What do you do once you've created a juggernaut of a game like World of Warcraft? Why, you take everything you know, grab two buddies and start your own company. At least, that's what Mark Kern, William Petras and Taewon Yun have done. As the core team behind the brand new development company Red 5 Studios, these three feel they have what it takes to create a game to rival and perhaps even exceed WOW's impressive achievements.
Red 5 Studios may not be the first company to think they can create the next big thing, but they're the first to come from the current "big thing." Mark Kern was the Team Lead for World of Warcraft, and William Petras was the game's Art Director. Taewon Yun helped found Blizzard Korea and managed the launch of WoW in Asia. As Spot778 reported earlier, saying WOW is "impressive" is an understatement at $52 million a month. Chances are, Kern and gang decided it would be better to have a cut of something like that than to keep punching the old time clock. (It's good to be the King)
The early plan for the new company is to build on what they already know. “Our work on World of Warcraft has really opened up people’s eyes to the potential of online gaming in huge, persistent worlds,” says Kern. “We want to continue to shape the future of online gaming by tapping into new worldwide trends and pushing the limits of our creativity.”
This trio has more than 30 years of experience in game development, and not just any old games. We're talking about games that steal your life away, like Diablo, Starcraft, Warcraft, and, of course, World of Warcraft.
Not much detail is available right now, but perhaps an excerpt from a previous IGN Insider interview with Kern sums up the new company's goals. While WOW was still in Beta, Kern was asked what lessons they had learned so far.
"...we learned many things about how people play the game. We found that we had to create different types of play experiences for different play styles...We also wanted to make sure that no matter what your play style, you would always have something interesting to do when you logged in, and that you could still achieve the maximum level in the game no matter how you preferred to play." (Link to complete interview: http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/432/432771p1.html )
If you don't think these guys know how to build games, then I'm guessing you stumbled onto this site while trying to look up your urologist at 2old2pee.com.
It'll be a long time before we see any games from this brand new company. But, if you are a MMORPG fan, then the mere thought of having a second development company built by some of Blizzard's Top Dogs has to leave the taste of carnage and Orc blood in your mouth. (A little Listerine will clear that right up)
Incidentally, if you want to be a part of the team that challenges Blizzard's dominance, Red 5 Studios is hiring. Their e-mail address for interested parties is info@red5studios.com.
Their website is http://www.red5studios.com/
The early plan for the new company is to build on what they already know. “Our work on World of Warcraft has really opened up people’s eyes to the potential of online gaming in huge, persistent worlds,” says Kern. “We want to continue to shape the future of online gaming by tapping into new worldwide trends and pushing the limits of our creativity.”
This trio has more than 30 years of experience in game development, and not just any old games. We're talking about games that steal your life away, like Diablo, Starcraft, Warcraft, and, of course, World of Warcraft.
Not much detail is available right now, but perhaps an excerpt from a previous IGN Insider interview with Kern sums up the new company's goals. While WOW was still in Beta, Kern was asked what lessons they had learned so far.
"...we learned many things about how people play the game. We found that we had to create different types of play experiences for different play styles...We also wanted to make sure that no matter what your play style, you would always have something interesting to do when you logged in, and that you could still achieve the maximum level in the game no matter how you preferred to play." (Link to complete interview: http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/432/432771p1.html )
If you don't think these guys know how to build games, then I'm guessing you stumbled onto this site while trying to look up your urologist at 2old2pee.com.
It'll be a long time before we see any games from this brand new company. But, if you are a MMORPG fan, then the mere thought of having a second development company built by some of Blizzard's Top Dogs has to leave the taste of carnage and Orc blood in your mouth. (A little Listerine will clear that right up)
Incidentally, if you want to be a part of the team that challenges Blizzard's dominance, Red 5 Studios is hiring. Their e-mail address for interested parties is info@red5studios.com.
Their website is http://www.red5studios.com/
