Two developers from
Journey and
Flower developer Thatgamecompany have opened The Willderness, a new studio in Los Angeles that will remake indie co-op puzzle-platformer
Way.
Originally developed by a group of students at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center,
Way was
selected as a Student Showcase winner and a Nuovo award finalist (for unconventional games) at this year's Independent Games Festival.
The Willderness is so far made up of three members, including co-founder Chris Bell, who designed
Way and went on to serve as a producer and designer at Thatgamecompany as the studio worked on critically acclaimed PlayStation Network game
Journey.
He's joined by two other CMU alumni: John Nesky, who also worked on
Journey while he was the "feel engineer" at Thatgamecompany; and Walt Destler, who programmed
Way and previously worked at companies like Schell Games and Walt Disney Imagineering.
The new developer is hiring for a couple of positions as it looks to remake and evolve
Way --
originally released for Windows and Mac with a free Alpha build -- for commercial release. Other members from the Coco & Co. team that helped create the original
Way have not joined the studio.
[
Update: The Willderness' Bell has informed Gamasutra that the announcement of a
Way remake was "presumptuous," and that the company has not formally announced its existence.]
