Sinistar Creator Speaks Out

In eager anticipation of the September release of Sinistar: Unleashed, THQ has released an up-close-and-personal question-and-answer interview with Noah Falstein, the original creator of arcade version of Sinistar.

THQ: What was your reaction to the news of a remake of Sinistar?Noah Falstein: I felt it was about time. With the popularity of other recent remakes like Frogger and Battlezone, it's been on my mind for a while. As I've worked on more current state-of-the-art games, I've sometimes thought about incorporating their features into a remake.

THQ: Do you think the great games of the early '80s arcade era deserve remakes, or should we leave well-enough alone?NF: I think that remakes of games are generally a good thing. So many games are limited by their technology, and the increase in computer power over the last fifteen years means that many of the early classics can be given a completely new look on home machines. The trick is not to compromise the original gameplay that made them so much fun at the time.

THQ: What was your first reaction hen you got the demo and loaded it up...?NF: I was immediately impacted by how eerie and foreboding the environment was - very appropriate for the menace of the game.

THQ: Does the game that you played do the Sinistar universe justice?NF: The Sinistar Unleashed universe reminds me of recent films like The Matrix - dark, gritty, and high-tech. Just the sort of place a giant killing machine would choose to hang out.

THQ: Tell me what you enjoyed most about the game?NF: I was struck with how well the original dynamic of mining crystals while dealing with multiple attackers translates to 3D. They did a great job of building tension. When I found myself chasing down a crystal, dodging laser bolts while I lined up for my own counterattack, I thought: Beware, He Lives!

THQ: You've been in touch with the development team.... Have you given them any advice?NF: No, they've been on their own. I like the way the team picked up on the insectile hive-mind approach we used in the original game. The original Sinistar was set to be a large face from before the time I came to lead the team, and I found the arachnoid shape of Sinistar Unleashed to be even more menacing.

THQ: What is the game industry doing right/wrong with remakes?NF: I think they are done right when they use new technology like 3D to enhance the elements of the game that were fun to begin with. Sinistar Unleashed looks to fall in this category from what I've seen of the demo. Developers have failed when they've added unnecessary features, sometimes even detracting from the game. Another classic arcade game of the early '80s I won't name came out in 3D a few years ago. By putting you in the middle of the action you lost all sense of perspective and were overwhelmed by enemies you couldn't see. Very disappointing, as the original game was one of my favorites that I often played while Sinistar was being developed.

THQ: What are you working on these days?NF: I'm doing freelance design, producing, and writing for a wide variety of clients like Disney Interactive, Intel, and Dreamworks Interactive. My most recent work was on Total Annihilation: Kingdoms from Cavedog. I've been doing a lot of design for real-time strategy games recently, and have also been to The Netherlands and France a few times working for some clients there. My work in The Netherlands was in partnership with RJ Mical, whom I met in 1982 when I hired him to work on Sinistar!

I've also been doing a lot of work with companies that are trying to break into the game market or use game design techniques for instructional or educational software. It's fun to have a lot of variety and not be tied down to a single company.