Today GamaSutra published a list of what they see as 20 companies that have done something interesting enough to catapult them into “breakthough” status in 2008. A company I’m currently working with, Grasshopper Manufacture, is on that list likely due to No More Heroes. The action game was very well reviewed and was released earlier this year (I didn’t work on it). So congratulations to Grasshopper! I’m still fascinated at how Suda51 – we just call him Suda-san – has created his celebrity game designer persona. It’s more than just leading the creation of interesting games. He’s a smart guy and there are some important lessons to be learned from him.
Another company on the list is 2D Boy, the creators of World of Goo. I judged that game for the Independent Game Festival last year and gave it high marks. I recently had the opportunity to have dinner with Ron Carmel, one of 2D Boy’s founders, in Tokyo. We ate delicious tempura in Shinjuku then drank in the shanty bars of Golden Gai. Good times. Anyways, speaking to him and hearing about what he and his partner has been up to was inspirational. Two talented developers took a fun idea – with proven success in a simple demo that became popular on the internet – and took a big risk in creating it. They quit their jobs at EA leaving behind cushy salaries to work for very little money. Their reward was working to develop exactly what they wanted to make – their project.
World of Goo is now scheduled to be released on Wii Ware and PC in multiple countries so I have to say in this case the risk they took has turned to fortune. Congratulations, 2D Boy!
“I’m still fascinated at how Suda51 – we just call him Suda-san – has created his celebrity game designer persona. It’s more than just leading the creation of interesting games. He’s a smart guy and there are some important lessons to be learned from him.”
I for one would like to hear some of these lessons straight from someone who knows the man himself :) I’m always wanting to learn more about self-promotion!