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| Gas Powered Games (Wargaming Seattle) |
Everyone's wondering about
Gas Powered Games, our recent acquisition earlier this year. For
Chris Taylor, this was a happy surprise - in 2012, the studio was facing an
uncertain future with only a
now-defunct Kickstarter project keeping it afloat. Being a part of the Wargaming team has given the studio new life; the feeling of excitement in the offices is evident, from the fresh, new ideas coming out of the development team to the eagerness with which they accept opportunities within Wargaming's structure.
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| Office decorations in Seattle - they already fit right in! |
Last week, I got to visit the offices of the new Wargaming Seattle studio and meet with Chris and his design and development leads to talk about the direction the studio is moving, plans for new game development, and just get to know the team and let them know what Wargaming is all about - bringing the fun to free games. Our shared vision turned out to be even more powerful than anything we would have come up with alone.
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| Their vision is like our vision - a perfect match! |
Gas Powered Games and Chris Taylor are already well known for a number of famous products, including
Total Annihilation,
Supreme Commander, Supreme Commander 2,
Dungeon Siege,
Space Siege,
Age of Empires Online, and
Demigod. The studio happens to be the same age as Wargaming - 15 years - so it's no wonder they have developed so many cool games.
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| Chris Taylor, CEO and Founder, Gas Powered Games |
Chris Taylor is the fire under this studio that keeps things hot, in spite of the cold, rainy weather Seattle is famous for. I was extremely impressed with his enthusiasm and desire to take on new projects and become part of the Wargaming team. As he told me over dinner, it's going to be great for him to let someone else focus on administration, so he can go back to enjoying making great games.
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| Game memorabilia from the past 15 years |
The Gas Powered Games offices are located just outside of Seattle, near Nintendo's
US headquarters. They're very postmodern, with a lot of glass and steel,
and too large for the number of people working there right now, which
means they are going to have to start recruiting to get those desks
filled. That way they can get to work on The Next Big Game®.
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| Chris Taylor's desk - clearly a sign of a creative mind! |
There is one desk that is already full to capacity - Chris Taylor's! It looks like he's kept every game he's ever played, every magazine and book he's ever read, and enough office furniture to pile all of them on! Fortunately, we all know that
chaos is a sign that creative juices are constantly flowing. Another way Gas Powered Games fits right in with Wargaming! :-)
by ChrisK
