Last Updated (Tuesday, 19 August 2008 07:30) Written by Pig Tuesday, 19 August 2008 06:44
Flagship Studios recent problems - you know, little things like their main game failing and their studio closing - have been well documented here, as well as elsewhere. Just days ago, several of the founders have spoken out about the failure of Hellgate, and the last days at Flagship. But the one person everyone wants to hear from - CEO Bill Roper - has remained silent. Now, suddenly, that's changed, and Bill is talking.
Now Bill is a popular guy - he's been the brains behind some of the greatest games in history, he's funny, and he's a genuinely nice guy - so this interview should be a major event in gaming. I mean, he's a genuine icon in the industry, whose studio died an agonizing death. And yet....the interview isn't a typical Roper affair. It's a pretty straightforward writeup and Bill, for once in his life, doesn't have anything particularly insightful, witty, or humorous to say. This is understandable, as losing your studio is generally considered to be a bit emotionally draining. Consider these epic insights into what went wrong:
Hellgate came out, and it wasn't as good as it should have been
But the development demands far outstripped the revenues. There just wasn't a good contemplation early on of how [paying for everything] would work.
We didn't have unlimited money, and we had to ship when we had to ship
Hit the jump for more quotes, more of Bill's depressed, burned-out insights, and even a (somewhat) relevant and funny song-and-dance video. 
...we overreached...We tried to be a standalone game and a free-play game and an MMO and an RPG and a shooter. We were trying to be something for everybody and ended up really not pleasing many people at all.
As anybody could tell you, during the last days of Flagship, I was pretty much a wreck
The interview goes on and on. And on. And then it continues onto the meat of the interview, before slogging (slowly) toward the end, EIGHT pages later. Seriously, it's 8 pages long. It's so long, 1Up even published a summary of their own interview. You can catch the summary here and, if you have nothing to do for a couple of hours, the long, dry, serious, and completely predictable full-length interview here. 
Considering how depressing all of this turned out to be, we decided this story needed a lift. Thus, we included a video of Roper's Renaissance-themed song-and-dance group, the Poxy Boggards, would be appropriate. The songs in this clip are duly bawdy and scandalous, so enjoy.
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