QUOTE | “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.” - Hinterland Studio’s Raphael van Lierop talks about dealing with the toxic atmosphere on Reddit and social networks when guiding The Long Dark from Early Access to finished product.
STAT | $500 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 $1m 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 | $19 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.