A Journey with ThatGameCompany

Robin Hunicke Interview

BG: That conflict between having to make something new and having to make something profitable is quite a dangerous one. Having worked at EA, you’re probably in a good position to comment on that conflict.

RH: Well, I mean I got really lucky working at EA. There was a huge new IP and I worked on two new games, three titles total that were new. And then the expansion pack [for the Sims] which was just really fun. It was like the best job I ever had, it was the best fun working on that game. I met so many talented people there that really wanted to make amazing entertainment for people like themselves. Like with the Sims franchise, they wanted [it] to entertain fans of the Sims because the people that worked there were also fans, like myself.

When I got to work on Boom Blox down in the LA office I worked with a really talented team of developers that were mostly cobbled together from small companies that all ended up in this one office and there was this awesome synergy where everybody was so excited to be building a game were you got to knock down blocks and blow up little animals! It was just great, you know?


Those projects, they were small, they were very, very dynamic. On the sequel to Boom Blox, Bash Party, five of the designers were off-site and we worked with them through video conferencing. The lead designer was on-site and then the rest of the designers were off-site, so we had these really dynamic experiences as teams. I miss those days.

BG: Even though you get to work at ThatGameCompany?

RH: You know, every team is different. Every team has its own flavour and its own style. I mean I love working with people, that’s what I love to do. I love designing, I love producing, I love making art, I love to script things – I love to do all those things but what I really love is working with people. Yeah, there are still people from my Boom Blox team that I miss every day.


BG: Steven Spielberg stamped his name on the game too.

RH: Yeah, he was a designer!

BG: What was it like to work with him on a game?

RH: He has impeccable timing. He’s always early, he’s extremely polite and he’s very creative. There’s a reason he’s so successful.

BG: Were there ever times that it seemed he was definitely a filmmaker first and foremost?

RH: He is a gamer! He is a gamer. He loves games. He is a fantastic collaborator. If you ever have an opportunity to work with him, do it! He’s a great person. Everyone on the team who had a chance to interact with him, even if it was just a little bit, was really left enlightened and touched.

And that's all we had time for! Bit-Gamer would like to thank both Robin Hunicke and the supporters of GameCity for their time and assistance.