CurtSchilling
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38 Studios' 'Kingdoms of Amalur' finds a second life at THQ
Curt Schilling's 38 Studios imploded years ago, but its gaming legacy might live for a while longer. THQ Nordic has bought the intellectual property for Kingdoms of Amalur, including the Amalur-based ( and unreleased) online RPG Project Copernicus. The publisher hasn't said what it intends to do with the fantasy franchise, but its team in Austria will conduct "evaluation of sequels and new content."
Curt Schilling to repay a fraction of $75 million game loan
The saga of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's 38 Studios, the state of Rhode Island and an awful lot of money might finally be over. At the end of July, it was announced that 38 Studios wouldn't face criminal charges for a failed $75 million loan for Project Copernicus, a massively multiplayer online game set in the Kingdoms of Amalur universe. Now, Schilling and his compatriots only have to pay $2.5 million to settle the lawsuit out of court, according to the Associated Press.
Curt Schilling's defunct game studio won't face criminal charges
Curt Schilling's 38 Studios has run into plenty of trouble since declaring bankruptcy in 2012, not the least of which is an SEC lawsuit this year. However, criminal cases won't be contributing to its headaches. The Rhode Island State Police have determined that they won't file charges over the failed $75 million loan for Project Copernicus, the massively multiplayer online game that was to have followed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. There were "no provable criminal violations" in the way the developer secured its cash, the police say. The decision isn't completely shocking (federal officials decided against charges back in 2012), but it eliminates what chances were left of staff facing prison time.
Court approves settlement over Curt Schilling's failed game studio
The longstanding battle for compensation following the death of Curt Schilling's state-backed game studio, 38 Studios, is one step closer to winding down. A Rhode Island Superior Court judge has approved a $12.5 million partial settlement with four of the defendants in the case, helping recoup some of the $75 million poured into the failed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning creator. This definitely isn't the end -- Schilling is still fighting the lawsuit, for one thing. Between this and an earlier $4.4 million settlement, though, the tide appears to be turning against the former baseball star. [Image credit: Tony Avelar/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
38 Studios will face no federal criminal charges
Bankrupt gamemaker 38 Studios will not face federal criminal charges, according to a report in The Washington Post. U.S. Attorney spokesman Jim Martin told The Associated Press that his office found that 38 Studios did not break any federal laws. That said, what's left of the company is still subject to an investigation being conducted by Rhode Island police to determine whether state laws were violated. 38 Studios folded last May despite a $75 million state loan guarantee. The bankruptcy left Rhode Island "on the hook for more than $100 million," which includes the bonds and interest.
Fallen kingdom: 38 Studios' collapse and the pitfalls of using public money to support tech companies
In a career filled with many clutch throws from the baseball mound, former Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling's main calling card was a gutsy post-season performance made even more memorable by a blood-soaked sock. It was a pitch made by Schilling outside of Major League Baseball, however, that would prove to be his most daring one yet. In 2010, Schilling convinced Rhode Island officials to give his video game company, 38 Studios, a $75 million loan guarantee. A self-professed fan of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), Schilling's dream was to create a worthy competitor to Blizzard's MMORPG juggernaut, World of Warcraft. In 2006, Schilling started Green Monster Games, which was later renamed 38 Studios. Luring the company away from Massachusetts was supposed to bring in more than 400 jobs and serve as the linchpin for launching a new tech-based industry in Rhode Island. Instead, the state's taxpayers found themselves left at the table with a multimillion-dollar tab.
38 Studios hires World of Warcraft UI, King's Quest music vets
When filling the ranks at his game development brainchild, 38 Studios, it makes sense that MMO-fan Curt Schilling would look to his pastime of choice. The company announced that it has hired former Blizzard UI maestro, Irena Pereira, as 38 Studios' senior UI designer, bringing her interface grinding expertise not only with World of Warcraft, but The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King to the fledgling company as well. Additionally, when setting the mood in its secretive MMO project codenamed Copernicus, the dev will look to the musical styling of newly hired composer and sound designer, Aubrey Hodges, whose familiar tunes can be heard in such adventure game greats as King's Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory and Conquests of the Longbow. Hodges is credited as one of the chief pioneers of in-game MIDI music, and also helped make us jump with his ambient tracks heard in both Doom and Quake. Both Pereira and Hodges are just the latest seasoned vets to join 38 Studios, following the hiring of former Everquest designer Travis McGeathy and THQ artist Thom Ang, making us all the more curious just what the company is working on behind that curtain.
38 Studios bags former THQ, EA art guy
38 Studios has added a seasoned artist to its ranks, announcing the appointment of Thom Ang as the company's new director of art. In his new role, Ang will oversee the art management and direction of 38 Studios' projects, including "Copernicus," the outfit's ever-mysterious MMO undertaking.A 15-year digital art and illustration vet, Ang joins the Curt Schilling-founded developer from THQ, where he handled things both artsy and fartsy for more that 25 of the company's titles. In addition, he also worked on TV shows such as The X-Files, and spent time in the trenches at EA Los Angeles handing art and team management for the Medal of Honor franchise. We're still in the dark as to what the studio is up to with Copernicus, though it's good to know the company has someone on board with the chops to help steer the ship down a more artistic path.
