Ask the Developer – A Mini-Guide

One thing that I have been thrilled to see lately is people who work at blogs and sites getting a chance to rub shoulders with game developers of their choice. This is made very apparent when sites like Darth Hater and Gaarawarr Gabs get a chance to talk directly to the developers they have a passion and interest for meeting. Recently, over at Warhammer Alliance, I was ecstatic to get two of the guys that I managed the access needed to get the rush of talking with someone who makes a game they play. It’s an experience that I’ve had the pleasure of having many times, for WAR and other games, and hope more blog writers get the opportunity in the future.

In my times interviewing developers, guests of honor, and other such luminaries, I’ve discovered a few truisms and tips that people might find helpful. So if you ever do get the chance in the future to sit down for a few precious minutes with a developer that you’re a fan of, here’s some interesting guidelines to consider:

-Generate the questions beforehand: While this makes an interview a little bit less dynamic and somewhat a bit more “prepared”, generating and submitting the questions beforehand to your target’s PR/Community Rep, or to the developer themselves will end up being more beneficial than detrimental. Really, the point of an interview is to get information, not to put someone in a “gotcha” position – that’s for other sites with that kind of mission. If you want your interview read, you should try to make sure it has as much meaningful info as possible, and that means prepping your interviewee.

-Never ask a Yes or No question: A lot of people fall into the trap of asking binary questions such as “Will we see x in the game?” Many times, if a developer can’t talk about a feature (for fear of it being misconstrued or because they are under PR constraints), the simple “yes” or “no” answer doesn’t really provide that much more information to your audience. The exception would probably be something that is a hot topic that demands a “yes” or “no” confirmation – like perhaps something to settle speculation about class makeup, or mechanics that are fiercely debated in the community. Otherwise, try to phrase your questions as less of a “will there be” and more of a “can you explain”.

-Research your interviewee: Does your interviewee like direct and to the point questions, or do they like the flexibility to wander? Do they work for the team responsible for the engine, or are they more of a community person? Do they like their jokes sarcastic or plain-spoken? Can they even take a joke? These are the kinds of things you will want to know beforehand by reading other interviews and asking your contact what they are like.

-Research the hot topics: Topics of debate are things that a developer might be able to shed light on. If you ask a lot of “getting to know you” questions and not a lot of meaty information questions, or you decide to talk about an area of the game no one cares about, you’re not going to get a good impression from your interview. Knowing what the community is talking about, or even what they are arguing, will help you generate better questions people will find valuable. Just make sure you Research Your Interviewee and ensure they can appropriately answer those questions. If they can’t, then it’s not worth asking no matter how much people want an answer.

-Mix the difficulty up: Crossword puzzle afficianados and those who play Sudoku know – there are varying degrees of difficulty when it comes to puzzles. There are the same kinds of levels when it comes to questions – most likely divided into “softball” and “hardball” questions. A “softball” question is one that solicits an opinion or tries to be casual about extracting information. A “hardball” question is a direct, pain-point type of query that might get to the heart of a burning issue or even something that isn’t going right. Having a mix of these  will help in the long run, and challenge your interviewee as well as put them at ease.

and finally…

-Have extra questions: I can’t stress this enough. Nothing makes an interview fall a little flat than not having questions answered in a way that seems satisfactory, leading you with nothing to work with. If you have questions in your back pocket, you can pull them out at a moment’s notice to deal with a lot of “no comment” or other such nonsense. Having a backup is a good thing, not a tedious and bad thing.

I hope these tips help folks the next time they get a good opportunity to talk to game developers, and look forward to many more opportunities to read about exclusives on other sites.