That reminds me that I should re-read some Alan Dean Foster the next time I go on a reading binge.
The dev of Gang Beasts, Boneloaf, is free from Double Fine’s publishing.
We love Double Fine and they have been really fantastic to us. What Tim and his company built is pretty wonderful, but with Double Fine Presents winding down due to Double Fine’s acquisition by Xbox Game Studios last year, we think it is a good time for Boneloaf to stand on its own… legs and publish Gang Beasts ourselves.
Every new game streaming service thinks it will be the one that finally breaks through. Only one of them can be right.
I think Google was well-positioned to do so but man they really fumbled it badly.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/136009730194/permalink/10163974796165195/
Arnold Hendrick, the creator of Darklands, has passed away.
“The belief that streaming was going to be transformative was based on a view that there were loads of people who really [had] an interest in interactive entertainment, really wanted to pay for it, but just didn’t want to have a console,” Zelnick said. “I’m not sure that turned out to be the case.”
I don’t know if I can agree with Zelnick there. I still think being able to play top-end games on basically any display device could be really attractive with the right investment and business model. To me it just seemed like Stadia was offering a worst of all worlds buffet and it’s no wonder it didn’t attract much of a following.
That sucks. That was an epic game.
I found Darklands hard to penetrate when we played it for the old Game Club, but I could really respect its approach to a historical setting.
Still, someone mentioned in the Darklands thread that Hendrick also did some world design for Pirates! so for that reason alone I feel I owe him a lot!
Requiescat in pace.
With a good internet connection. And a controller.
The pitch of game streaming is play anywhere. The reality is play in your home, just like you would on a console, but a bit shittier.
Certainly it could find some audience if it’s handled better than Stadia was. I don’t seeing it being a big audience until either the gaming market or the internet situation of most of the world changes beyond recognition. Absent just bundling it into something that is already a crazy good deal like Game Pass, of course.
Proud to be part of this company.
That’s good to see!
Paradox Interactive, a publisher and developer of games that are collectively a bargain, today announced the impending completion of a collective agreement…
I like their humor. This is neat to see. Hopefully relations are good behind the scenes, too.
I was going to ask you… why did Paradox pick Barcelona for the new studio?
As far as I am aware, its because thats where the talent wanted to be. Johan and Fred and a bunch of other folks have moved there from Stockholm. Also as a growing global company under Ebba’s leadership I think Paradox is enjoying the process of starting new studios wherever they see a real opportunity to create games that can resonate with the new broader audience.
Its similar to Berkeley/Bay Area with us. This is just where we are already and where we like to be, we have access to (arguably) one of the best talent pools in the world so Paradox was delighted to start a studio here, less delighted by the local cost of living, but thats true for all of us :) Likewise Barcelona is within the EU in a great location so talent will hopefully be attracted to that.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, Rod. I was just unsure how a Sweden-based company would choose Barcelona for a new office, but what you’ve explained makes sense. Barcelona is a great city (or was when I visited in 1992)!
Fantastic news. Cheers to the leadership at Paradox. Are there any clear avenues to making this applicable to the whole company, @Rod_Humble? Maybe that’s more a matter of workers getting organized in other countries?
I dont know yet is the short answer and we are a public company so not sure what might be material so I wont speculate :(
I can tell you Paradox HQ holds all studios to the highest ethical standards around employee rights , customer rights and working conditions but gives fairly wide autonomy at the national level and leeway for local cultural attitudes and business practices to hit that standard. So what works for the studios in Sweden may or may not work for the studios in another country.
I know I will be watching how it goes in Sweden with I am sure interested developers outside of Paradox, so we shall see.
Yes, it is worth pointing out that in Sweden, 85% of the employees in the private sector are covered by these types of collective agreements. It’s definitely the norm here, and even more so for large, publicly-traded companies.
AT&T is discussing a sale of its Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment gaming division in a deal that could fetch about $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard have all expressed interest in buying the gaming division, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. No deal is assured or imminent, two of the people said.
Many of the video game titles within Warner Bros. Interactive are tied to Warner-owned intellectual property, including “Harry Potter,” “Game of Thrones” and “The Lego Movie.” The unit also owns the “Mortal Kombat” and the “Scribblenauts” series. A deal might involve a commercial licensing agreement where AT&T can continue to get revenue from its IP, the people said.