Denis Dyack, president of Ontario-based Too Human developer Silicon Knights, is one of the more outspoken designers in the industry.

Whether he’s talking about his problem with game previews, or placing wagers with forum posters, Dyack says what he feels, and that often places him at the center of attention.

“I’ve been told that I’m controversial so often, I guess it’s true,” Dyack told Edge in a recent interview.

“’Outspoken,’ ‘provocative’ … people come up and they say that quite often. It’s not an intention of mine but it seems to be the case.”

One of Dyack’s more notable controversies was when he railed against game previews after Electronic Gaming Monthly published a negative preview of Too Human in 2007.

“Should the press review preview [versions of games]? I think the answer is absolutely not, but it still happens.”

He mentioned other topics that he has commented on in the past. “…How are publishers and developers going to continue to make money under the escalating prices that we have? What about original IP versus sequels? Marketing versus development time?

“There are all these issues that a lot of people are quite frankly really afraid to speak up about…All these issues are very tough issues.”

Dyack continued, “There’s a lot of potential negatives that come with speaking out. ‘Saying it like it is,’ I think, can be very, very difficult.”

The designer explained his viewpoint on controversy from a social perspective.

“If someone sees a mugging on the street, a natural reaction is just to turn your head and walk away and not get involved,” Dyack said. “I guess I’m one of those people that cannot help not getting involved. I’ll get involved and I’ll do something.”

You’ll beat off the mugger? we asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get shot one day. But if it’s the right thing to do, then I try to do that, and I guess that’s how I get coined as a controversial figure.”