1. A STUDIO IS BORN

In this post:

• Origins of the studio

• Why start a studio now?

• The plan for 2024

The Origin of Red Sixteen Interactive

Growing up in the 80s afforded me a front row seat to the evolution of gaming. I experienced the launch of personal computers and the first pixel-based arcade and adventure games… the first Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Playstation, Dreamcast, Xbox, and PC gaming. It was a wild ride and I played hundreds of games over the years across just about every system and genre. Some were junk, some were pretty good, and some were so spectacular and memorable they’ve stayed with me for a lifetime.

As an artist and creative soul at heart, I originally sought out a career in gaming. I applied for several game design positions coming out of college. Companies like Blizzard Entertainment were red hot at the time with games like StarCraft, WarCraft III, Diablo II, and World of Warcraft being definitive staples of quality gaming. I think I applied to Blizzard 5 different times over several years and sadly never even got an interview. I was able to interview at Nintendo and Capcom, but ultimately couldn’t land a position. That’s when I discovered the world of marketing and advertising, which turns out was a lot easier for me to get into and subsequently more lucrative than gaming companies.

Fast forward a decade or two and I’ve since exited a successful marketing agency as well as founded my own which continues to grow today. This has afforded me the resources, experience, and network to get back to my roots and dive into my passion for gaming and creating worlds. Thus, Red Sixteen Interactive is born.

What’s the Meaning Behind the Name “Red Sixteen”?

Funny enough, back when the internet used dial up and AOL was the place to be, everything was tied to your chat handle name. The one I wanted was “Redfive” – respectively Luke Skywalker’s call sign in the first Star Wars movie “A New Hope” (long before the franchise was oversaturated by Disney). The handle was taken, so I went up in numbers by what sounded cool until I found one that was available and I liked: RedSixteen.

That was my handle for several years, and I secured the domain name for it as well which sat dormant for literally decades until it made sense to use it for the name of this studio. A call back to my roots and humble beginnings. To a simpler time before gaming was all about monetization, sales and follower counts. When great stories were the objective and success was the byproduct. Something the industry has slowly swapped the order of over the years to the detriment of players globally.

Why Launch a Studio in Such a Saturated, Competitive Market?

When you look at the biggest, most successful franchises, I believe there is one overarching quality that each achieves masterfully: a new and wondrous world of experiences, environments and lore. In theatrical releases shared universes like Harry Potter, Star Wars, Avatar, Jurassic Park, Alien – even Stranger Things and Ghostbusters – have each created worlds that are both dangerous and filled with unique characters and unknown ecosystems. They have their own rules, creatures, and environments that allow people to escape normal life and dive into delightful creativity.

On the gaming front, games like Zelda created a unique world to explore and grow stronger in. God of War brought Greek, and, more recently, Norse mythology to life, creating a rich cast of characters and interwoven storytelling. Call of Duty brought an exhilarating experience of both historical and modern combat to the comfort of player’s living rooms.

A genre I think is still ripe for expansion is in fairytale and folklore. Fables and timeless childhood stories told for hundreds of years are all in the open domain and available for modern interpretation and elaboration. The worlds are often absurd and fantastical – quirky and odd – and at many times charming and at some times dangerous. This is where Red Sixteen will plant its stake in the ground, crafting a deep and perilous world with complex and creative characters that unlock the potential of an otherwise greatly underutilized genre.

Lastly, the advancements in game engines such as Unreal Engine 5.3 and what its community continues to create for it are truly groundbreaking as far as what it allows small teams to accomplish. Several longstanding major hurdles and limitations game developers have been forced to creatively find workarounds for are beginning to disappear, unlocking new potential for highly advanced and beautiful games that don’t require thousands of employees and hundreds of millions of dollars to create anymore. Couple that with additional AI tools for creation and organization and we’ve got an armamentarium of resources at our disposal to build quickly, powerfully and efficiently.

The Plan for 2024

There is much to do, much to do. The initial plan is broken into five parts:

1. Establish the studio: Version 1 of the branding, website, dev blog, and accounts for R16 all need to be crafted and built quickly to create a digital footprint and prove our existence and worthiness to the public. This is crucial to build credibility and legitimacy as we move throughout the year.

2. Conceptualize the game framework: The title, characters, story, concept art and differentiation all need to be drafted into the game design document (GDD) to quickly share the premise and promise of its vision to people I’ll need to work with to bring it to life,

3. Assemble the initial team: I don’t have 6 years to do everything solo like many indie developers do, nor would I ever want to. This endeavor requires a team of highly skilled and creative individuals, so I’ll leverage steps 1 and 2 to seek out and pitch the concept to leaders that are looking to build something unique. The most critical role will be the game developer/programmer position to help co-navigate decisions about the systems and game vision within the limitations and best practices of modern game development. Highly talented artists, music & sound composers and game coders are also on the list after enough of the GDD is solidified.

4. Build with agility: Putting the above 3 steps together will allow the game to come to life as rapidly as possible without sacrificing quality and avoiding scope creep wherever we can. There are hundreds of ideas to add to a new game, so our goal will be to hone in on the most critical for enjoyment, player experience and differentiation. With the right team that loves what they do, we can – and will – create something truly special.

5. Listen to the community: I don’t know if game developers actively choose to ignore comments on their YouTube videos, Reddit threads, or Discord discussions about their games, but it sure seems like they don’t care most of the time. And one thing gamers do almost too well is voice their opinions. Having open discussion, transparency, and collaboration with the community will be mission critical for word to spread and integral to creating a stellar game.