Media Consumption: Koei's Mike Bond (Fatal Inertia)

For this week’s Media Consumption, a column that looks at the media and art diets of our favorite industry personalities, we speak to Mike Bond, lead designer on Koei’s upcoming next gen racing game Fatal Inertia. The title was originally announced as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, though the game will also be coming to the Xbox 360. Both versions are slated for release in March, with Bond noting that the development team are currently “focusing on finishing up tweaking the gameplay and adding online multiplayer”. “I’m very excited about Fatal Inertia,” he continues. “I think people will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the game when it’s released. It has a very different feel to it than most futuristic racing games - WipeOut, F-Zero, etc. - and I don’t think players have ever experienced a game like this before.” We spoke to Bond recently to ask him about the portion controlled servings that go into his media diet at the moment. Sounds: "To be honest, I don’t listen to all that much music. I’ve always leaned towards 70’s and 80’s classic rock, though I enjoy many kinds of music including classical and jazz. I used to play the trombone in several jazz/blues/pop bands throughout high school and there are times when I really miss it. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of listening to jazz or blues but, for me, playing it is a completely different experience." Moving Pictures: "I’ve always been a fan of James Cameron’s films. He has a great ability to create exciting and believable action movies - at least relative to the often absurd Bruckheimer films. Lately, I’ve been watching more TV series than movies. I’ve really gotten into Battlestar Galactica and Firefly and am trying to find time to get into 24, Band of Brothers, and several others. Battlestar and Firefly both have very unique styles which are very refreshing after years of stale, sterilized, Star Trek-style sci-fi." Words: "I’ve always enjoyed reading science fiction novels, though I must admit that I haven’t had much time for reading lately, with the schedule of Fatal Inertia. My favourite authors include Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Canadian sci-fi author, Robert Sawyer. My favourite novel would have to be Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, as well as its 3 sequels. Right now, I’m reading The Two Towers. Believe it or not, I’ve never read the Lord of the Rings trilogy before and am generally not a big fan of fantasy. However, I am definitely enjoying this series so far." Games: "Hands down, my favourite game of all time is the original Super Mario Kart. Almost 15 years later, I still pick it up every so often and it’s just as fun now as it was back then. I like games from many different genres but I prefer games that can be quickly picked up and put back down without the need to learn complicated controls or that require a large investment in time. I also prefer these games to be multiplayer as the level of fun increases enormously when the experience is shared with a friend. Lately, I have enjoyed playing Flat Out 2 on PC over the network at work and a little bit of Full Auto on Xbox 360). Motorstorm is also a game that I’ve been very impressed with - we have the Japanese release in the office. I’m looking forward to the North American release so that I can play it with other people, since the Japanese version has no multiplayer."