Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Adios, GarageGames
GarageGames, the company that in many ways pioneered the indie game movement (is it a movement?), has changed a lot since they started. Arguably, with the sunsetting of their flagship product - the original Torque Game Engine - and its immediate successor in a few days, and the departure of the founding members, and their change in focus, there's really not much of the ol' company left.
That's neither good nor bad. It's just the way of things.
But now it looks like the name, "GarageGames," is being retired. They are focusing on the Torque brand name, and the website will be "Torquepowered.com."
Feels kinda like the end of an era, doesn't it?
Still, while I miss the old GarageGames, I can't really fault the vision of the new crew. While they no longer emphasize making game development "dirt cheap" for anybody, they are shooting for the low-budget professionals' pipeline - getting games from concept to market as quickly and easily as possible. A noble goal.
But it seems GarageGames is soon to become just a historical note.
Labels: Biz, game development
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 5:30 AM (Permalink)
Comments:
Links to this post:
<< Home
Yeah, garage games doesn't seem a fitting name for the company any more. By the time an individual buys the engine, the tools to make models, and so forth they are either broke, divorced, or both. Even with a free 3d game engine it is expensive to develop 3d games. I have tried breaking into 3d about 4 times, but my budget always sends me packing back to 2d. :) Now if someone would make a program that "seamlessly" converted 3d file formats, animations, materials, and all, that would be a big boost. :)
Yep, the writing has been on the wall for this for some time. The new GarageGames (ever since the Instant Action deal) has been moving away from supporting hobbists and indies. Their move to hire Lou Castle as the CEO and move games development to Vegas (where Lou lives), further cements the fact that this company is focused on the mainstream market and not the indie/hobbiest market. I used to be a fan and supporter of GarageGames, but I can't say I'm in that club anymore. Their new technology looks promising and hopefully it works better than the old Torque. It sounds like a rewrite (which is what the engine needed). However with similar engines that are priced much cheaper (and possibly easier to use and more stable) I won't be using their new technology any time soon.
P.S. Code Ugly - You might want to look into the upcoming Daz Links product. It might make working with off the shelf content more easy.
P.S. Code Ugly - You might want to look into the upcoming Daz Links product. It might make working with off the shelf content more easy.
Garage Games was long the champion of the hobbyiest and "amateur" indie devs, providing the stepping stone for anyone with an idea to take it and make it happen. And many of those hobbyist and amateur indies have been able to build on their success and move up to "professional" indie status.
Unfortunately now with their sole focus on "professional" indies, it's no longer a "stepping stone" but rather a "stepping boulder" for many.
The main issue for me is the polarization of the Torque community into the "haves" and the "have-nots"; there has been a definite feeling that those of us that do not have T3D are gradually being shown the door; especially with the announcement that TGE and TGEA will no longer be available.
And now the move to Las Vegas... well, let's just hope they don't pull an "Ion Storm". =P
Unfortunately now with their sole focus on "professional" indies, it's no longer a "stepping stone" but rather a "stepping boulder" for many.
The main issue for me is the polarization of the Torque community into the "haves" and the "have-nots"; there has been a definite feeling that those of us that do not have T3D are gradually being shown the door; especially with the announcement that TGE and TGEA will no longer be available.
And now the move to Las Vegas... well, let's just hope they don't pull an "Ion Storm". =P
Yeah, its a shame to see the end of the old GarageGames. They used to have a great mechanism for entering the game industry for the amateur. Their engine was a bit tough to wrestle with, but otherwise did the job admirably.
I'd disagree that they "pioneered the indie game movement", but they certainly were a catalyst for many people.
Post a Comment
I'd disagree that they "pioneered the indie game movement", but they certainly were a catalyst for many people.
# posted by 
: October 28, 2009 3:56 PM
: October 28, 2009 3:56 PMLinks to this post:
<< Home
