David Braben on Elite: Dangerous and the online "vision"

Elite D.mp4 snapshot 09.25 [2014.12.12 12.08.58]

Elite: Dangerous is now in its 'gamma' phase, and will go to full release next week on the 16th. Last week I had a chat with David Braben, founder and CEO of Frontier Developments, about what they learned during the beta, the latest in VR and display tech, his preferred flightstick, and the decision to require an internet connection for Elite, even in single-player.

On the latter topic, Braben explained that their vision for an evolving, player-driven story necessitated the online requirement, though he added: "We're still going to look at how to do [an offline mode]. You know, It's not off the table. We just can't promise it, and that's caused a lot of people to get very angry. I am always upset when people are [angry]—especially when they've backed us—but we had a vision and we're trying to stick as closely to that vision as possible, which is to do something new."

Watch the full interview above for more of his thoughts on the topic (the question starts at 14:20).

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.