Interview with Greg LoPiccolo

Part 6 of a continuing series, where I interview members of the now-defunct but highly influential Looking Glass Studios (1990-2000), which wrote the book on 3D first-person narrative game design throughout the 90s, in such games as Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief.

Next up: Greg LoPiccolo. Greg has risen to impressive heights as the vice president of product development at Harmonix, makers of world famous games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but he got his start at Looking Glass back in the 90s. Coming from the music industry (he was bass guitarist in the Boston-based rock band Tribe) he started out as music/sound designer on System Shock, eventually becoming project lead on Thief 1. I talk with Greg about his roots in the music business, how he adapted to the culture of video games and software design, and how that has affected his approach to game development overall.

If you ever wanted to know how SHODAN's voice came about, be sure to give it a listen!

Download the podcast here.