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Hacking one question after another off our list, Bill was showing more enthusiasm and less script than one would expect from a PR representative, which made the whole interview feel more like talking to a friend who was just gonzo for games than someone trained to answer questions. Maybe we were just asking the right questions? Well, Bill seemed to like the next one, too. We asked him to explain why Atlus as a publishing company seems to favor "niche" titles over more popular cookie-cutter games. Bill smiled and said that at Atlus, it was all about the ideas; in fact, he called attention to the fact that Atlus' trademark catchphrase was "Imagination Realized." So if Atlus was hitting a trend of publishing niche titles, it's because those are the titles that jump out at them! Atlus, much like Nintendo themselves, realize that they have a loyal and dedicated fanbase that appreciates their outside-the-box view of the gaming industry. But while Atlus might have a flair for the obscure or different, they don't actively seek out niche titles on the merit of being niche along, and that they certainly wouldn't exclude a big title if it showed promise. They try to find titles that would appeal to a wide range of players, while retaining a certain creative identity. At this point Jared pointed out that what Bill had said earlier about Snowboard Kids DS seemed to say a lot about their company. By aging the kids to teenagers, they look to be broadening their horizons a bit to draw in gamers who might not have previously considered the title, but they were keeping a mind to stay true to the roots of the franchise that made it a success with now-loyal fans in the first place .We were pretty satisfied with how the questions went, since most of our specific questions on whether or not this-or-that game would be released was answered with Bill's explanation that it was largely the developers' choice and not Atlus'. So to move things forward he asked if either of us wanted to play Riviera, which at that point neither of us had even touched, mostly due to our necessarily furious scribbling in lieu of a tape recorder. On this offer I happily obliged, having all but given up on asking questions with my frog-like whispering voice.
Bill confessed that he was a touch disappointed that neither of us had picked up Riviera, or asked about it at all. And even though the aforementioned furious scribbling played a large part of it (the rest being the fact that we'd never heard of the game before and were focused too intently on Trauma Center), we both felt like we'd behaved rudely. Mr. Alexander seemed to genuinely care about the game and sharing it with others, and acted almost rejected from our faux pas.
While I played through the RPG, Bill spoke at length about the social aspects of Riviera and its storyline, and how they wove together to produce several different endings. In fact, he spoke so enthusiastically and so knowledgably on the title that Jared asked if Bill had played it often, to which he admitted that he indeed had, and more than that, he'd personally done almost all of the editing on it. Hey! So all this time, we weren't talking to a public relations rep. at all; this guy we were interviewing was so into the games that we were talking about because he worked on them! In the case of Riviera, it came across that this game was his baby, what with him being the supervising editor and having such a hand in the final product.
If we weren't feeling bad before, we certainly were now since we didn't have any questions on the title other than what the demo inspired us to ask. At the same time, though, we were beaming that we hadn't been talking to just another public relations rep., but someone who had hands-on knowledge and a real passion for the game. Throughout the interview I'd gotten the distinct impression that we were talking to a fellow gamer, but I'd just chalked it up to someone who really knew his PR. Boy was I ever wrong. How cool is it to get to interview the QA Manager/Editor on your first time out? At this point Jared and Bill started chattering quickly and excitedly about the social elements of Riviera, and how the way you treat each of your female angelic compatriots effects the relationship between you and the eventual outcome of your story. I tried to catch as much of their talk as I could while I played the GBA, such as how the relationships between you and the three girls questing with you consisted of a kind of "secret score" of how nicely you treat them and favor them over the other two and thus how close your relationship is. Jared sounded hooked, and as far as I was concerned, any game about angels is great in my book. I handed the GBA over to Jared to play for the last few minutes as I thanked Bill Alexander for not only taking time out to meet with us, but also for making our first real interview so fun and special. We exchanged business cards and promised to set up PR relations by email as soon as we got back home, and I tore Jared away from the game to bring the interview to a close.
Bill walked us out, giving us time to grab a few cookies from the snack table like three-day-starved street urchins, and we said our last thanks as we left, telling him that we'd be sure to let him know when we wrote up the interview as a feature. And thus we left, vowing to start a Bill Alexander Fan Club when we got home and also buy ourselves some damn DS's already so we'd be ready for Trauma Center, Snowboard Kids DS, and Riviera when they hit store shelves.
