Max Schaefer
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Zynga buys the studio behind 'Torchlight 3'
The studio was started by Blizzard North co-founder and Diablo series co-creator Max Schaefer after he left his previous stint at Runic Games in 2016.
The Game Archaeologist: How Hellgate survived being Flagshipped
It seems that it really wasn't too long ago that I was filling in the time between night classes by boning up on video game news. I was drinking up all of the hot up-and-comers, such as Age of Conan and Warhammer Online, when I caught word that the maker of Diablo was trying to do the same thing again, only more online, in 3-D, and with a cool modern-day/futuristic/horror vibe. There's no better way to put it than to say that from the start, Hellgate: London looked all kinds of cool. Oh sure, you can scoff now with your perfect 20/20 hindsight, but I'm betting that more than a few of you thought the same with me around that time. Diablo but with guns and an online persistence -- how could we not be intrigued? One of my most vivid memories was being torn between the idea of buying a lifetime subscription deal for $150 (again, this was before the free-to-play era, but also before the era of us spending the same money on alpha access. I'm just saying that you can't judge me.). I didn't buy the lifetime sub, if you were wondering, but I did play. I even enjoyed Hellgate: London for a month or so, although something about it never quite clicked with me. It was only after I bailed that I watched with horror that one of the most infamous chapters of video game disasters took place. It's kind of like when you look at pictures of an earthquake and say to anyone near, "I was just standing there a week ago..." From its giddy heights of pre-launch hype to the crash simply known as being "Flagshipped" to its subsequent resurrections (yes, plural), Hellgate is a fascinating tale of a good idea, a terrible launch, corporate scapegoating, and improbable survival.
Runic co-founders leave Torchlight dev to form Double Damage Games
Runic Games co-founders Travis Baldree and Erich Schaefer are leaving the Torchlight studio to start Double Damage Games. "I should say from the outset that this is an amicable departure, that I consider the amazing team at Runic my friends and family, and that it is a privilege that they've let me get away with running the place for this long," wrote Baldree, who served as the studio president and lead engineer, in his goodbye post on the company forum. The new studio will focus on smaller-scale development. Baldree says, "Working within the boundaries of limited means and resources is the best fun I've ever had, and that sort of work satisfies me in a fundamental way - I can't wait to be working that way again." Runic CEO Max Schaefer (brother of Erich) reiterated the parting was amicable and that the studio will continue working on its "completely secret project."
Time names Guild Wars 2 the top video game of 2012
What's the best video game of 2012? If you're Time magazine or are looking at the headline of this article, chances are you probably know the answer. Time's website counted down the year's top 10 video games, putting Guild Wars 2 at the top of the list. The author seems taken with the game's dynamic event system: "All those events and hundreds more play out in real-time -- with, as Bono would say, or without you -- lending Guild Wars 2 the feel of a living world, and the sort of compulsive anywhere-you-go playability other MMOs only dream of." Torchlight II also made it into the list at the number 10 spot, with the author saying that it delivered the same action-RPG rush of Diablo III at a third of the price.
Torchlight II might take some inspiration from Minecraft down the road
You like Torchlight II, right? Pummeling your way through waves of baddies, reducing those baddies to nothing more than piles of gold and items -- it's exhilarating, isn't it? But what if you could do more? Maybe like building a little house or planting a field of wheat? Max Schaefer, designer extraordinaire, hinted in a recent interview that that's the sort of future addition he'd like for Torchlight II. He said that his personal hope for the game would be "to get the building and resource aspects of Minecraft and put them into an ARPG, just so it's a little more than just wandering from one monster to the next and hitting them." Schaefer is a fan of this idea as a way to lend a sense of permanence to the game and a way for players to add to their game world. However, he's not the only person at Runic Games, which means his idea is just one of many possibilities for the future of Torchlight II. "We're a long way from exhausting the possibilities," he added. To hear about power creep, player mods, and how awesome a Minecraft-Torchlight II fusion would be, hit up the full interview.
Torchlight MMO might be a long time coming
Even with Torchlight II newly released, people are already wondering what's in store for Runic Games in the future. A handful of questions about what comes next popped up in a recent Runic Games AMA, and Rock, Paper, Shotgun sat down with CEO Max Schaefer to talk about the future. If there is to be a Torchlight MMO, it will look radically different from most MMOs out there today. "We don't just want to make the standard MMO in the Torchlight universe. We want to change up the genre and put a unique stamp on it," said Schaefer of the Runic dev team. While the possibility of a new and different sort of MMO in the Torchlight universe exists, that's not what the team has its sights set on yet. Schaefer said that the devs "might be so tired of making Torchlight that we're kind of burned out" and may very well choose to do something outside of the Torchlight world entirely for now.
