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First-Person Advertiser - Talking In-Game Ads With Threewave Software
DI: We expect the middle of next year – we’ve had tremendous interest from everyone from TV shows, movies and other top name brands. GS: What else are you currently working on? DI: Currently we have an FPS title in development using the Source Engine. It’s an original IP due the middle of next year for Xbox 360, and it uses one of the advanced physics engines; new physics, new special effects, and a new level of realism, a lot of different things people probably haven’t seen in a game before. Unfortunately, it’s not announced yet. We have a couple of projects coming out for Xbox Live Arcade too, which is new to us. It’s part of our strategy here; the smaller projects give more people more opportunity to develop projects quickly. You can begin and end an arcade project in maybe 6 months and really see the results. At the same time it has such a wide distribution and there’s only a few companies being given slots, so we’re fortunate enough to be one of them. That’s really exciting to us. It’s a good opportunity, too, as it’s not our traditional focus. We’ll probably announce those soon. GS: What kind of market are you aiming the Xbox Live Arcade titles at? DI: I would say… Well, how about a competitor to Nintendogs?
GS: How many employees are there at Threewave? What is the corporate structure like? DI: We’ve got 36 employees, having grown from ten people at the beginning of the year. The company is set up that myself, the founders and some other key people makes the decisions, but I like to think of this as more of a meritocracy. You can do anything here at Threewave; you can graduate school, come here and start building levels, and go on to produce. There are a number of different people, with different talents who all contribute to the company here. GS: So do you find the new media courses are making it easier to find new hires? DI: The new courses are certainly attractive to us. That’s not to say we discount the traditional teaching methods, but neither would we disqualify someone if they didn’t have a college degree. If they can accomplish something with the tools, if they’re recognised as having talent within the community, we want to talk to that person. I think the new courses have definitely increased the talent pool, though. But it’s a really competitive market right now. There are a lot of new studios in Vancouver, new animation houses, and it’s an exciting time of industry growth, but it’s increased the challenge in finding the right people. However, it’s going to draw more talented people to Vancouver, and it’s going to be good for the videogames industry. Finding the right people is only going to get easier. GS: So why Vancouver for Threewave? DI: People say go to San Francisco, Boston, Florida. Everywhere has their advantages, but no place has all the advantages Vancouver has. It’s got a great talent pool, several different studios and hence a great community. Vancouver has a real focus on technology too, with several initiatives that really benefit us as a company from the government, such as tax credits, and organisations like New Media B.C. Very competitive advantages, compared to the small fish we’d be in a sea of developers in San Francisco. GS: And finally, who would you say inspires Threewave? DI: Valve definitely inspires us. We’ve got a very good relationship with them and are working on a number of products with them. The thing that’s inspiring about Valve is that any member of their team could be a project lead somewhere else. They’ve put in the time to find the people that are the highest quality and that work well together. That’s an incredible investment. The result is they make great technology, are committed to their brands, and support their community. |
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