Charles E. Shoemaker/The Gazette
Tester Jason Frederick tries to get the kinks out of a game at Day 1 Studio in Sparks.
|
A digitally animated soldier fires his weapon into the center of his oncoming, genetically enhanced foes, causing a swirling blue vortex to appear in their midst and rapidly suck up everything in its path — including the would-be hero, who immediately meets his demise.
"I got too close," effects designer Ken Whitman admits sheepishly. Whitman, an employee at Day 1 Studios in Sparks, is the creative mind behind the vortex, which will be seen in the upcoming video console game, "Fracture," set for release next month.
The two men, along with Day 1 Studios itself, illustrate the pool of video game design innovation and talent that is quickly making Maryland a state to watch in the booming gaming industry.
"You can look at game developers as a commodity, and Maryland has created its own hotbed," said Mike McDonald, studio director at the 7-year-old Day 1 Studios, which operates a sister studio in Chicago and employs 140 people.
About five Maryland companies produce AAA or million-unit-selling titles, generating almost $120 million of the nation's $13.5 billion in sales in 2006, according to reports from the Entertainment Software Association in Washington and the NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y. Another handful of smaller companies has also recently emerged, seeking a slice of the casual gaming market. All told, Maryland's gaming companies employ more than 2,200 people, who are paid about $90,000 on average.
Major companies in the state include Day 1 Studios, Firaxis Games in Hunt Valley, Big Huge Games in Timonium, Breakaway Games in Hunt Valley and Bethesda Softworks in Rockville.
"We provide a place for people to do something great," said Steve Martin, president and studio head of Firaxis. "We want people to have fun so they can make it fun for others."
‘An alternate form
of entertainment'
Firaxis, which is held by Take 2 Interactive of New York, has produced more than 24 games and grown from 16 employees in 1996 to 85 in 2008. Focusing on turn-based strategy games such as the wildly popular "Sid Meier's Civilization" by MicroProse, Firaxis hopes to instill a "just one more turn" feeling in its consumers, creating games that can be played numerous times and still be engaging.
"It's an alternate form of entertainment, very new and accessible. It captures a sense of what you can't do but always wanted to," Martin said.
Take 2 Interactive reported $539.8 million in sales among its companies, including Firaxis, in 2007.
Martin emphasized that Maryland companies have more than just a presence in the industry; they have success, attributing the local industry's growth to the business culture established by a company called MicroProse Software in the 1980s.
MicroProse, the state's first major gaming design company, released many titles that continue to be seen as the "greatest games of all time today" and employed most of the people now working at many Maryland gaming companies. Sid Meier, co-founder of MicroProse, left the company after it was sold to Spectrum Holobyte and helped form Firaxis with Jeff Briggs and Bryan Reynolds.
"The culture Sid created is one about fun, not focused on design," said Martin, a former developer at MicroProse. "You're focused on making a game."
Because MicroProse was in Hunt Valley, most of the gaming companies tend to spring up near there.
Tim Train of the 8-year-old Big Huge Games said the company was looking to make a AAA game from its genesis. It has since met its goals with "Rise of Nations," a real-time strategy computer game that has sold more than 1.8 million units and spawned the follow-up, "Rise of Legends." The company was recently purchased by global publisher THQ Inc. of Agoura Hills, Calif., which reported $137.6 million in sales last quarter. Big Huge Games employs 130 people.
"We're making games we want to play," said Train, company president, adding that the strong multi-player online component of the games has always been a major draw. Train started off as a tester at MicroProse when CD-ROMs were making their way into the market.
Train said Maryland provides an ideal environment for gaming companies, offering the tourist allure and "creative vibe" of Baltimore City and the colleges and universities that supply companies with an educated and skilled workforce.
The Maryland Institute College of Art "generates a ton of great artists and the military also brings in the technical side," said Doug Whatley, CEO and owner of Breakaway Games. Whatley was a producer and programmer at MicroProse, where he designed sports games.
Breakaway, which was started 10 years ago and has annual revenues just shy of $11 million, has started moving away from casual gaming into the serious gaming field, where it designs simulation games for the military.
"The entertainment side is hard for independents, especially with the consolidation of publishers," Whatley said. Breakaway, another designer of strategy-based games, has several titles approaching 1.5 million in sold units and employs 100 people.
Whatley said Breakaway's dual nature with serious and casual gaming makes it unique in the field, adding that the innovation involved in making entertainment games keeps its employees fresh with ideas and on the "cutting edge" of technology.
Smaller companies
making waves
While the major companies may receive the most attention, Maryland's smaller companies are not far behind.
The 20-year-old Simultronics in Gaithersburg recently sold its massively multiplayer online development platform, HeroEngine, to HSC Labs of Las Vegas and generated a half-million-dollar profit last year, said Neil Harris, Simultronics executive vice president. Harris said the 55-employee company, which does most of its development work in St. Louis, puts most of its profits back into the business so it can focus on growth.
Young entrepreneurs Arthur Gould and Paul Oliver, both University of Maryland, Baltimore County students, use a similar plan for growth for their startup, Legendary Studios in Anne Arundel County. Although neither had any experience with MicroProse, they say they have benefited from mentorship from former MicroProse employees in the area, emphasizing the communal advantage of the Maryland industry.
Legendary Studios hopes to produce quick, inexpensive games that could serve as the board games of today, such as an eight-player computer racing game called "RC Madness."
"We want our games to be cheaper than renting movies but provide a social aspect," Oliver said. "It's been a lot of work … We had a bunch of stuff fall into place at the right time." Legendary Studios is funded by both men and some private investors.
Whatley cautions young designers that while game design needs to be a priority, they also must think about business development.
"The thing that kills game companies is the gap between projects," he said.
Train also recommended that startups target smaller niche markets rather than shoot for the million-dollar games, which have high development costs.
"Some think of gaming as still in its infancy; it's trying to find its way. But as hardware is becoming more powerful and peripherals start to as well, we might see even more growth," McDonald said.
1982: Bill Stealey and Sid Meier form MicroProse Software in Hunt Valley.
1985: Christopher Weaver forms Bethesda Softworks; moves to Rockville in 1990.
1987: David Whatley forms Simultronics in Gaithersburg.
1993: Spectrum HoloByte acquires MicroProse; Stealey leaves a year later.
1996: Meier leaves MicroProse and forms Firaxis Games in Hunt Valley, with Jeff Briggs.
1998: Doug Whatley forms BreakAway in Hunt Valley.
1999: Zenimax Media acquires Bethesda Studios.
2000: Tim Train, David Inscore, Jason Coleman and Brian Reynolds form Big Huge Games in Timonium.
2001: Denny Thorley, Mike McDonald, TJ Wagner and Jon Kimmich form Day 1 Studios in Sparks and Chicago.
2003: Murray Taylor forms Digital Steamworks in Hunt Valley.
2005: Take-Two Interactive acquires Firaxis.
2007: Arthur Gould and Paul Oliver form Legendary Studios in Anne Arundel County.
2008: THQ acquires Big Huge Games.