Runic's post-Torchlight 2 plans: Mac port, patches, and a trip to the mountains
Runic's CEO Max Schaefer seems both simultaneously relieved and nervous as he sits in the Torchlight 2 booth at PAX Prime 2012. Relieved, because his company finally announced a release date for its long-awaited game, and slightly nervous, because he knows the community's judgment is finally coming. But even launch won't bring a real break for Runic: Schaefer says the company has a clear plan laid out for post-release work.A Mac port and language translations are first on the list, says Schaefer – both of those are real priorities for the team. Runic's also working on patching the game (if necessary), and getting the content editor up and running so both users and devs can make some mods and add-ons for the game. After that, says Schaefer, he's not sure. "We'll go up into the mountains or something and figure out what to do next."Schaefer says that both a console port of Torchlight 2 and "an MMO" aren't out of the question, but there are problems with both of those ideas. "We will not be making a traditional MMO under any circumstances," he says, so a possible Torchlight MMO could look very different from what players might imagine – a pretty different stance from what we've heard in the past from Runic Games.And while the studio had plenty of success with an Xbox Live port of its first Torchlight game (and Microsoft showed interest in a port of the second game), Schaefer says "it's a lot harder this time," given the way the game is built, to put together an Xbox port. All of that is a long way off, however – Schaefer's more concerned about getting this game released first.
Torchlight II launches on September 20th
The hoped-for dukeroo between Diablo III and Torchlight II never quite materialized, mainly because Runic didn't manage to ship its dungeon-crawler in time to compete with the Blizzard behemoth's launch. Torchlight II is still coming, though, and according to a new post on the game's official site, it's coming on September 20th. Runic CEO Max Schaefer provides us with the requisite PR soundbyte. "We worked incredibly hard to make sure we could release Torchlight II before summer's official end. Development will continue right up until we ship, and we couldn't be happier to be putting the finishing touches on a great game. We want to get it to the fans as quickly as possible. Honestly, we can't wait."
Torchlight exec on MMO: 'It may be radically different'
Runic Games' Max Schaefer is preparing for the release of Torchlight II, but that didn't stop him from looking to the future for the franchise. In an interview, Schaefer teased that the eventual MMO may be "radically different" from what some are expecting. Schaefer did admit that the MMO isn't a solid lock as of yet. When asked about the next step after Torchlight II, he said, "We don't know what we're doing in the MMO next or ever or what. That's kind of the big plan is to keep expanding the Torchlight world." He did confirm that a Torchlight MMO would be an action RPG and not a standard MMO setup. "We would not want to do a traditional at all," Schaefer said. "We'd adapt it in many ways to Torchlight. It'd be an MMO in so far as everyone's playing in the world of Torchlight, but it may radically different. I think it would keep our creativity alive, not just to do traditional MMO."
Max Schafer claims Diablo III was originally an MMO
It always requires you to be online. It lets friends drop in, often without warning, to take part in whatever you're doing. It has an elaborate auction house, complete with microtransactions. Diablo III isn't an MMO, but in the eyes of many fans, it certainly seems to be aping the style of MMOs, and whether or not that's a good thing depends on your point of view. But according to recent statements from Runic Games co-founder Max Schafer, that's no accident, as many years ago, the game was an MMO. Schafer states that prior to his departure, the team was essentially aiming at doing for the Diablo franchise what World of Warcraft did to the Warcraft franchise. Changes in upper management prompted Schafer's departure, and his current studio Runic Games is known for its very Diablo-like Torchlight franchise. While it's been a long time since development on a Diablo MMO was in the cards, it seems some of those roots wound up making it to launch after all.
Runic not ready for Torchlight MMO anytime soon
So when's that Torchlight MMO coming out? When it's ready, and when Runic can muster the money and resources needed to properly handle the long-term commitment that an MMO represents, according to CEO Max Schaefer. "An MMO is a hell of a commitment," Schaefer tells Rock, Paper Shotgun. "It means we're gonna be doing that for a few years at least prior to release and then committing years of support for it afterward. So it's a decision we take very, very seriously." RPS says that a Torchlight MMO has always been Runic's end goal, but given the fact that the 30-man company is still fiddling with Torchlight II, we suspect the massively multiplayer version remains a ways off.
