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Schilling, Salvatore, McFarlane Form Game Studio
simoniker writes "Baseball legend and avid MMO fan Curt Schilling is forming a new Boston-based video game company, Green Monster Games, with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and noted sci-fi/fantasy author R.A. Salvatore. They're going to create what is described as 'industry-changing games'. Schilling, who is the pitcher for the World Series-winning Boston Red Sox, is already known for his online game interest (he is a long-time EverQuest/EverQuest II player), so is evidently extending this to form a video game developer."
I was hoping their initials would come into play. "S S&M Games" or something.
For those less sports-savvy: Green Monster
McFarlane is reknowned for pushing the limits of art in all he does. When he first hit the comic scene on a grand scale doing Amazing Spiderman, he quite literally redefined the artist's role. Before him, only Art Adams had pushed the limits so much in the late 80's. Once McFarlane got too big for his britches, he left to do his own Spiderman series and finally off to Image to do Spawn. Once at Image, he did draw and write Spawn for a time until he became more interested in the business side of things, working towards a toy company (the premier action figure company in my opinion) with toys that were incredibly detailed on a level nearly unsurpassed. They are now the standard other figures are judged by today. He then moved into the realm of animation, with his hit Spawn cartoon and even doing some videos for the likes of Pearl Jam. His talent and business selse could really push the boundaries of in game art. However, as much as he would like to be, he is not the greatest write, but enter RA Salvatore and we have a very well respected Fantasy writer. The two merging their right brain talents really offers this start up most companies lacked. Artistic direction. The key will be in whom they hire and the types of games they are interested in developing.
I don't know much about the baseball legend, but having his name and money behind the project can't be a bad thing. Let's hope that this is not vaporware in the making, but that they do come out with at least one really hot and solid game, soon!
I would not be surprised if we start seeing more ventures like this either. While it may just be in an investment roll, the more money and people making games can only help to further the industry.
Invexi - a Phoenix, AZ based web design and web development company.
Maybe Todd could call up Seth... Inject a little humor into it as well.
I can't wait until they release the game in five limited-edition, sparkling covers, with another five limited-edition online add-ons. Collect all 25!!!
Then of course there will be no resale value if you've actually opened the game...
I had the opportunity to live with Salvatore's younger son last year. . . and while I didn't care for the kid, I've got to say that his dad is incredibly awesome. He nabbed us some free swag from Sony and promised to tweak any EQ chars we created - his kid's chars were evidence of this. So while I don't know a lot about the others, I can say that Salvatore's got some serious gamer cred. . . say what you will about his novels, the guy is good. We'll ignore Demonstone for now, Mr. S. :)
[Terribly witty statement]
Does this sound like a bad to anyone else? These guys are all out of their element. To their credit, Schilling and Salvatore both have some business experience in the pen and paper realm, but that's not neccessarily going to translate into software success. If I had to bet money here, I'd wager that this company is a place for Schilling to dump money that would otherwise be spent paying taxes.
In addition to Schilling's love of Everquest, he also started his own company to produce supplements/scenarios/modules for various tactical board games like Advanced Squad Leader. I wouldn't be surprised if one of this new company's first games is some sort of tactical combat ala Myth or a more traditional RTS game. Given Salvatore's involvement, it'd likely be some sort of Fantasy based venture.
Both Curt Schilling and R. A. Salvatore are former/current/long-time Everquest players. I'm very excited to see what they come up with.
You put on the +4 Bloody Sock. You throw the fastball.
but seriously. Kind of a weird group of people, but it'll be interesting to see what they come up with.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
Smell's like Daikatana.
To Schilling / McFarlane:
Need an Interactive Media and Game Development intern?
Sigs are for Terrorists.
...my Drizzt Do'Urden books and my collection of glass dragons for their front office!
"I'm an old-fashioned type of guy. I worship the Sun and Moon as gods. And fear them."
If these guys can pull it off, great. We can always use another good, solid development house kicking games out. Unfortunately, there's still a world of difference between being an avid gamer and being a game developer, and a similar degree of difference between being an artist on paper and being an artist in three dimensions.
Does anyone else think a combination of baseball, MMOs, comics, and sci-fi/fantasy sounds exactly like the formula for every major publisher's current product lineup? That's not to say they might not make some very good games in these genres, but they're probably going to make games in roughly the same mold as, well, games.
When Henry Kissinger and Rikki Lake team up with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to make video games, we'll talk "industry-changing".
If two medical doctors can get together and form a successful company like Bioware then a baseball player, comic book legend and fantasy author should be able to do something other than sound like a bad geek-joke punchline. Best of luck to them as long as they can push out something good.
Huh? I can only presume you are under 25 years old and implicitly disdain history. The only thing Todd has done which many many other writer/artists (Joe Kubert, John Byrne, Frank Miller, etc) hadn't already done before him was to set up his own merchandising company. While that's very nice for his wallet, it has nothing to do with "pushing the limits of art".
Multiman Publishing, a company Schilling apparently owns a large part of, publishes a lineup of strategy games. I think they acquired most of them from Avalon Hill. These are the kinds of games played with cardboard counters on hex-tiled maps.
I wrote parts of this stuff
Long before Schilling became the Man for the Red Sox, he was an avid board war gamer. I knew him as a fellow Squad Leader fanatic back before computer gaming was much more than Zork. He already owns a gaming company for hard-core SL players, MultimanPublishing. In short, he Really knows games, I'm really looking forward to see where he and the rest of the crew goes with this.
Steven
I think this is a great idea. Most of the complains in regards to video games today is they are just sequels and have very few new ideas. Here's the potential for something new. McFarlane and Salvatore are very creative people and now have financial backing to create something new. They might be new to creating video games, but I'm willing to overlook that if it's creative.
Here is what happened the last time Todd McFarlane tried to make a video game. Go about three-quarters into the video to see it.
Rob
How could this story run with no comments mentioning Bingbong and Doug Glanville ?
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http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stark_jayson/12012
Slashdot was all over this when it happened:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/05/19/21362
Schilling is a great pitcher, McFarlane is a great artist, Salvatore is a great writer (screw you for what you did in Vector prime.... still pissed)
Why does this sound like a chance to watch a epic disaster from the begining. It's like the hindenburg only starting from when they started working on the airship. Titanic as the first beam is laid down.
All I can say is this will be hilarious. None of these guys know anything about programming (McFarlane's work with Soul Calibur doesn't count), and unless they are working with RPG Maker, I can already see arguements between these three and their programming team. I can also see no arguements, and people given free reign as programmers. Either way we're talking landmark disaster the size of Daikatana, but with out the retarded lead programmer.
In other news, yeaaa green monster, GO SOXES!
Does Samuel L Jackson play EvE-Online?
EA aquires Green Monster Games, spreads their staff far and wide and sets them making Madden 08.
;)?
Okay, well not just yet, give them a week maybe
Nothing says "Winning game design" like 3 random celebrities who have no idea what they're doing... am I right?
The odds of anything palattable coming out of this studio are staggering.
Will I be able to do a lip trick off a giant human skull into a burning vagina?
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!