f13.net

The game, led by a creative all-star team of Spawn artist Todd McFarlane, best-selling fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, and Elder Scrolls III and IV lead designer Ken Rolston, is billed as a classic RPG with a new level of intense action combat never before seen in the genre.

Remember this is their console game that they acquired/spun-off/started up(?) when they bought Big Huge Games. This is not the big, secret MMO but it shares the same IP and setting... I think?

featuring a VERY oversized hammer)

See, with a hammer that big, aren't you essentially saying that you have a super hero game?  Or a demigod game?  As a human, if you tried to wield that you'd rupture... well, everything.  And then that monster would eat you.

May as well allow the characters to pick up car sized boulders if you are going to have hammers that big.

Big weapons look fucking cool. I don't get all the hate on huge swords and giant axes lately. Would you really him rather be wielding a small weapon "but it glows so it hits harder"?  :uhrr:

They look like the wielder (and probably the artist) is suffering from tiny penis compensation syndrome.

Because players wielding huge hammers is less unrealistic than players throwing fireballs.  :oh_i_see:

I'm with Engels. The line between superhero stuff and more traditional fantasy is basically drawn around this sort of issue. I strongly prefer a 'realistic' setting myself in this genre. "But it has magic" has never been a good excuse.

It saddens me, to be honest. I thought that what with RA Salvatore, the asshattery that's so polluted our fantasy games would have been culled.

Really?  I'd equate R.A. Salvatore's writing ability to be somewhere on par with this: 
The graphics don't scream WoW enough for me. 

Hm.

New Generic fantasy game is Generic.

And so the world turns...

Big weapons look fucking cool. I don't get all the hate on huge swords and giant axes lately.

Let's be clear, I'm not trying to make a video game that looks like my artwork. And R.A. is not trying to write a story that is like one of his books. We know we are entering into a video game world and there's rules that we have to abide by. You still have to do a sword swing. Why can't it be a cool sword swing? What happened to the cool factor here? That is the stuff that was getting me scratching my head to try and see if we can't try to get some of those components in.

And clearly Sky, I have an anime avatar so I must be broken.

Is it a big deal?  No, if the combat is good I'd consider trying it - it wouldn't take long at all to get over the clownshoe-sized hammer.

Am I waiting around for more work and am bored?  Yes.  That said, I'm not trolling, I meant everything I typed.

Edit: yes, everything.

So dushematic and someone else already dissed Salvatore's writing. Do other people feel this way about his work?

It could be perspective!

Or, maybe the hammer's made of foam rubber.

The cinematic was average.  It didn't look cheap.  It didn't look good.  I'm surprised they waited 4 years to release that, and then nothing else.  I mean, should we expect an information flood soon?  Because this trailer left me with zero interest in the game, whereas before I had some passing interest in a former baseball player making a game.  For comparison, go watch the Witcher's opening trailer  (they both feature the protagonist fighting undead).  A game that came out years ago looks and feels better. 

Magnetic foam rubber because I don't see how else it was stuck to his back.

Yes.  Let's put it this way, he almost single handedly created that bookshelf in Borders that has nothing but derivative fantasy IP sequels on it.

Go read the first few pages of the MMOG forum thread

Doesn't make any sense to me. Even if he 'single handedly created that bookshelf in Borders' is that strictly his doing? Not just a bandwagon effect due to his success within the fantasy nerd community?


I'll go do that.

Edit: came back from reading the posts from 2007. Wow, I already had this argument. In detail. In any case, sorry that Drizzt ruined Trammel for WUA, WAP and Duse.

Oversized weapons make you think of JRPGs, or anime, which a lot of gamers hate. Simple.

So dushematic and someone else already dissed Salvatore's writing. Do other people feel this way about his work? I know he's not Tolkein, or even RR Martin, but I find him to have written very well for the scope of what he was aiming for. And you can't lay the emo charge on him since emo wasn't even a concept then. He's not anywhere near the level of drip found in currently written vampire/emo chicklit.

Fucken drows.

I guess dark elves don't dance, because he'd impale his fucking partner with those knees. Seriously, WTF?

I didn't realize they made clownshoes out of plate armor.  :oh_i_see:

I guess dark elves don't dance, because he'd impale his fucking partner with those knees. Seriously, WTF?

