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Seropian: E3 'was really a big strokefest'
Wideload Games' Alex Seropian -- who in another life was the CEO of Bungie (the Halo studio) -- recently had choice words for the former incarnation of E3, calling it a "strokefest." Speaking with ArmChairEmpire, Seropian says, "E3 ends up being a huge drain on resources to focus and to prepare for an event that really, from a developer's perspective, did not seem to serve any purpose whatsoever. It was really a big strokefest for the publishers to see who could make the most noise. It generated a lot of buzz in the industry but as far as translating into how good a game is, it seemed to have zero effect -- if anything a negative effect."Other than creating the horrible image of the big three personified and touching themselves, Seropian later says that he can't possibly see how the expense that went into these E3 presentations translated into sales to justify said expense. That may be why Seropian seems to be aligning himself with Gamecock's other E3, which many PR folks may be into as well. Obviously the publishers agree with Seropian, as the monstrous E3 has morphed into the more managable Min-E3; although, given the map of the showfloor, this new Min-E3 may not even be big enough to justify that name. It's more like E3 in your pocket -- Pok-É3-mon?
Joystiq interviews Wideload Games' Alex Seropian
As one of the first to leave Bungie Studios after co-founding the developer, Alex Seropian transitioned from creating Xbox's then-surprising megahit Halo to starting afresh with Wideload Games, a small development firm he founded in Chicago. After finding success with the humorous Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (which sports a pretty hip soundtrack, we might add), Wideload went silent until earlier this week, when they revealed Hail to the Chimp as their sophomore title. The game, which is a political-party title involving animals vying to become head of the animal kingdom, is being published by the fowl-loving, former Gathering of Developer heads now known as Gamecock. With the candor and humor, Alex endured bad audio quality to talk to Joystiq about gaming, politics, and chicken suits. How did the Gamecock deal come about? I've known Mike Wilson for a number of years back to the Gathering of Developer days, and we kind of became friends back then when we were both working with Take Two. This is when I was running Bungie; we had a distribution deal with Take Two, like Gathering did. We've kept in touch for a long time and he kind of gave me some fair warning that he was going to try and get something started up again about a year ago, which is about the same time we were coming off of Stubbs and planning our next project. We were trying to figure if it would be possible to do something together and the timing worked out really well, and the whole way that they are set up and the things that are important to them kind of aligned really nicely with how we're set up and what's important to us. It was like getting our chocolate and their peanut butter or something. [Laughs]
Stubbs developer unveils new title: Hail to the Chimp
Claiming to be bringing "the party back in party politics for the first time since the Caligula Administration," Wideload Games announced that its next title will be Hail to the Chimp, a four-player party game where players vie to become the new leader of the Animal Kingdom. The website is live but currently lacking anything other than the main page.Little else is known about the title. The press release promises online play (still only four players) and that they are expecting a Spring 2008 launch for an as-of-yet unnamed new-gen console. It will be published by Gamecock, who promptly broke through a wall and danced the funky chicken to someone playing "No One Knows" on Guitar Hero.Wideload Games have previously only published one title, the heralded gem Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse. The company was founded by Alex Seropian, whose previously co-founded Bungie Studios and headed up development of Halo.
Gamecock: former 'G.O.D.' heads launch indie-friendly publisher
Former Gathering of Developers executives Mike Wilson and Harry Miller are buck-buck-bucking the trend of safe bets (major licenses and sequels), founding an "independent, artist-driven" game publishing company dubbed Gamecock Media Group. "At least they're not infringing on my trademark: Gamepecker," approved Joystiq's Chris Grant. The Gamecock brand is symbolic of Wilson and Miller's "keep it fun" attitude, explained a rep from the 'cock pen,' adding that "Gamecock will just be a little name on the back [of the box]." This is an effort to spotlight independent developers and offer these studios the necessary freedom and financial incentives to contribute original content to the industry. "[Things] are getting stale. We aim to change that," vowed Wilson. Gamecock has announced the following five titles, which it plans to publish during the next few years, spanning PC, consoles, and handhelds: Fury (Auran) - PvP MMO game for PC; scheduled for release during 2007 holiday season Insecticide (Crackpot Entertainment) - film noir action-adventure game set in a decaying world run by bugs; available for the 2007 holiday season on handheld (TBA) and PC Mushroom Men (Red Fly Studios) - set in an incredibly detailed, stylized world where mushrooms have taken on human-like features and are now embroiled in a civil war; slated for a spring 2008 release on a "next-gen" console and handheld (both TBA) Hail to the Chimp (Wideload Games) - impossible-to-classify party game based on politics in the animal kingdom; scheduled for release in spring 2008 for "next-gen" consoles (TBA) Hero (Firefly Studios) - a brutal, but comical romp through the "real" world of medieval dungeons; coming to a "next-gen" console (TBA) and PC in spring 2009 %Gallery-1590%
Not-so-secret projects probed
FiringSquad has done its best to out 18 high-profile "black ops" projects currently in development. While the site's sleuthing skills might not be up to par with Mr. Holmes', the report does a good job of rounding up under-the-radar titles that are begging for some attention.We'd like to direct the spotlight on two studios in particular: Tim Schafer's DoubleFine and Bungie expats Wideload, which are responsible for Psychonauts and Stubbs the Zombie, respectively (both titles landed in our top 10 'gems' of last generation). The two developers are hard at work on new projects; and with DoubleFine striking a publishing deal with Vivendi, its next game is sure to stir up more buzz (when it's time) than Majesco managed to generate for Psychonauts. Also, we can't wait to see what Warren Spector and Junction Point have under lock and key. Keep those ears (and eyes) glued to the street!
