Avalanche Studios, Console Game Developer, Thrives in New York скачать в хорошем качестве

Avalanche Studios, Console Game Developer, Thrives in New York

On the 8th floor of an office building in SoHo, a new industry is trying to take hold in Manhattan. This is Avalanche Studios, one of the few console video game developers in New York. Avalanche is an independent, privately held game developer specializing in open-world action adventure games. General Manager David Grijns says they're best known for the Just Cause series and are working on its third installment. They've also been working with Warner Bros. for the last several years on the Mad Max game, which is also due out this year. Game design is rare in New York City and on the East Coast. The saturated markets for game development are mostly on the West Coast: Seattle, L.A., and Canada. Avalanche's Human Resources Director Ju Shim says tax breaks and the large pool of tech talent out West have made it harder to do this kind of work here. But Avalanche, founded in Sweden, is trying to change that and make New York City a place for console game development. The studio partners with schools like NYU, which has its own gaming program. Avalanche also tries to lure top talent with its European-style benefits: 100 percent company paid healthcare, five weeks of paid time off, and a two-week summer break for the entire company. Avalanche is also hoping to attract more women to gaming. Shim says 10 percent of Avalanche employees are female, and they're proud of that, but they need to do better especially on the tech and design side. Know absolutely nothing about gaming? Just Cause is an open-world game. That means endless options and hours of play. Just Cause 3 Game Director Roland Lesterlin describes it as a "sandbox experience" that gives a player a set of tools. The player is then unleashed in that world to explore it however he or she wants, using those tools, whether they're cars, planes, trains, or weapons. Games like that can take three to four years to make and a ton of talent. Lesterlin calls it a collaborative effort that requires animators, designers, artists and engineers--all focusing on a specific area of the game. --ALISON MORRIS