Schilling, 38 Studios choose BigWorld for Copernicus
We continue to look to left field for any news involving Curt Schilling and 38 Studios' mysterious new MMO project codenamed Copernicus, and while the inking of a new license to use BigWorld's suite of MMO development tools isn't the most exiting development under the sun, the news does enough to keep the project on our radar, if only just. Interestingly, BigWorld's software has become a touchstone for a number of companies looking to jump into the world of MMO development, including unannounced projects from John Romero's Slipgate Ironworks and Sierra Online, as well as Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment's Stargate Worlds. Little is known about what Schilling and his band of developers have planned for Copernicus, other than it is still being prototyped for its planned release sometime in the distant future known as late 2010, by which time we'll likely to have moved on from MMOs altogether to another pastime...like baseball.
Curt Schilling leaving baseball for game development
Curt Schilling's love affair with games, particularly of the MMO persuasion, is no secret. In late 2006, he took this commitment to the next level, founding Green Monster Games (now 38 Studios) and pledging to support his staff with competitive benefits. Now he's putting game development right up there with family, telling GameTap, "After baseball, I will do nothing except be a father, husband and run this company."Codenamed Copernicus, Schilling's MMO is still in "concept phase" – tentatively dated for late 2010 – but it's one part of a mega-IP aimed at saturating multiple entertainment markets, including film, TV, books, comics, and action figures. With fantasy novelist R.A. Salvatore and Todd MacFarlane on board as creative partners, Schilling's ambitious project is more than just a pipe dream. As for baseball, the fabled pitcher doesn't plan to leave the sport behind entirely after his final season. "[I will be] intimately involved in making a baseball game ... I will be a part of a company doing a sports game [some day]."
The Horde win the pennant! The Horde win the pennant!
Yet another celebrity has confessed to being a WoW player. Curt Schilling, the pitcher whose famous game 6 stand against the Yankees in 2004 helped lead the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in eons, plays Hordeside on Malfurion. In an interview with Allakhazam, Schilling outed Wyndwraith, his 70 orc hunter, and Ngruk, his tauren shaman. He describes himself as a hardcore raider who loves questing. He plays WoW from hotel rooms when he's on the road, and he has recently struggled with the hardcore vs. casual conundrum. Schilling also talks about his own gaming companies, Everquest memories, and the (non) stigma of video games in today's world. It's always nice to see a well-known, successful person that plays WoW admit it to the public. It helps break down the stereotype that gamers are all basement-dwelling virgins. One question for Mr. Schilling -- do you still have your epic [Bloody Sock]? [Thanks for the tip, Calaf!]
Schilling talks Green Monster Games
Curt Schilling, Boston Red Sox ace pitcher and warrior-nerd (term applied to us nerds who happen to be physically fit), is a well-known MMO fan. In fact, he is such a fan he decided to start his own company -- Green Monster Games -- just to make one of his own. Now, he is giving us a little more details. In an interview with the Escapist, Schilling explained the inner workings of his company and a little bit of his vision. In an indirect crack at EA, Schilling explained he is building his company with the employee in mind; he is offering 100% insurance and matching 401k, a pair of oddities in many businesses. He states that even with Todd McFarlane and R.A. Salvatore on the team, he won't simply bank on their names and wants to make a game that appeals to everyone. Schilling is certainly on the right track. A major key to making a great game is making sure your employees are happy. Building a Mordor-style slave camp doesn't help the quality of games, or the bottom line. Hopefully Schilling's employment strategies pay off with a good game; we'd be more than willing to support it.
Schilling just a rookie in games industry
Curt Schilling has turned his addiction into a business, founding his own game company, aptly dubbed Green Monster Games. Schill recently spoke about his aspirations at an MIT game forum, boasting that his studio's MMO is going to "blow the industry away."Schilling backs big words with an employee-friendly business model that has already attracted the likes of Spawn-creator Todd McFarlane and science fiction author R.A. Salvatore. But to shake up the industry, Schill will have to do better than a comic book dude and novel scribe, meaning -- if he can't secure the right investors -- Schilling's gonna end up dipping into his, presumably, healthy savings account.As other panelists at the MIT forum where quick to point out, MMOs are the most costly games to develop, market for, and maintain, with the industry average falling around the $20 million mark. Sounds like Schill's gonna have to toss the ole' baseball around a few more years to support this habit.[Thanks, Sam]
Curt Schilling loses the mitt for the ole' mouse & keyboard
Curt Schilling is out of the closet. The one-time World Series MVP recently came clean about his long-time EverQuest addiction. Today, Schilling needs to play multiple EverQuest II characters simultaneously to keep up with his body's craving (see his 4-monitor setup, pictured right). "EverQuest II provides me an opportunity to remain in touch with my family... My son Gehrig and I play together when I'm not working and he's not in school." C'mon Schill, do you really expect us to buy that excuse?The pitching great recently took this other passion to the next level, signing an endorsement deal with SOE. Look for Schilling to lead his guild on daring quests and calculated raids in the recently released Kingdom of Sky expansion.[Thanks, mordecai]
