As we meander our way through the game of life, we are faced with difficult choices. Where are we going, what are we doing, what shall we have for lunch are questions that assault us on a daily basis. Alternatively, the vast scope of decision making that concerns us could have far-reaching consequences, for example deciding to accept $75 million to move to another location and incurring the wrath of those who weren’t offered that deal. On the other hand, the decision could be as simple as choosing the best hat to wear.
Local indie developer Fire Hose Games is a company whose choice of hat is extremely important to them. Confused?
Since their debut game Slam Bolt Scrappers (SBS) was unleashed upon the world at PaxEast in Boston, Fire Hose has been working towards bringing the game to a wider audience. Constant hawking of their product at various game conferences has seen them be nominated for awards (E3 Best Game Design) which has led to a recently inked deal with Sony Online Entertainment that will make SBS a PS3 exclusive on the Playstation Network.
Having access to the 45 million users that are signed up to PSN is a massive coup for the Cambridge based firm and Eitan Glinert, Fire Hose’s Fire Chief/Dark Overlord and Unicorn Slayer, is understandably chuffed to bits at the opportunities that working with such a renowned games development company will bring.
I met with Eitan in Cambridge this week to discuss SBS, the gaming industry, the role of government in game development and the joys of working with Sony. Wearing a shirt depicting Super Mario characters as sushi, surrounded by games consoles, classic games including the obligatory Rock Band hardware and sprawled in the “conference room” at the company’s office – which they share with fellow developers MacGuffin Games -, Eitan thinks “Playstation Network is perfect for us, a fantastic place to release our game.”
A mixture of Tetris, flying, extreme violence and the wearing of hats, Slam Bolt Scrappers is “experimental and weird”, but Eitan is confident that the unique properties of the game are what will draw PSN users in and challenges the gamer “to show me another game on PSN that does that!” Certainly, mashing together a classic building game with the chance to become the Hulk (for a limited time) is an intoxicating cocktail and something that characterizes the joys of being an indie developer.
“We do interesting, weird stuff out of necessity, we can’t compete with the larger FPS” says Eitan, who learned his trade at MIT Gambit before forming his own development company in 2008. Warming to his theme, he believes that “innovation in gaming comes out of the indie corner, someone does something interesting and then everyone else goes ‘ I want to do that too’.”
What sets Fire Hose apart from some of their competitors is humility.
Despite scoring a deal with Sony Online Entertainment, who Eitan describes as “not actually Sony but they effectively are”, he knows that there is still a lot of hard work to be put in, especially in making sure that the industry is aware of what Fire Hose is working on. Smiling, Eitan says that “we are not secretive, we are not 38 Studios or Conduit in our cone of silence, we are trying to stand on our soapbox and get the world to know about our game.”
Certainly the word is out on SBS. The chance that Fire Hose took to make sure that a version of the game was available to play at PaxEast in April got them an invitation to showcase the latest incarnation at PaxWest in Seattle in September and the chance to beat up creatures and wear Viking helmets should go down a storm with gamers there.
Glinert is, unsurprisingly, proud of the game – “I’ve never made a game that’s as good as this one and it’s the only game I’ve made that I still enjoy playing”- and inspired (apparently) by wanting “to do something that had building and fighting” the cartoon-like appearance of the game is no accident. Versions 1 through 4 took different aspects of the initial inspiration and ensured that the scope of the game was manageable which (importantly) meant that SBS V.5 has a replay value that can sometimes be missing in larger games.
The suits at Sony have certainly seen the value in SBS.
Although the initial deal is only for this game, the signs are encouraging for Fire Hose and Eitan has “a warm and fuzzy feeling about Sony, so who knows?” Having a fun game that allows even a button-masher like myself to be able to compete will certainly not impede development on SBS and the future looks bright for this Massachusetts games studio.
And speaking of the future, what does Eitan think of the decision by Curt Schilling to move his company to Rhode Island? For the first time in the interview, the smile vanishes and his eyes narrow.
“This is huge news, but let’s see you say no to $75 million!” concedes the Dark Overlord, “ Ultimately that money is the difference between the game coming out or not. To have a guarantee that your risky MMO is going to come out…I’m sad that they’re leaving and I totally understand, but good luck with bringing in 380 jobs to Rhode Island by 2012.”
The good news is that Fire Hose is not looking to follow in Schilling’s footsteps. As we settle down to play Slam Bolt Scrappers, Eitan declares that “we’re not moving, we love Boston and this city has been really good to us”, and promptly hands me a good beating on a game that is “soaked in awesome”.
Although, I wish that my character wasn’t wearing a sombrero.
