Scarface writer slams 'bastardisation' of licenses

David McKenna, the scriptwriter for VU Games' Scarface: The World is Yours, has slammed companies that exploit licences for money, and bemoaned the lack of pay in videogame projects.

Although the writer of movies such as Blow and American History X revealed his doubts about classic movie IP being converted into videogames, he did consider working with VU Games a learning experience.

"When you think about Jaws and The Godfather, although they were great movies, I don't see them in the same vein as something like what they're doing with Scarface," said McKenna in an interview with Reuters.

"It's getting to the point where you're just bastardizing the whole business just to make a buck. That's fine, but I think the American public is a little too smart for that."

"I don't think every movie makes a good videogame, just like not every story makes a good movie," he said.

McKenna believes that better writing in videogames will ultimately lead to higher profits for publishers, but current levels of pay aren't big enough incentives to work in the medium.

"It really is a lot of work, and the pay isn't that great," McKenna said.

"I know they're on really tight budgets for videogames. I think that if they come to the realisation that they can hire good writers to create videogames, in the long run it will help sell more copies.

"You get what you pay for, unless writers and actors make sacrifices like we did on this game. But they're not going to be making sacrifices too many times, trust me," he concluded.