ghost master
the kawaiist thing
Giant Bite Games Founded by Key Talent from Halo, Halo 2 and Half Life
SEATTLE, WA (March 8th, 2006) – Giant Bite Games (www.giantbite.com), a next generation game development studio focusing on the creation of excellent games and a fun workplace, formally opens its doors today. Giant Bite is founded by game industry veterans Hamilton Chu, Michael Evans, Andy Glaister, and Steve Theodore. The principals have helped to create some of the best-known games in the world, including Halo, Halo 2, Half-Life and Counter-Strike, as well as making key contributions to Microsoft’s DirectX technologies.
Giant Bite’s executive team has shipped over thirty games with over twenty million units sold. With titles to their credit dating back to 1982, Giant Bite has a tremendous depth of experience from which to draw. Hamilton Chu was Lead Producer at Bungie during the making of Halo and Halo 2. Michael Evans worked on Halo and Halo 2 as Multiplayer Lead and Lead Engineer. Andy Glaister was the Director of Development for the Microsoft Game Studios and led the engineering team of Windows Graphics and Gaming. Steve Theodore worked on Half Life and Counter-Strike, and most recently was the Technical Art Manager at Zipper Interactive; he also writes the monthly art column for Game Developer magazine.
“We’re proud of our work at Bungie, Microsoft and Zipper” says Michael Evans, “It was amazing to work with such fantastic teams on games that turned out so successfully. And now, we’re excited to build something of our own.”
“Giant Bite will keep the traditions of world class production values and cohesive game play. We see a great opportunity to build the sort of company that we always wanted to work for” adds Andy Glaister.
Giant Bite is currently in discussions regarding its first project.
http://giantbite.com/
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12059&rp=49Exclusive Q&A with Hamilton Chu
Shortly after the news broke today we got in touch with Giant Bite's Hamilton Chu to find out a bit more about the new studio's goals and strategy for success. The interview follows below.
GameDaily BIZ: So where did the name Giant Bite come from?
Hamilton Chu: Well, we debated for weeks, considering every aspect of our new name. It had to be catchy and memorable, fun yet dignified, unique but easy to spell. Finally we came up with the perfect name and started running ahead full steam -- we incorporated, set up our web server, got our logo, the whole deal. Unfortunately, a few weeks later we found out that someone was already using the name. So, we ended up going with Giant Bite. But now we love Giant Bite. Really really love it. We can't even remember why we might have ever wanted a different name. Honestly!
BIZ: Your members have worked on some of the most popular first-person shooters in the industry. Is your focus at Giant Bite going to be on FPS titles?
HC: We certainly have a lot of experience in the FPS genre. However, I think more important is our experience in creating deep and polished game play. Some of our games may include FPS elements, but every single one of our games will have the world-class production values we helped to create in Halo, Halo 2 and Half-Life.
BIZ: Which platforms do you intend to create games for? Do you have a preference?
HC: Every platform has its positive features. We're luckier than many studios, because we've already got hands-on familiarity with the Xbox 360, the PS3, and Windows Vista. We've also been following the Revolution closely. Our specific platform decisions will come down to what is best for a specific project.
BIZ: What can you tell us about your first project? What kind of game is it and when do you expect it to ship?
HC: Our first project will be an epic and enthralling action game. We are going to build on our founders' track-record in creating world-class production values in the tradition of Halo, Halo 2, Half-Life and Counterstrike.
BIZ: What have your experiences with the Halo and Half-Life franchises taught you about the game development process? Any lessons learned that will be even more important now as the industry heads towards the next generation?
HC: Something that I think we've taken away from our past projects is the importance of an unwavering focus on the player experience. You definitely need great core game mechanics, but you also need to make sure the overall experience is good. It's key to pay attention to details like making sure the loading times aren't egregious, that the learning ramp is both easy and interesting, that there are great moments to tell your friends about so you enjoy it even the next day.
BIZ: With the cost of making games increasing and publishers being afraid to take risks with new IP, it can be difficult for independent developers in today's market. What's your strategy to be successful as an independent studio?
HC: We strongly believe that gamers are willing to buy games from new studios. Half-Life and Halo were both new IP and did tremendously well. Publishers recognize that there are still opportunities for break out hits to be successful in today's climate. We are excited to have a chance to show publishers and ultimately fans that we are going to make something really fun and exciting.
BIZ: What has publisher interest been like for you? Does your first project have a publisher yet?
HC: So far, we have had great publisher response. Talks are ongoing, and we don't yet have anything to announce regarding a publishing partnership.
BIZ: Have you thought about releasing your games on your own via online download? What are your thoughts on digital distribution? A lot of indie studios seem to be embracing it...
HC: Digital distribution is a great way of reducing the cost of getting content to the end user. But this is only a small part of the costs involved in developing, marketing, pushing and supporting a AAA game title. We are looking forward to working with a publisher to see how we can leverage online community and digital distribution to help better connect with our player community.
BIZ: Anything you'd like to add about Giant Bite?
HC: "One small bite for man, one Giant Bite for mankind."
BIZ: Thanks for your time, and good luck with Giant Bite.
Anyway just thought this might catch yalls eye. This definitly seems interesting. Hopefully it finds a publisher. I cant wait to learn more about this new developer and there new project. Although they'll need more people to hire it should still be interesting.