Heroes of Might and Magic Community
visiting hero! Register | Today's Posts | Games | Search! | FAQ/Rules | AvatarList | MemberList | Profile


Age of Heroes Headlines:  
5 Oct 2016: Heroes VII development comes to an end.. - read more
6 Aug 2016: Troubled Heroes VII Expansion Release - read more
26 Apr 2016: Heroes VII XPack - Trial by Fire - Coming out in June! - read more
17 Apr 2016: Global Alternative Creatures MOD for H7 after 1.8 Patch! - read more
7 Mar 2016: Romero launches a Piano Sonata Album Kickstarter! - read more
19 Feb 2016: Heroes 5.5 RC6, Heroes VII patch 1.7 are out! - read more
13 Jan 2016: Horn of the Abyss 1.4 Available for Download! - read more
17 Dec 2015: Heroes 5.5 update, 1.6 out for H7 - read more
23 Nov 2015: H7 1.4 & 1.5 patches Released - read more
31 Oct 2015: First H7 patches are out, End of DoC development - read more
5 Oct 2016: Heroes VII development comes to an end.. - read more
[X] Remove Ads
LOGIN:     Username:     Password:         [ Register ]
HOMM1: info forum | HOMM2: info forum | HOMM3: info mods forum | HOMM4: info CTG forum | HOMM5: info mods forum | MMH6: wiki forum | MMH7: wiki forum
Heroes Community > Heroes 7+ Altar of Wishes > Thread: Hot news:The creator of Heroes back to work on Heroes5?!
Thread: Hot news:The creator of Heroes back to work on Heroes5?!
Svarog
Svarog


Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
posted March 06, 2004 02:05 AM

Poll Question:
Hot news:The creator of Heroes back to work on Heroes5?!

Great news for all heroes fans!!! I came up to an information regarding the involvement of Jon Van Caneghem, the legend who created the Might & Magic series. This actually is a part from an interview done by Jeff Green for the 2004 April issue of Computer Gaming World magazine.
Many expect nothing but great times to come and a bright future for Heroes series and Heroes5 itself, if this cooperation between Ubi and a genius such as JVC comes true. Let us all hope for that.
This interview also reveals intriguiging details about how 3DO operated, and the history of how it all began. But, enough of me talking about it. Have the pleasure to read it. And feel free to comment.


CGW: What were the worst decisions 3DO made concerning New World or your franchise?

JVC: Well, there were a few. I believed that MM(Might & Magic) RPG's and Heroes games could have gone on for a very long time if we had created something new and innovative every 2 to 3 years. But the need for "sales growth", mandated by 3DO required us to make a new MM RPG and a new Heroes product every year - some in 10 months or less!

Second, one of the main reasons I was excited to go with 3DO was the ability to create Might and Magic Online. 3DO had the entire infrastructure from their game Merdian 59. With all the ideas I had(most of which have still not appeared in current games), we could have created something really awesome. The future for me in 1996 was definitely online games. Alas, the decision was that for the same budget as MMO, 3DO could make three PS2 games.

Third, at some point, the decision process at 3DO regarding which products to produce and develop was completely controlled by the head of sales!?! Here is how it went: The development teams and execs at 3DO made lists of products they would like to make or could make, the sales department would estimate how many of each of these hypothetical games they could sell, and this would determine the budget of the title - or if it was even worth developing. Madness!

CGW: How involved were you with Heroes of Might and Magic IV or Might and Magic IX? How did you feel about the release of these games?

JVC: I worked on the initial design for Heroes IV, then when things started to go awry(too many cooks in the kitchen, I had to help finish the game and get it into a shippable state. To the credit of the team involved, I think we were able to create a fun game, even though it had many flaws that I was very unhappy with. I had little to no involvement with MMIX; if it had been my decision, it would have never shipped.

CGW: You must have made some valliant appeals on behalf of New World with some of 3DO's decisions - did they fall on deaf ears? Or were the execs just clueless?

JV: Yes, you would think that the advice from probably the only game designer with two Hall of Fame series, in two different genres spanning two decades, might know something about development! Bah! Deaf ears, clueless-call it what you want. I gave up.

CGW: Ubisoft owns the rights to your old franchises now. Will you be involved with Heroes V at all?

JVC: Ubisoft has contacted me regarding Heroes V. They are building the game with one of their Russian development groups, and we are currently discussing if it would make sense for me to participate on the project.

CGW: Tell us about your first game, as well as the beginning on New World Computing.

JVC: I started NWC in 1983 from my small apartment in Hollywood, CA. The first game I designed was Might and Magic I for the Apple II. Since I did most everything(programming, art, story, etc.) myself back then, it was the most satisfying creative experience I've ever had. It took me three years to finish, after which time I placed ads in the two hot computer gaming magazines at the time(CGW and A+). The 800 number for orders and customer support rang in my living room!

CGW: How big was New World Computing at its peak? When did you sell it to 3DO and why?

