[project1dev] Re: [OT] Torchlight makers runic
- From: eric drewes <figarus@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: project1dev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 13:23:40 -0400
i think the key to making great games is balance, like starcraft is a game i
consider "perfect" because its so well balanced, the depth comes from
individual styles and not just complexity of game mechanics. Chess is the
deepest game ever made, but also very very very elegant in its simplicity.
i think the key for us as a team is to make sure we set realistic goals and
expectations... like dirty harry says, "a man's got to know his limitations"
do i believe we can make kick ass games and a kick ass game company? you're
god damn right i do. However, like with the RPG i think even if all of us
quit our jobs and put in 50 hours a week, the scope and depth of what we
still needed was too much for us. eyes bigger than our stomachs. (or my
stomach at least)
one of the reasons i am a fan of doing act raiser is that it is a chewable
bite, and will let us get our feet wet and some real experience under our
belt as we build into a real dev studio.
On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 1:17 PM, Kent Petersen <kentkmp@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> That's still pretty inspiring as far as I'm concerned
>
> The other day angela asked me what I would do if I made a game that we sold
> and made money off it. I told her, "I would quit my job and makes games."
> I'm excited. I think we can make kickass games.
>
>
> On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 10:12 AM, eric drewes <figarus@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> oh and i dont have access to the article but i read it was $500,000 in
>> sales not 500,000 copies sold
>>
>>
>> On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 12:51 PM, eric drewes <figarus@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> well... from wikipedia:
>>>
>>> Development of the game is led by Travis Baldree, designer of
>>> *Fate<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fate_%28video_game%29>
>>> *, and Max Schaefer and Erich Schaefer, co-designers of
>>> *Diablo<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_%28video_game%29>
>>> * and *Diablo II <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_II>*, joined by
>>> the team that developed
>>> *Mythos<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythos_%28video_game%29>
>>> *
>>>
>>> Pre-production on *Torchlight* began in August 2008, shortly after the
>>> dissolution of Flagship
>>> Studios<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagship_Studios>.
>>> Runic Games was founded by Travis Baldree (lead developer of *Fate* and
>>> *Mythos <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythos_%28video_game%29>*) and
>>> veterans of Blizzard North <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_North>and
>>> Flagship: Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer and Peter Hu.
>>> [24]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-gamesource.it-23>
>>> [14] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-shack-13> The
>>> "entire Flagship Seattle team" consisting of 14 people (the branch of
>>> Flagship which created the original *Mythos*) signed on to Runic Games
>>> at the time of its
>>> formation.[25]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-warcry-24>
>>> [16] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-eurogamer-15>Having
>>> lost the rights to
>>> *Mythos*, the Runic team saw the development of a new game as a way to
>>> "finish what [they] started," although they would have to start over with
>>> none of the code or art assets from
>>> *Mythos*.[26]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-gamasutra-art-25>The
>>> company's founders decided to "go back to [their] roots" with a smaller
>>> game that they could refine and polish within a relatively short production
>>> cycle.[14] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-shack-13>Full
>>> production on the game started around November 2008, giving the entire
>>> project a development period of approximately 11
>>> months.[27]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-g4tv-26>As of
>>> July 2009, 25 team members were working at Runic Games.
>>> [20] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-pcgames.de-19>
>>>
>>> In a feature article on *Gamasutra<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamasutra>
>>> *, art director Jason Beck explained that *Torchlight's* art style was
>>> inspired by comic books and classic film animation, using stylized character
>>> designs combined with painterly background
>>> textures.[26]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-gamasutra-art-25>The
>>> developers have described the game's look as inspired by "
>>> *Dragon’s Lair <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%E2%80%99s_Lair>*meets
>>> *The Incredibles
>>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredibles>*."[28]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-gamasutra1-27>The
>>> team chose to give the game world a lighter fantasy tone to make it more
>>> inviting, rather than utilizing a "dark and gritty"
>>> style.[26]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-gamasutra-art-25>
>>>
>>> The game uses the OGRE <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OGRE> open
>>> source<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source>3D graphics engine,
>>> although the rest of the game engine was built by Runic.
>>> The game was designed to run on a wide range of systems (including a
>>> 'netbook' mode) and does not require
>>> shaders<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader>
>>> .[2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchlight#cite_note-zam-1>
>>> ...
>>>
>>> so, 25 people working full time using an open source 3d engine and headed
>>> by veteran designers and coders with some pretty beefy pedigree/experience
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 12:43 PM, Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>
>>>> thats pretty rad... do you know how big the team was?
>>>>
>>>> I wonder if they did it full time and lived off savings or if they had
>>>> funding from somewhere else or if they had other jobs or somethin?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 8:23 AM, Kent Petersen <kentkmp@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> It only took em a year or so to make it too
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 8:23 AM, Kent Petersen <kentkmp@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Yeah man. It was fun but I didn't play it for more than a month. I
>>>>>> think the key is making the game simple yet fun.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tue, May 18, 2010 at 5:39 PM, Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/05/18/lighting-it-up-runic-investment-and-sales/
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> they sold 500,000 copies of their game and sold part of their company
>>>>>>> for 8.4 million.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> wow...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> if you guys have played torchlight, sure it was a decent game but it
>>>>>>> wasnt GREAT. i think there is major money to be had from small indie
>>>>>>> game
>>>>>>> groups such as ourselves :P
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>
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