMESTAMPS


 


00:00 - Intro


01:27 - How Metroid Prime Was Developed/Techniques That Were Used


07:06 - Working With Nintendo/Language Difficulties/Translators


08:11 - How Nintendo Operates


09:09 - Shigeru Miyamoto Story From Donkey Kong Country Returns


11:12 - Tanabe Was The Reason For Spider Ball & Boost Ball
Guardians Difficulty


12:17 - Fixing Things In Metroid Prime Trilogy


13:14 - Nintendo Analysed Every Bit Of Text In Metroid Prime
Trilogy


14:03 - Who Was Responsible For The Lore/Luminoth Language


15:56 - Sketching Background /How Mike Learned Coding, 3D Models,
Design etc.


19:45 - Growing Up In The Military/Taking Military Experiences
Into Metroid Prime Development


22:16 - Mike Had To Do Non Detailed Sketches Before Handing Them
To Artists


24:10 - How Quadraxis Boss Was Designed/Gameplay Ramping/Game
Engine Camera System


30:28 - MP2 and MP3 Didn’t Have Crunch


31:09 - The True Story Behind Metroid Prime 2’s Initial
Development


32:20 - Metroid Prime 1 Crunch/Management Of Retro Studios
Changed After Metroid Prime 1


34:00 - How Booz Allen Hamilton Gaming Development Works/Avoiding
Crunch For Creatives


36:35 - How To Manage Creative Staff Properly


39:05 - How To Prepare For Curve Balls In Game Design/The Pillars
Of Game Design


40:52 - Meta Ridley Boss Fight In MP3 Inspired By Lord Of The
Rings/Original Meta Ridley Design Fight In MP1


42:26 - Mike Wikan Loves Lord Of The Rings


43:15 - Mike Is Very Introverted/How He Breaks Through It 


46:35 - Being A Lifetime Learner


47:18 - The Problem With AAA Game Studios & Lack Of
Leadership


49:01 - Breakdown Of Gaming Studios Profits From Game Sales


51:28 - How Nintendo Operates In Terms Of Managing Staff


52:03 - Eastern Game Design Vs Western Game Design


52:53 - Gameplay Trumps Graphics/Story Never Sells A Game


54:22 - AAA Games Designs Flaws/How Mike Guides Game Designers


57:10 - How Management Works Once You Have More Than 45 Staff


57:47 - No Excuse For Western Developers Not Adapting To Eastern
Game Methodology


58:58 - Mike’s Managing Style At Boon Allen Hamilton


1:02:35 - What Games Mike Wikan Plays/Bullet Echo


1:05:31 - Mike Will Play Metroid Dread & Prime 4


1:06:40 - Where To Keep Up With What Mike Wikan Is Working On


1:07:44 - What Was Being Fine-tuned With Metroid Primes
Audio/Clark Wen


1:09:45 - Mike Is Extremely Thankful To All The Metroid Prime
Fans To This Day