JVC: At its peak, NWC had over 100 people. NWC was sold to 3DO in 1996 for several reasons. Budgets for new games were skyrocketing. The industry was consolidating, and it was getting harder to get shelf space; lots of new companies were entering the market with huge budgets and a new financial model. I decided to sell and stay so that I could focus on making games and not have to worry about everything else that went into running a software publisher.

CGW: Do you have regret having sold New World to 3DO? What lessons did you learn from the experience?

JVC: I will never regret selling NWC, since I know many other companies similar to NWC went out of business. I do feel bad about watching the franchise I created wither away. But I did learn quite a few lessons along the way. Mainly that if you're not happy with what you're doing, you need to move on, regardless of the difficulty. Failure is temporary, regret can last forever! Overall, I am very proud of all the games I made over the years and very happy knowing all the fun I have created for so many people!


There, you read the news. Now, there are a lot of polls on Heroes fan sites, whether or not JVC should work on Heroes 5. And 90% of the fans voted undoubtedly “Yes”. And since Fabrice and the Ubi guys are very respective towards how fans feel about issues, I think we can hope for a positive outcome. So, get to work. VOTE!

____________
The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.

Responses:
JVC should undoubtedly work on the new game.
Maybe.
No, Ubi don't need JVC in their team.
 View Results!

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | PP | Quote Reply | Link
this_other_guy
this_other_guy


Famous Hero
{0_o} heh...
posted March 08, 2004 07:18 AM

Its VERY good to know that JVC may get to play a role in the development of homm5.

It also pisses me off to find out that the failure of homm4 and especially mm9 was due to the decisions of the 3do executives (before i always thought that it was JVC's fault), who didnt give NWC enough time to develop the to its maximum potential, as well as dismissing JVC's advice... He hardly even participated in the making of mm9 for crying out loud! god damn those 3do executive bastards...

Lets hope that Ubi doesn't make the same mistake... that is if they let JVC participate in the developing of future m&m series games.
____________
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Dingo
Dingo


Responsible
Legendary Hero
God of Dark SPAM
posted March 09, 2004 04:59 AM

This is excellent news.  Looks like H5 is going to be great.
____________
The Above Post/Thread/Idea Is CopyRighted by, The Dingo Corp.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Marelt_Ekiran
Marelt_Ekiran


Promising
Famous Hero
Watcher of All
posted March 09, 2004 05:15 AM

To be honest, I am not too keen on JVC getting too much of a say in the production.

The reason for that is that I have looked a bit in his comments and answers. From what I understand, HoMM2 was in his opinion the perfect game. Anything that alters the way it was in HoMM2 can only make the game worse.
While HoMM2 was a good game, it will simply no longer apply to the modern era of Heroes. In JVC's opinion, HoMM3 was already too much of a change from the perfect formula of HoMM2, even though the two games are almost identical, in system.
I admired HoMM4 for trying to move on and introduce new things. JVC didn't like that at all, but as we all know, he was hardly involved in the production. If I recall correctly, the project was led by Gus Smedstad.

Before 3DO went bankrupt and NWC was dissolved, JVC was already working on the design of HoMM5. From what I gathered in the information that was released, he tried to invert as many of the changes of HoMM4 as possible. If he had it his way, HoMM5 would just have been another copy of HoMM2 with updated graphics and a few differences in town and creature alignments. That is why I think that if JVC gets involved, he should not have too much to say.

*Note: Of course, I don't claim to know what anyone is thinking, but I base my statements on what I gathered from interviews and press releases.
____________
Perception is everything.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
gerdash
gerdash


Responsible
Famous Hero
from the Animated Peace
posted March 09, 2004 07:35 AM
Edited By: gerdash on 9 Mar 2004

jvc surely is a great game designer, and remains one even if he totally fails with homm5.

as i understood what he said, it is better if the game designer works for fun of creation rather than to make money. and i hope he will not be working only to prove himself or whatever.

do you people think he hasn't had any new ideas in all those years? i think it was a big change from kings bounty to homm2.

i just hope his ideas are more towards reducing words like 'mutant' e.g. 'mutant zombie' that make me think of modern science.

would really be interesting to know in what direction he has been thinking lately.

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Maximus
Maximus


Famous Hero
Bronzed God
posted March 12, 2004 01:48 AM
Edited by alcibiades at 11:33, 06 Jul 2009.

i duno if jvc is a good games designer or not, all i know is that he designed one good game...homm! so as far as him being brought back into the development of h5, i say yes. i think the only guy that has the vision of what homm should b is jvc, and if that gets the game back to something like h2 or h3 and away from h4, please get him back on the team lol.



Moderator's note:This topic has been closed, as it refers to an older version of the game. To discuss Heroes 3, please go to Library Of Enlightenment, to discuss Heroes 4, please go to War Room Of Axeoth, to discuss Heroes 5, go to Temple Of Ashan.
____________
Frost. Sometimes it makes the blade stick !

 Send Instant Message | Send E-Mail | View Profile | Quote Reply | Link
Jump To: « Prev Thread . . . Next Thread »
Post New Poll    Post New Topic    Post New Reply

Page compiled in 0.0530 seconds