“We should be out there, and we want to be out there. But I’ll draw the line, also beyond a certain point, I don’t think I owe people to be a punching bag for them when they’re feeling upset.” That’s Hinterland Studio’s Raphael van Lierop talking about dealing with the toxic atmosphere on Reddit and social networks when guiding The Long Dark from Early Access to finished product.
STAT | $US500 ($633) million – The amount an Australian casino company paid for the Israeli mobile developer Plarium, which you might know from Vikings: War of Clans. Then again, maybe not…
QUOTE | “The key for me is doing things that are personally meaningful. I was damn well going to make Epic Mickey even if everybody in the world hated me for it, and even if it sold one copy to my mother. I had to make that game and I had to make Deus Ex. And I feel that way about System Shock.” – For veteran designer Warren Spector, online toxicity doesn’t matter nearly as much if you really care about the game you’re making.
QUOTE | “When someone invades your personal space, when someone gropes at your private areas…it really freaks you out. It’s counter-intuitive; most people don’t seem to believe it until they experience it, but it’s very real. Physical harassment in VR can be really intense.” – Against Gravity‘s Cameron Brown on the unique problems the studio faced when building an inclusive community in Rec Room.
STAT | 100% – The return on investment for Fig’s first funded game released, Kingdoms and Castles, which generated $US1m in two weeks.
QUOTE | “We want esports to feel more like little league or football, where people are playing at all levels, from childhood to the pros.” – Jeremy Dunham, VP of Publishing at Psyonix, on the Rocket League developer’s vision for the future of esports.
QUOTE | “In the same way you might expect Gandalf or Harry Potter to focus in order to get into a state of mind that will allow them to cast powerful battle magic, that’s exactly what’s happening here with our audience.” – Simon Fox of BfB Labs explaining his studio’s heart-tracking device for mobile gaming.
STAT | $US19 ($24) million – The latest amount of funding raised by Vainglory developer Super Evil Megacorp, which plans to further invest in its “console-grade” E.V.I.L. engine.
QUOTE | “Crash has surpassed all of our expectations by a pretty wide margin.” – Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg talking about the remastering trend in the games business that’s paying dividends for publishers.
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