Studio To Watch: Robomodo
Keep your eyes on these guys…big things are coming:
With a logo like that, would you expect any less?
Tuesday night, I attended Robomodo’s presentation of “How to Start a Game Studio (or, Holy Crap, I just lost my job… now what?)” at a Chicago IGDA meeting. While they weren’t legally allowed to mention the title they’re working on*, Robomodo is currently partnered with Activision Blizzard (anyone else think it’s strange to see those two names together already?) and working on a next-gen title. Pretty spiffy for a team of about 30 guys who, around this time last year, were getting the news that their jobs at EA were vanishing right along with the Chicago offices.
They’re the new kids on the Chicago gaming scene – their website still consists of a single page with a call for talented designers and a vague hint at their current project – but expect big things from Robomodo. Despite the casual-sounding title of the lecture I just attended, these aren’t just some amateurs who threw together a studio because they couldn’t snag entry-level jobs; the team at Robomodo boasts an average of 10+ years industry experience, and most of the guys worked together at EA, Midway, and Studio Gigante.
Extensive networking, professional packaging, and a solid and experienced team (along with a super proactive attitude) landed Robomodo a project with Activision less than six months after they formed. After that game ships, the guys are heading full-speed toward production on their own original IP. As a Chicagoan and an aspiring game dev, I’m excited to see what’s on the horizon.
* Internet speculation suggests that it’s the next installment of Tony Hawk
I say console version of Diablo III, Activision HAS to cash in on that.
Wouldn’t that be nice? I’m guessing it’s not, though, because (a) there have already been some rumors online that it’s Tony Hawk, (b) the deal was made with Activision before the Activision-Blizzard thing happened, and (c) D3 is so early in its dev cycle that a console version seems super unlikely, plus only Windows and Mac versions have been mentioned at this point (and previous installments of the Diablo series were not console games).
Ya I know and Blizzard is CRAZY if they don’t let activision port it. Activision must want to as they have ported many console games and would like to take advantage of the new merger.
and actually the first diablo was on PS1 published by EA Developed/Ported by Climax so who knows, fingers crossed, I’ve never played previous Diablos.
Point…I misspoke. I meant that at the time of release, most Blizzard titles have been PC/Mac only. It’s kinda their thing, and it’s been working for them well enough (so far) that they haven’t had a serious need to port to consoles.
I have mixed feelings on the idea. On one hand, if people would buy it, it could be a smart move. On the other hand, I don’t know if I’d play console versions of Diablo or StarCraft or any of Blizzard’s staple titles if they were made available. I’m too accustomed to my mouse-and-keyboard arrangement, and I can’t see how the quality of the gameplay would be improved on a console.
Also, I feel like trying to standardize battle.net across multiple platforms would be a nightmare.
Agreed, if it was done it would be several months after the pc/mac release to push pc/mac sells and than maybe have its own console online most likely not even cross platform.
I see where you’re going with that, but as a user, it would bother me. If I’m playing D3 on my 360 and my friend is playing it on her PC, I’ll be annoyed that I can’t have a multiplayer game with her (just like how it’s annoying that I can’t play GTA4 multiplayer with my friends who have the PS3 version – although I feel like multiplayer is a bigger deal with the Diablo games than with GTA4).
Someone beat me to it. . I was also going to point out Diablo on PS1 (If only because that was the first time I played Diablo. I have faint memories of me doing all the work and my brother stealing all the treasure . Sigh. ) I enjoyed playing it on the PC much more, though. I didn’t like the way it controlled on the console.
either way they should seriously look into cross platform online multiplayer but I may never touch diablo III unless it goes console so I’m crossing my fingers and I can’t imagine activision isn’t thinking the same thing. Robomodo is awesome, a chicago based developer for big Activision-Blizzard (yes I still feel weird saying that) go Robomodo.
“cross platform online multiplayer” that would be a beautiful thing! and as soon as you all get in the industry don’t forget your buddy smiles