Hero's Song Kickstarter Campaign Launched, John Smedley Resurfaces
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When he departed Daybreak Games last year, former Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley reassured us that we hadn't seen the last of him. And he made good on that promise today when he resurfaced as the founder of a new studio called Pixelmage Games, whose debut effort will be a fantasy roguelike with a 2D pixel style entitled Hero's Song. To fund the game's development, the studio is currently seeking $800,000 on Kickstarter, and we learn more about the project from an interview on GamesIndustry.biz:
The team of 13 is expected to grow as production ramps up in the coming months, and in fact, Pixelmage intends to finish and release Hero's Song this October. The company has raised $1 million in funding from private investors and is seeking another $800,000 via Kickstarter.
If Kickstarter fails, however, Smedley told GamesIndustry.biz that they intend to complete the game, regardless. For Pixelmage, Kickstarter is just as much about building a community as it is raising funds. "We have commitments for more [funding] if it's neccessary. We came to Kickstarter because we felt that there are a lot of players out there who very much care about gameplay and are looking for the kind of immersive experience we're making. We feel that building a community of people who want to come along for the ride as we build this first game and who want to see us succeed is a great way to get our game funded as opposed to going to a publisher. That may be the traditional route, but honestly being a publisher is highly overrated these days. A lot of the big success stories are coming out of the smaller indie companies," noted Smedley.
For Smedley, the change of pace from the AAA space must be refreshing. Striking out on his own to form a new studio was something he felt compelled to do.
"I'm excited beyond belief about starting a company. I absolutely loved my time at SOE / Daybreak, but I have games I want to make and I'm feeling that sense of urgency to do it on my own. I'm also excited to be working with some insanely talented people who are veterans in the industry in their own right," he said.
Looking back at the AAA space he's left behind, he added, "Making AAA games is a lot of fun. The budgets and the risk really get up there, but it's a part of building really successful franchises. In my heart, I'm a game maker first and foremost, so getting to be creative in the way I want outweighs the need to spend a ton of money. I've always had a deep fascination with AI and I want to make a game where you feel like you're exploring a real world that actually exists. I can do that easily with the way we've chosen to build the game."
