Suspending Work on All Heroes Die, The New Project
June 8th, 2010 by Macguffin in NewsIt is with very mixed feelings that I announce we are suspending development on All Heroes Die.
The quick summary is that AHD is a huge game, and we are nowhere near done. With the resources and time we have, it’s also one that currently can’t support the company. Graham and I have both been working without drawing any pay for our entire time on the project, and we’re at the point where we can’t continue doing that.
We very much want to return to it when we can, but we don’t know when that will be. Right now, we’re just going to take things one step at a time. We still believe in AHD, and we want the finished game to see the light of day.
This isn’t the end of the road for Macguffin Games, either. In fact, the reason we’re halting development is so we can work on another game – this one in the Social Media space. I’m sure some of you will be disappointed to learn that; I understand. We think there is an opportunity to make great games there, make enough money to live, and to do it in a reasonable time frame. Our creative goal with this new game is to make something that we can be proud of, something unlike most of the offerings out there. We’ve begun prototyping the design and art direction, and we are all extremely excited by it. We hope you will be, as well – more details will follow as things shape up.
Thank you so very much to everyone that has supported us for the wild ride that has been All Heroes Die. I started development on it just a bit over 2 years ago, teaching myself how to code, alone in our guest bedroom. Since then, I’ve met literally hundreds of people whose support, enthusiasm, and good will made it possible to keep going. Two people in particular must be mentioned: my wife Anya, without whose support (both emotional and financial) this never would have happened, and Graham Sternberg, the man who created most of the AHD setting, most of the art, and who talked me off the ledge on more occasions that I’d like to admit. I’d also like to mention Heather Wilson, Mike Faulk, and Phil Krzeminski for their work on game events, game events, and art respectively; thank you folks for all your excellent work.
Finally, thank you to all of the wonderful people in the Boston Indies community; because of them, I seriously believe that Boston is the best place in the world for someone to be an indie developer.
EDIT: When I originally published this, I forgot to mention, we are planning two more builds for now – one to fix a number of bugs that came up in the last build, and another with Warfare in it. The first will happen sometime in the short term – the next several weeks – and the Warfare one some time before or around fall. I’d like to give a better estimate, but it all depends on how everything else is going.
EDIT EDIT: I’m an IDIOT! I didn’t thank Whitney. This game would not have gotten 1/4 as far as it did without her, and it sure as hell never would have launched for PAX. Her fantastic and awesome coding skills were all that got us to that first Beta build. Whitney, thank you so much for you amazing work.
Tags: All Heroes Die, annoucements, Dev Blog
June 8th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
A brave and terrifying decision, but I can tell you from personal experience that you’ll be glad you made it. I’ve back-burnered three consecutive projects now in favor of less complex ones, and each move has been more liberating than the last. Now that I’m on my fourth iteration of this chopping block process, I finally feel like I’ve hit on something that I can complete in due time and that can carry me through to the next effort. Starting small and gradually bootstrapping your way up to your dream project will (almost) always be the way to go.
Best of luck!
June 8th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
So, when’re we going to hear more about this new project?
June 8th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Congratulations on a tough decision, and all the best of luck on your new projects! I’ll take comfort in the thought that All Heroes Die, like Walt Disney, is waiting, cryogenically frozen, to save us in our Hour of Need.
June 8th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Hi Scott, just wondering how you’re going to approach the long-term audience that entered into the paid beta? I’m not so much concerned about my $5, just curious about the legal stuff from the development point of view, i.e., was it something you accommodated for in your EULA?
June 8th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
You do what you need to do! I respect you and your teams dedication, perseverance and AHD is a cool game. Having said that, we all need to eat. This is just another turn in the journey set forth by the Macguffin. I have no doubt you’ll come back to AHD with new ideas, solutions and excitement at some point.
My company Vermont Digital Arts faces similar choices. For the past 5 weeks we decided to put off finishing our game for contract work to pay some bills and feed some mouths. It’s tough but ultimately I have gained from this experience. We are so close to publishing yet need money to live.
Viva Macguffin Games!
June 8th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Thank you, folks. Radek – I’ll give a refund to anyone dissatisfied with the game, no questions asked.
June 8th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
No worries, I don’t think anyone who entered the paid beta is hankering for their money back. I was just curious how you planned to handle the situation if any issues arose.
Good luck with your new project! Hopefully it’ll raise the funds you need to complete All Heroes Die as I’m sure you don’t want to abandon your (first) MacGuffin-baby.
June 8th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
@Radek – Ah! Gotcha. Yeah, this isn’t something we tried to deal with in the EULA at all… mostly we’ve been trying to take a “do what is reasonable” thing when it comes to leaving out legalese & treating people well.
Thanks for the well-wishes! We definitely don’t want to abandon AHD.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:25 am
i finally got around to playing over the weekend, and i have to say it was fun, even as limited as it is now. i could see the possibilities. i even felt like starting to *write* possibilities. if some free fiction/dialogue work is ever something you want, let me know.
i’m very interested in seeing any new builds of it that you do put out.
and i also hope you’re able to get back to it hardcore; it has tremendous potential.
tell Vervain i said hi