Max Schaefer talks Torchlight II development, potential MMO plans
There are a lot of people eagerly anticipating Diablo III, but there are also several people looking forward to Torchlight II, the followup to the hugely successful spiritual sequel to Diablo. A recent interview with Max Schaefer, co-founder and CEO of Runic Games, discusses the development of the sequel including some of the contrasting points between it and Diablo III -- including the lack of any sort of virtual item shop. As Schaefer puts it, the team wants to put together a good game that stands on its own, and if it's successful the developers will look in the direction of an expansion rather than a straightforward shop. Schaefer also discusses a potential MMO coming out of the studio, something that's long been among the studio's plans -- one of the big reasons that Runic partnered with Perfect World Entertainment was due to its expertise with running an MMO. He claims that it's definitely still on the table, but it would be a big change for the studio, since the company has focused on staying small and launching an MMO is a very long-term commitment. Somewhat sad news for those hoping that Torchlight II's launch would spearhead MMO development directly, but the possibility certainly remains.
Torchlight MMO still on schedule, depending on success of Torchlight II
Fans who are eagerly awaiting news on the status of the Torchlight MMO were offered a brief update during Runic CEO Max Schaefer's interview with Eurogamer; unfortunately for fans, it appears that completion and release of the MMO are quite a ways away. While Schaefer assures players that it is still planned and that they "have a lot of good ideas for the MMO," he also admits that they currently have other priorities -- namely the release of the forthcoming Torchlight II. He is clear that they "just aren't committing to any kind of schedule yet." Looks like fans will have to bide their time a while longer.
The Lawbringer: Positive value creation from the negatives in the games industry
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Running parallel to the games we love and enjoy is a world full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? The no-win situation is, at its core, a sad state of affairs. Seriously, no one is winning in a no-win situation. In fact, everyone could be said to be losing. Piracy has been long held to be the dire no-win situation in the video game industry because it represents a perfect culmination of utter loss -- an infinitely copyable product that took millions of dollars to produce being distributed for free. No profit means the studio gets its windows shuttered and no one goes home employed. Last week, I read an article on PC Gamer that talks about Runic Games's Torchlight. The game is a fantastic spiritual successor to the Diablo series that the company's CEO, Max Schaefer, served as lead designer for. Runic Games was essentially bought by Perfect World, a Chinese MMO company that seeks to release an MMO version of the popular game. Schaefer has some different views and conclusions about how piracy effects his game. In a nutshell, Schaefer sees no problem with the millions of illegally downloaded copies of Torchlight in Asian markets. When the MMO is released, the brand recognition and audience building that piracy affords will bring in new customers for the eventual MMO, where it is harder to pirate a service. With so many games going online these days with multiplayer components requiring authentication or even a license purchase (as with used versions of PS3 and XBox 360 games), is this the right attitude to have in world where a game's success is made or destroyed based on sales? Is this line of thought able to coexist with the fickle dev studio and publisher system in place now in the industry? Ultimately, we can learn something from Schaefer's comments, especially about audience building. And, potentially, we can see the future of World of Warcraft's distribution as the game gets a bit heavy in terms of barrier to entry.
Torchlight's Schaefer: MMO subscriptions aren't the way to go
Runic Games CEO and Torchlight developer Max Schaefer knows a thing or two about addictive, loot-driven dungeon crawlers. After all, he was a founding member of Blizzard North and instrumental in the development of Diablo and Diablo II. So, when Schaefer talks about game design, people generally listen. Whether Schaefer's expertise extends to MMO business models is up for debate, though, which makes a recent interview at Charge-Shot.com an interesting read. "I don't think really anyone can do [subscriptions] anymore because pretty much everyone that does subscriptions has one for World of Warcraft," Schaefer posits, while speaking of his plans for the upcoming Torchlight MMO. While the majority of the interview focuses on the new Xbox Live incarnation of the original Torchlight -- as well as the forthcoming Torchlight II -- it's also a window into Schaefer's design sensibilities and therefore a possible barometer for the type of gameplay that fans might expect from a Torchlight MMO. "[Torchlight] is the kind of game you can play for 20 minutes before you got to go out to dinner, but it's also one that you can geek out on all night. It's just a very accessible format that gives people a chance to enjoy a game rather than work at a game," Schaefer explains. [Thanks to Craig for the tip!]
