Since the final Nine Inch Nails show in Los Angeles a few weeks ago (which was phenomenal - I was there), fans have been wringing their collective hands in anticipation of what Trent Reznor's future plans may be.
Small bits of info have been trickling in, and signs of another Ghosts album installment seems to be on the horizon. Additionally, Reznor has confirmed that a Gary Numan collaboration is in the works, in addition to long-running talks of a TV series based on the Year Zero concept. What's arguably most exciting, however, is the news that Reznor has every intention of making his very own video game.
The game idea has apparently been in various stages of development for some time now. Reznor revealed in an interview with Joystiq that he and longtime production partner Rob Sheridan had actually engaged in a few failed meetings with major gaming publishers, including Midway and Activision, a few years back. “As first time people in a pitch meeting, it was kind of depressing,” he said. “Depressing to see that the people in control of those studios and publishers are much the same as the people sitting at record companies.”
Now that he's got a clean contractual slate, Reznor and Sheridan are looking to put out their own “dumb and obvious” game without the backing of a major corporation.
So what does the chief NINner think of Guitar Hero and Rock Band? “I dabble around in them and I actually think those games are fun,” Reznor said. “As a gamer, it’s interesting, fun and surprisingly rewarding when you get it right. As a musician, who’s watching the record industry look at these games as a type of salvation… it’s laughable. That’s just desperate people in the record business thinking. ‘Man, we finally have a way to turn people onto music.’”
Here are a few more highlights from the interview, for all you music-loving gamers out there:
So, you're big into classic arcade gaming?
Trent Reznor: Every time we to go to a different country we try to see if there are still arcades left. The modern Japanese arcade is not the same, because they're all about these weird resource management, horse racing, car games that nobody can figure out what the fuck is happening. Unless you're Japanese, of course. I had a lot of great times in arcades and I miss that experience. I know things move forward, but there's something about discovering an arcade, the aesthetics, the cool cabinet that was built specifically for that game. The first time I saw Tempest, for example, I was like, "What the fuck is this?" It looked like some sort of 2001 thing, it had weird, abstract graphics and sounded cool. I realize times have changed, but I miss having those three minutes where it's you versus that machine, sweating like crazy in this finite countdown to death scenario. A game like Robotron ... that separates the men from the boys.
You previously mentioned that you came up with a video game idea and pitched it to big publishers. Tell us about that game.
Trent Reznor: Rob and I have some things on the side that we've been working on and one of the things we've been talking about doing is publishing or developing video games. A few years ago we took that idea to a few of the main publishers, Midway, Activision, etc. And as first time people in a pitch meeting, it was kind of depressing. Depressing to see that the people in control of those studios and publishers are much the same as the people sitting at record companies.
In a record company, they aren't musicians or people who love music, they're people who want to sell plastic discs. They think they have a formula where if they can eliminate the artist from that equation, even better. You see that in the case of the Pussycat Dolls and some of the other fabricated crap that's out there. What we tended to notice in the video game meetings was that it didn't seem that there were gamers there. It's business guys who want to turn the company into a profit making machine. They look at it in terms of numbers, like a Hollywood studio. If it costs "X" amount to make a game, to compete, then it has to be a proven franchise or it has to be similar enough to something they know is going to sell. They don't want to take the risk.
Can you give us specifics about the game you were trying to pitch?
Trent Reznor: Yeah ... I'll let Rob talk about that, because it's primarily his idea.
Rob Sheridan: No ... I don't think we should reveal our trade secrets just yet.
Trent Reznor: Let's just say this. It's a simple idea. It's kind of dumb and obvious, but could be fun. It'd be something I would buy and is an idea that takes a chance and bends a few rules. Some of which have been bent since our initial pitch. The idea has a juvenile, kind of fun smartass-ness to it, but was ultimately just too risky for a big company that's more interested in "Spider-Man 11" or "Madden: This Year."
Would you be interested in completely funding a game for distribution through cheaper channels like Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network?
Trent Reznor: We're working on some things that will start to come into fruition post Nine Inch Nails and post our tour. That's one of the reasons I'm stopping the tour, because there are all these other things that I've been wanting to do that are outside playing shows. While I enjoy doing Nine Inch Nails and touring, I've done it enough where there are a lot of other things I'd like to get into. One of those things ... well, I'm probably saying too much, because if it doesn't happen then I'll have to answer questions about it for the next five years. Let's just say that one of the things that's highest priority for me and Rob is the development of some entertainment-based video game–type stuff.
Do you see any similarities between the indie video game and indie music industries? If so, what advice could you give to those who want to get noticed in the market?
Trent Reznor: From a business perspective, in looking at the video game world, I haven't applied myself to learning the obstacles or knowing if it's a bad deal to sell yourself to companies like Activision or not. I just don't know the details of that. Video games are a fairly new form of maturing entertainment that really are art forms. The success of the industry as an art form and a form of entertainment will be if it can rediscover itself and to allow for the redefining of what a video game is. Not necessarily targeting it towards just kids or grandparents or whatever. The goal is always to keep a level of entertainment, excitement and innovation.
For the full interview, head to Joystiq.
