EDIT#1- Just to be clear, the port of TM:HEAD ON does NOT count as our first title in the Sony 3 game deal...it's a port we are doing and THEN we start full time work on game #1. But unless the powers that be shoot us down mid-pro, we know what game #1 will be, the concept art is fucking amazing, and I am crazy in love with game #1 already. Hope ya'll like it when you see it in a bit...
Edit #2- Ok, so my comic-con post is coming soon but I can't contain my excitement so:
How fucking cool is that?!?!
Ok, back to the original post:
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So, as some of you may have heard, today is my last day at Sony.
After 14 years, I’m leaving the mothership that has protected me, nurtured me, sustained me, taught me, and- in the early days when I was an insecure kid who didn’t know any better-defined me.
Scott Campbell and I are starting a new games company called EAT SLEEP PLAY. We're teaming up with a host of the key folks from the Twisted Metal games (not to mention many of the other great Incognito/Singletrac games) and trying to give this indy game thing a shot! I’ve worked with these folks- on and off- for about 13 years and we figured it was high time to pull back the sheets and jump into bed together all permanent like.
We have a 3 game console/handheld exclusive deal with Sony and hope to have our first original game out sometime in 2008. In the meantime, we’ll be putting out a port of TWISTED METAL: HEAD ON this Xmas season. The port- going from PSP to PS2- is pretty cool for a port because:
- It has the original HEAD ON title but it’s now running at 60fps and has resed up textures as well as some gameplay tweaks.
- It has 5-7 levels from the never released TWISTED METAL BLACK: PART II.
- It has a documentary on the history of the series.
So for a port, we think it’s a pretty sweet package and a pretty good deal. We're also trying to get the powers that be to throw in an art book that ships with the game (nothing fancy,just something packed in with the disc).
So the new company will be based out of Utah, but I’ll remain here in San Diego, working from my home office. No real difference between the way I’ve worked with SingleTrac/Incog over the years, so we don’t expect much to change, other than the fact that all of us now own a piece of the company.
Again, we are working with Sony and that just feels great. We met with some other interested parties but at the end of the day, Sony is our home, our family, and we’re really thrilled and honored they wanted to work with us and continue the relationship we’ve spent almost 15 years cultivating. So in many ways, it’s like very little has changed, other than the pay cut ☺.
But it’s what we wanted: to go independent and see where we could steer our very own ship. Granted, our new ship is no longer the grand, unstoppable beast that is Sony. Instead, it’s a smaller vessel, scrappy even, manned with a crew of experienced sailors who felt the need to venture out into the unknown seas and and see what we could see. And the cool thing is, a small as our ship is, it’s not the least bit scary. It’s exciting as hell. It feels right; like the time is right, the crew is ready, and the grand voyage is just beginning.
As always, I hope you guys/gals will join us on our journey (ok, enough with the shitty metaphor). As soon as I can reveal more about our new titles, I will share all. Maybe in the next 8-12 months, I would imagine, but who knows.
Anyway, so there’s my big news. As I said, it’s really big news for us, we’re real excited, and we hope our new company name- Eat Sleep Play- becomes synonymous with some of the most fun games of the future.
Ok, my oldest kid is awake. Gotta get her dressed for the day, then head upstairs to report for my first official day of work ☺. Oh, and stay tuned for my ‘report’ from Comic Con. I had a BLAST yesterday. I wish I could go back today for day #2, but hell, I got games to design! ☺
Talk to ya’ll later!
David