Yes, we are still alive.
Posted: August 04, 2006 • 10:31 am
This community is just amazing. And that's why CJ and I want you to know that we are (1) still among the living, and (2) are continuing to pursue our mutual dream of bringing Tex back for at least one last hurrah. Honestly, I'm not saying this just to give you false hope; on the other hand, nothing may come of it in the end...but things are progressing.
I'll make you all at least one solid promise: There will be another Tex story, whether it's in game form or in text. If the game thing doesn't work out, I swear on Sammy Davis Jr.'s grave that I will finish off the Tex saga, if only in text.
It's come to my attention that some of you were curious about what happened after the sinking of the S.S. Indiebuilt back in April. For those who care, there were many reasons why this happened, but the best explanation is that the videogame industry is a seething cauldron of stress, unpredictably, and bottom lines. You have to be flexible and lucky to make it, both as an individual and as a studio. Indiebuilt didn't have what it took to survive.
After the scuttling, most of the Indiebuilt people were able to find jobs with either the handful of videogame studios in the Salt Lake City area or with Microsoft. As for the old Tex Murphy crew, while CJ was long gone by then, Doug Vandegrift ended up working for a small game company in SLC, and Jon Clark left the gaming industry and is now teaching.
As for me, I was very fortunate to have been approached by Ubisoft, actually BEFORE Indiebuilt shut down. I met their people at E3 and then flew to Montreal to meet the team. After a ton of paperwork and legal wrangling, I was hired as a Creative Director and began work on July 3rd.
The only problem was I wanted to maintain my ties to Utah (house, family, chance to work again with CJ, etc.), so Ubisoft and I agreed on a pretty unique work situation: I work in Montreal for three weeks each month (give or take) and spend the rest of the time in Salt Lake City. This sort of arrangement wouldn't work for everybody, but it's great for me. Montreal is a wonderful city and living in the middle of downtown is about as different as you can get from our pastoral existence in the suburbs of Bountiful, Utah!
Ubisoft is a great company to work for and our project is very exciting. I'll be sure to share details when I can. In the meantime, just know that your support and patience is keeping us focused and moving closer to our shared goal of a Tex encore!
Oh, and I refuse to believe that it's been 10 years since Pandora was released...
Aaron
I'll make you all at least one solid promise: There will be another Tex story, whether it's in game form or in text. If the game thing doesn't work out, I swear on Sammy Davis Jr.'s grave that I will finish off the Tex saga, if only in text.
It's come to my attention that some of you were curious about what happened after the sinking of the S.S. Indiebuilt back in April. For those who care, there were many reasons why this happened, but the best explanation is that the videogame industry is a seething cauldron of stress, unpredictably, and bottom lines. You have to be flexible and lucky to make it, both as an individual and as a studio. Indiebuilt didn't have what it took to survive.
After the scuttling, most of the Indiebuilt people were able to find jobs with either the handful of videogame studios in the Salt Lake City area or with Microsoft. As for the old Tex Murphy crew, while CJ was long gone by then, Doug Vandegrift ended up working for a small game company in SLC, and Jon Clark left the gaming industry and is now teaching.
As for me, I was very fortunate to have been approached by Ubisoft, actually BEFORE Indiebuilt shut down. I met their people at E3 and then flew to Montreal to meet the team. After a ton of paperwork and legal wrangling, I was hired as a Creative Director and began work on July 3rd.
The only problem was I wanted to maintain my ties to Utah (house, family, chance to work again with CJ, etc.), so Ubisoft and I agreed on a pretty unique work situation: I work in Montreal for three weeks each month (give or take) and spend the rest of the time in Salt Lake City. This sort of arrangement wouldn't work for everybody, but it's great for me. Montreal is a wonderful city and living in the middle of downtown is about as different as you can get from our pastoral existence in the suburbs of Bountiful, Utah!
Ubisoft is a great company to work for and our project is very exciting. I'll be sure to share details when I can. In the meantime, just know that your support and patience is keeping us focused and moving closer to our shared goal of a Tex encore!
Oh, and I refuse to believe that it's been 10 years since Pandora was released...
Aaron