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

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

Kiwi Talkz

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