I'd like to think that gaming is still in its infancy stage and will have a chance to grow. I just think there are a lot of factors against that happening. As an interactive medium, there's really nothing else that's comparable. Sports perhaps, and I think there's an argument to be made that some sports or sporting events can be considered art, but again, I'd like to think that gaming is deeper than just competition.

I do think the day will come where games as a medium can be considered art, but we're going to have to solve some pretty big issues before that happens. We need to find ways of financing games other than through the traditional publisher/developer relationship. He who controls the money controls the power, and all too often that power is tied up into market research whitewashing innovation or making copy-cat titles that chase the latest hot trend and not with the creators trying to put their ideas on the screen.

The rest of the interview — on starting a new studio, developing Critter, and talk about the studio in general — is an interesting and reasonably quick read.

Interview with Epicenter Studios [GameCritics.com]

Still, the genre is largely underrepresented. That's going to change with the release of Real Heroes: Engine Company 13 for the Nintendo Wii, now in development at Epicenter Studios. The title promises a "visceral game experience" as players use the Wii remote as an ax to chop down doors as well as put our fires with powerful hoses. It even has Jaws of Life support! Surely, this must be a first.

No visual details yet, as the game isn't scheduled to appear until the fourth quarter of 2008, but we're looking forward to seeing how this whole "Thinking Fire" thing works. I'm also hoping for plenty of cat saving and parade participating mini-games! Michael McWhertor

Game Developer Epicenter Studios Announces Real Heroes: Engine Company 13

REAL HEROES INTRODUCES EPICENTER'S "THINKING FIRE" TECHNOLOGY

Los Angeles, CA, June 19, 2007 - Epicenter Studios announced today its development of Real Heroes: Engine Company 13 (working title) exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. Real Heroes puts players in the soon-to-be soot-stained boots of a rookie firefighter who has just been assigned to a busy metropolitan fire station. Players will be pressed into the line of duty by saving lives and protecting their squad at all costs in an escalating array of life-threatening situations.

Featuring Epicenter's proprietary "Thinking Fire" technology, Real Heroes' fires will almost seem alive as they not only attack structures, potential victims and firefighters, but also cause unexpected changes to the environments that will suddenly alter the player's options and strategies as no two scenarios will play out the same way. Success will depend equally on the player's mastery of realistic firefighting tools and techniques as well as the player's own ability to think and react quickly under pressure.

"Combining our unique fire tech with the specific strengths of the Wii console was a natural choice for us as we designed Real Heroes," says Bryan Jury, CCO, Epicenter Studios. "The Wii-mote makes hacking down doors with your axe and prying victims loose from wrecked cars with the Jaws of Life® an absolutely visceral game experience."

"Firefighting requires a lot more than spraying down fires," notes Epicenter CEO, Nathaniel McClure, "so we've included several game-integral puzzles to mirror the challenges and on-the-fly choices firefighters actually face in the midst of a blaze."

Real Heroes is intense without being violent or gratuitously graphic. "We have tremendous respect for firefighters," states McClure, "so we've focused on its unique, exciting gameplay and distinctive art style to create an engaging game without being exploitative."

Epicenter Studios has received initial funding for Real Heroes: Engine Company 13 and is currently in development. Real Heroes is expected to be available at retail in Q4 2008. Epicenter Studios is represented by Union Entertainment.

About Epicenter Studios
Epicenter Studios, headquartered in Southern California, was founded in March 2007 by talent from, among other titles, the commercially successful, critically acclaimed Call of Duty franchise.

About Union Entertainment
Union Entertainment is the only talent management and production company specializing in video games. Based in Hollywood, California, Union has been instrumental in designing, packaging, writing, developing and/or producing video games that have amassed over half-a-billion dollars at retail.