Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

“There are a lot of those ‘Ohh! Wow!’ moments,” Cuthbertson interjected. “Along with the ‘Wait a minute…hold on I’ll work on that’ ideas as well. We continue to grow because we’re constantly bouncing ideas off of each other. The people that we’ve gathered together have a passion, and we’re not just co-workers at this point. 38 Studios is like a big family, and it’s easier for us to foster these ideas in this sort of familial atmosphere.”

According to the four individuals I interviewed, 38 Studios has really collected a wholesome group of folks who are very excited to work together and more than happy to share ideas. The game is progressing because that sort of family organization is making it easy for the entire team to make their ideas work. “It’s really a diverse group with a multitude of different skills and talents,” Kirchoff said. “As individuals they’re all fantastic, but when we all get together they really create something special.”

Brett and Mary wait for their turn to respond.

And developing a tremendous product is much easier when you have a solid amount of funding, which is the case with the crew at 38 Studios. Through Schilling and the teams various business contacts, 38 Studios has acquired an amount of funding that has allowed them to truly explore what other companies might have turned squeamish about. “We’re in a position, partially because of our funding and partially because of the visionaries involved and creating a world with an original unique IP, in which we’re really open-ended as far as what we’re doing. We don’t have a publisher breathing down our necks and so we have the freedom to really go ‘Wow, we can do that.’”

Having grand visions of an immense world is certainly attainable by 38 Studios, but creating a game with technological limitations in mind is another ball game altogether. When I asked the quartet whether they had to limit themselves based on the technological aspect, they answered my question without hesitancy. “Really there are moments when we have to do a reality check and refocus our ideas,” Cuthebertson said. “But from our background we inherently know what we can and can’t do with the technology that’s out there.

“However, with that in mind we don’t have a publisher breathing down our necks to make us bring a certain game to the marketplace nor are the individual members of the team doing this completely alone. It’s easy for a designer to write something on a piece of paper, but we work as a team, and we’re interested in brining a functional video game to the market when the time comes.”

When the game does ship to retailers across the nation, rest assured that this won’t be a mere video game that comes to your doorstep or into you game-playing hands. The slogan behind 38 Studios is

Scott and Chaz listening to me ramble on and look to answer my question.

“World Domination Through Gaming”, which means there will be a much larger reception for the 38 Studios MMOG than a single video game. It’s been mentioned (perhaps in one of the "Vision" videos) that 38 Studios will be busting into the entertainment industry on multiple levels and genres of entertainment. According to the panel, nothing has been ignored in that game plan. “I mean, the obvious candidates are books, toys, and comics,” Kirchoff said. “Everything is out there, and we’re really just waiting to see if those are avenues that we want to pursue on our own or allow other companies to leverage our IP into various other products.”

“When you have control of the intellectual property, the freedom is very broad on what you can do with that property,” Close added. And it never hurts to have some true visionaries as part of your team, either.