Torchlight 2 'probably' delayed to July, Runic says
Speaking to Digital Spy, Runic CEO Max Schaefer revealed that Torchlight 2 will likely miss its original May–June release window. According to Schaefer, the game will now "probably" be released this July. Apparently the time Runic had to spend on the extra interface design for the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade version of Torchlight is to blame for the sequel's delay, though Schaefer noted that development is "going great" otherwise. Schaefer added that Torchlight 2 should receive some "optimizations and technical improvements," originally created for the XBLA Torchlight. Notably, the sequel should now benefit from reduced load times and improved animation. The XBLA version of Torchlight will be released on March 9.
Torchlight 3 out before Diablo 3, Runic CEO hypothesizes
Runic Games CEO Max Schaefer respectfully believes that a third Torchlight game could be out before Blizzard's Diablo 3 -- a joke we'd made when the second Torchlight was recently announced. The executive tells us that the efficient size of the Runic team, which has a corporate goal to never grow above 40, would have the ability to get out another significantly upgraded sequel before Blizzard's behemoth arrived. Torchlight and its sequel have both had brisk development cycles lasting less than a year. Schaefer told us, "[Blizzard has] an impossible task. Blizzard can not get away with doing a Torchlight 1. If they put out a single player game, an RPG that's kinda stripped down for $20, people would say, 'What the hell happened to Blizzard?' They don't have that luxury. Everything has to be super epic. More epic than anything that's come before, more epic than World of Warcraft. They have to do that. It puts them in a really tough spot, I don't envy them. It has to be perfect." Given his deadpan delivery on the subject, we wanted to make sure he was serious about Torchlight's third installment beating the Blizzard behemoth to market, "I really think we will, I'm not joking about it. I'll be the first to buy Diablo 3, I'm a huge fan. I just know what it's like over there."
Torchlight 'hopefully' out on XBLA and PSN by holidays, has sold 750,000 units
Runic Games had dreams of putting Torchlight on Xbox Live Arcade, then it put "serious effort" into a console version, and now the studio is hoping to have the game out by this holiday for PSN and XBLA. Runic CEO Max Schaefer told Joystiq at Gamescom today, "We're trying, we're talking [to Sony and Microsoft] and we hope to get that done quickly." Although there's no release window, he told us it'll "hopefully" be available "by the holidays." Schaefer also told us the game has now sold over 750,000 units and is en route to a million. The RPG reached the half-million milestone back in May after launching in October, following a tiny development time of 10 months. If the sales figure seems a bit low, the executive mentioned that piracy has been an issue, but they have no way of tracking how many illegal copies were made. As for Torchlight 2 on consoles, Schaefer told us Runic will "try" to get the multiplayer sequel to consoles sometime after the PC and Mac release. %Gallery-72098%
Torchlight dev speaks about Blizzard competition, MMO plans
Max Schaefer, co-founder of Torchlight developer Runic Games (and former Blizzard North staffer) recently sat down for the most terrifying interview of his life. In an interview with German gaming news site PCGames.de, Schaefer was buffeted with strongly-worded interrogatives, at one point being told to "Defend yourself!" The harsh questioning was worth it -- Schaefer opened up about similarities between his studio's game and Diablo, explaining, "we plead guilty to trying to perfect a style of game we've worked on since the early 90's." The more intriguing part of the interview came when Schaefer discussed the future of the series -- a future which involves a free-to-play MMORPG based in the world of Torchlight. Just because the game won't put a hurt on your wallet doesn't mean Runic Games is skimping out; according to Schaefer, the Torchlight MMO will be a large production, complete with "a lot of customization, an overworld, random and instanced dungeons, PVP, and much more!" Schaefer added that the MMO is still about two years out. The studio plans to go into pre-production as soon as it squashes all the bugs in the offline version of Torchlight, and hopes to have the game reach the community with alpha and beta testing phases "as quickly as possible."
The Digital Continuum: Torchlight my fire, page 2
Torchlight's setting is somewhat fantasy with a little bit of steampunk -- right now I'd say it feels something like 75/25 leaning towards a unique fantasy world. Can we get a little more steampunk, though? Of all the many strengths it possesses, story and setting are the game's biggest weakness.
