Archives > News Update
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Gamers on the go
A combination of passion for video games and new technology has helped NewToy founders David and Paul Bettner get a 1-up on the video game industry.
By Danny Gallagher, McKinney Courier-Gazette
Some of the biggest and most successful ideas in the video game industry started in the offices of independent developers.
And they don't even have what could be called a conventional office yet, unless you count the McKinney Public Library or the various coffee shops and cafes on the downtown square that offer free Wi-Fi connections.
"It's amazing how productive we can be with these two laptops, an iPhone and that's it," David said as he and his brother sit in the Coffee 'n Cream on West Louisiana Street.
The Bettner Brothers, natives of Miami, Fla., started their game company last year while working for Ensemble Studios in Dallas. David and Paul spent a combined 18 years working as designers on highly popular titles such as "Halo Wars" and the "Age of Empires" series.
It was a perfect job for two guys who spent their whole lives dissecting, designing and digesting video games, Paul said.
"For me, when I was growing up, I thought the computer was the most amazing way to have an idea in my head and make it appear on the screen," Paul said. "I could imagine a game idea and could make it come to life. The computer felt to me like the ultimate paintbrush."
Ensemble brought the entire staff together to develop each title and help them understand and learn gaming concepts that would help them start their own company.
"Ensemble was really good about getting everyone involved in development," David said. "So if you were an artist or level designer or programmer, everyone took part in the development of the game."
"They would also have daily play tests, " Paul added. "They had these big rooms set up with computers and they would take the latest build of the game and have an open call and let us play it. The designers would be there taking notes and getting feedback from people. That's how the game got better and to the point where we thought it was fun."
The iPhone made its worldwide debut in 2007 and presented budding game designers who didn't have access to a million dollar design studio the chance to create and distribute their own games.
"It's just an amazing device," Paul said. "It has a touch screen, an accelerometer so it always knows where it is in space. As a game device, it is revolutionary."
Paul and David saw an opportunity to start their own company with the new device after the release of "Halo Wars." Unfortunately, Microsoft, the parent owners of Ensemble who purchased the game company in 2004, announced with little warning that they were closing the studio and letting go its staff of 200-plus people.
"If we were ever going to have a chance to start our own game company," David said, "this is our chance to take it."
The two left the company and set up shop in McKinney where Paul's wife was born and raised. They focused their titles on what David calls "stop light gaming," games that can be played in three-minute intervals.
"We're not encouraging people to play while driving," David said with a laugh. "Its just games that people can play at a stoplight."
Their first title called "Chess for Friends," a turn-based multiplayer game that lets iPhone users compete in chess matches with their friends through a series of messages that track each turn, has come very far in just a few months. So far, it's been downloaded over 400,000 times from Apple's App Store, received heavy press in MacWorld and Wired Magazine and earned Apple's App Store Pick of the Week.
The brothers are very close to finishing their new "stop light game" called "Words with Friends," a "Scrabble" inspired turn-based multiplayer game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. They have also inked a deal with graphic novel artist Ashley Wood to develop an iPhone game based on his "World War Robot" series and another game that they can't talk about yet.
Thanks to these titles and the buzz they have created, they have slowly started to grow their company. They have been able to hire some help from local art companies they met during their work days on the downtown square and some of their former co-workers from their Ensemble days as freelancers. They ultimately hope to turn their studio into a team of artists and designers who control the development of their titles.
"In the beginning, all of the big [movie] studios were places where the talent was owned by the studio and it developed into a model where they came together to make their own movie," Paul said. "I think games can be made that way too."
Of course, their offices would have to be on the downtown square. Why not? That's where they are now.
"It is super unique," Paul said. "We talked to some people we're looking to hire and build the team and they think it would be really cool."
Contact Danny Gallagher at dgallagher@acnpapers.com.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News Update «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
