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9 CommentsAt death's door: the dreams and decline of Ambient Studios
By Alexa Ray Corriea on May 11, 2013 05.11.13
Even the studios' origins were plagued by instability. Its first in-development project was unceremoniously canceled by its publisher before it even saw the light of day, leaving the team of 11 at Ambient Studios with no work. And subsequently, no money. "It was a game for the Vita," former Ambient Studios technical director Jonny Hopper told Polygon. "Unfortunately I can't say much about it. It went unannounced. "That left us with a team and nothing to do, it was all such short notice, really. So we thought, okay that's not cool." The team held a brainstorming session for the studio's next game. It had to be something they could produce quickly, something good but also a game they could publish fairly soon in order to bring money to the studio. From that brainstorming session came...
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12 CommentsDeath, Inc. developer Ambient Studios closes
By Dave Tach on Apr 25, 2013 04.25.13
Ambient Studios, developer of Death, Inc., a game about the bubonic plague that recently became part of Steam Greenlight after missing its Kickstarter funding goal, has closed, according to a post published today on the company's official website. The cash-strapped developer, whose Death, Inc. missed its Kickstarter funding goal in early March, was unable to stay in business, the post reveals. "It's time for a sad announcement: Ambient is shutting its doors," the post reads. "It's been an amazing ride and we've produced some amazing products like Monster Meltdown and Death, Inc. We're super proud of what we achieved, but ultimately we didn't manage to make enough money to keep the wolves from the door. And so we had to make the difficult decision that it is no longer feasible for...
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11 CommentsValve reveals sixth set of Steam Greenlight games, including Death, Inc.
By Dave Tach on Apr 17, 2013 04.17.13
Valve announced the sixth set of Steam Greenlight games today, including Death, Inc., which fell short of its Kickstarter goal earlier this year. Other Kickstarter veterans include Dead State, a turn-based zombie combat role-playing game, and Shovel Knight, developer Yacht Club Games' "love letter to 8-bit games." Xyla Entertainment's rhythm-infused platformer Rush Bros. also made the cut. The 18 games greenlight today include: Agarest: Generations of War Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures Battle Worlds: Kronos City of Steam Cradle Dead State Dead Trigger Death, Inc. Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey Elsword Faceless Frozen Endzone Hammerwatch Legend of Dungeon Pinball Arcade Planet Explorers Rush Bros. Shovel Knight Two non-game software titles were also...
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3 CommentsFailed Kickstarter Death, Inc. returns as playable alpha title
By Emily Gera on Apr 12, 2013 04.12.13
Ambient Studios title Death, Inc. failed to reach its Kickstarter funding goal on the crowdfunding website, but the developer is now offering a alpha version of the game to users for $10, VG247 reports. The new pay-for-alpha title offers players instant access to the current version of the game. The title will be updated over the coming months until its launch later in November. Those who wait until November to purchase the title at launch will have to pay $19.99. "We were overwhelmed by the support we received during our recent Kickstarter campaign," said Ambient Studios director Jonny Hopper in a prepared statement. "Despite the fact we didn't reach our initial target, we did raise support of over £122,000 — that's a tremendous amount of support which has given us the confidence...
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5 CommentsDeath, Inc. falls short of Kickstarter goal, developers say it's not the end
By Dave Tach on Mar 07, 2013 03.07.13
Death, Inc., the proposed strategy game from Ambient Studios about spreading the bubonic plague, fell short of its crowdfunding goal, according to the game's Kickstarter page. When the campaign ended, it had received £122,711 of its £300,000 goal from 3,874 backers. A final update posted on the Kickstarter blog, written hours before the campaign ended, thanks "friends, backers, supporters and well-wishers" who watched over the last month as Ambient Studios released a demo, set up on Steam Greenlight and unveiled iPad and multiplayer prototypes. If you want to follow the future of the studio and Death, Inc., you can keep up with Ambient on its Facebook page, Twitter account and website. There's even an email address posted on the blog, where anyone can write in. "We'd love to hear...
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0 CommentsAmbient Studios artist designs Death Inc. abode using real-life scale replica
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Feb 25, 2013 02.25.13
Rather than draw digital blueprints, lead artist Jon Eckersley on Ambient Studios' upcoming management/god game Death Inc. built a scale model of players' in-game home when designing the piece, reports Kotaku. Players will use their in-game house as their base of operations, keeping track of inventory and plague-spreading minions in one convenient place. The photos, available on Kotaku, show a tiny replica of the building made out of wood and what appears to be cardstock, complete with a miniature bathtub and staircases. Eckersley explained that he chose to build a physical model rather than settle on sketches in order to make sure all house accoutrements were functional and to create a consist art style. "Building a physical model forces you to not only work to an art style, but...
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3 CommentsDeath Inc. releases prototype demo, sets up on Steam Greenlight
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Feb 19, 2013 02.19.13
Ambient Studios released a demo for its strategy management god game Death Inc. today via the project's Kickstarter page, and has set up shop on Steam Greenlight as well. The downloadable demo is available for PC, Mac and Linux systems and features a 10-minute playable prototype of the title. "This may be the earliest you have ever got your hands on a game," the developer wrote in a page update. "Death Inc. has existed for just 10 weeks and we're so excited to be able to let you play it! Obviously the game is not finished, there are many missing features, and the quality is not representative of the final game." In addition to bringing the game to Steam Greenlight earlier this month, Ambient Studios is letting backers increase pledge amounts in exchange for additional reward items....
