If you’ve been following Robert Bowling on Twitter ever since he left the folks over at Infinity Ward, then it should be no surprise to any of us that he went out and formed his own studio. Many suspected that he would go on and just join Respawn Entertainment. It looks like they were mistaken though. Take a look at some of his tweets from his timeline since he left Infinity Ward:
“Morning of script review & revisions for #untitled. This is just a tone piece, used to set up the world of #untitled.”
“Woke up from a deep sleep after having a dream I registered the perfect Twitter name and URL for #untitled. Just made that dream a reality!”
“Going over 100s of developer logos right now. I’m curious; which game developer do you think has the best logo? and why?”
Also, to any who originally knew Robert Bowling as “FourTwoZero” it looks like he’s gone the extra mile and “respawned” as “FourZeroTwo“. His new studio is called Robotoki, and Bowling tells GameInformer that his studio is focused on being a [quote]developer development studio that just happens to make games.[/quote] I’m guessing as opposed to making what the publisher wants. He continues on to say the following [quote]We are focused on our team first and everything else second, because I believe as an industry, we have a lot to learn on how to treat talent. While we continue to out stride film and music entertainment in other areas, we are falling severely behind in how to properly inspire and support our creative talent.[/quote]
It’s a nice idea putting all of the creative decisions in the hand of the developers themselves. Anyone who’s ever made anything with their own hands knows that it’s usually a lot more fun if you work on something where you have full creative control rather than some project your teacher or professor slapped onto your lap.
But that brings up another question. Who’s going to fund a project in which they have no creative control at all? Bowling stated that the project is self-funded, and is only working with partners who support that model, where creative vision holders have complete control over the work.
If this kind of business model works out, it could be huge to the development industry. Not only would developers be working on something that they want to work on, but they’ll have full control over how the project’s look and feel ultimately ends up.
Robotoki’s first project is set to be revealed later this year and is targeting pretty much every type of game medium out there. Next gen consoles, PC, and mobile devices. Also if you’re interested, Bowling is also hiring.
Check back with The Game Fanatics for news as we get it over Robotoki’s new project announcement later this year.
Source: JoyStiq