Why is everyone so surprised? This is Todd McFarlane.

She. The armour has tits.

Then they're no friends of mine.

World Exclusive Demo of "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning"
Wyvern Theatre
Friday, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Throw out the first pitch of PAX East with Curt Schilling and his team from 38 Studios. Take a closer look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, an all new game that offers a fresh take on open world RPGs. Conceived by SPAWN creator Todd McFarlane, New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, and Ken Rolston, lead designer of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the game is an epic action fantasy RPG that is sure to capture the imagination of fans worldwide. Boston’s legendary Curt Schilling will join the game’s Executive Producer and Creative Director for a first-ever public demo of the game. Be among the first in the world to check out the innovative combat and deep RPG systems in this master-crafted fantasy epic.

Nah, Curt got sulky and stopped posting here. 

Beside a couple news updates in the "story" section (mostly concerning the recent Comic-con), we get three new screeenshots in the "Explore" area, called "Alabastra" (well, err, the "Slamminator" is now of decent size :P), "Niskaru Fight" (feat. a BIG "Soul Calibur"  sword!!!!) and "Troll Battle":

http://content.reckoningthegame.com/sites/default/files/screenshots/1920-Reckoning_Alabastra.jpg
http://content.reckoningthegame.com/sites/default/files/screenshots/1920-Reckoning_NiskaruBattle.jpg
http://content.reckoningthegame.com/sites/default/files/screenshots/1920-Reckoning_TrollBattle.jpg

I can't really blame him.  Posting here isn't really going to do much to advance his agenda and I imagine his time is at a premium. 

Nice visuals, though not quite what I was expecting by those involved and the amount of cash to toss around.

They still make RPGs for PC?  :why_so_serious:

But...but...THE HAMMERS!

I'm also liking the spells. So many games just go for some lame little particle, it's nice to see some actual effects.

This is the single player game, hombre. 

I thought they were making an MMO.  Shows you what I know.

Game Walkthrough by Lead Designer Ian Frazier, recorded during E3:

http://live-event.ea.com/e3/chat/reckoning

Looks pretty cool.  Spell effects are great, combat looks engaging, crafting and dialog wheels?  Yes please.  Looks like Fable and Dragon Age were the main inspirations.  Even has that "Sell All Junk" button.

Honestly looking more forward to this than Skyrim.  Skyrim looks amazing, but I feel like it's Oblivion, which I got bored of.

1) It's EA.
2) That slight pause after every hit annoyed me just watching it, and the action-ness of the rest of it didn't win me over.
3) It's EA.

Having a hard time getting the point of 1 and 3. They're just publishing.

Origin not required, either.  An Origin account is required for the demo freebies, but that's all. 

We have an update on this. If you're playing the Reckoning demo on the PC and are experiencing a black screen after the cinematics play, try going into your graphic options menu in the demo and set "Post Processing" to off. We apologize for this issue; it has since been fixed in the final version of Reckoning.

All PC versions of Reckoning, except for the Steam version, require a one-time authentication through Origin and the Origin client. If you purchase Reckoning through Steam, you only need to authenticate the game through Steam.

The minds of New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston have combined to create Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a new role-playing game set in a world worth saving. Build the character you’ve always wanted and continuously evolve it to your style of play with the revolutionary Destiny system. Choose your path and battle through a master-crafted universe featuring some of the most intense, responsive, and customizable RPG combat ever.

Hmmmm. The camera by default is fucking terrible, and doesn't get much better with tweaking. It feels like they are trying to make a Bioware-style Obilivion with WoW graphics. The movement controls are bit janky as well. I've played worse. I've played a lot better, and I won't be spending $60 on this.

Hmmmm. The camera by default is fucking terrible, and doesn't get much better with tweaking. It feels like they are trying to make a Bioware-style Obilivion with WoW graphics. The movement controls are bit janky as well. I've played worse. I've played a lot better, and I won't be spending $60 on this.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston

No anti-aliasing, but the framerate wasn't terrible to cause noticeable screen tearing.

Yup the UI is horrid.

Well, for the studio, that's exactly what it is. Junior's First Action RPG to fund/pave the way to the stuff we really want to do. I'm surprised it came out at all, but not surprised it's a consolitis meh-fest.

Just feels like a game a bit behind the times, especially after playing something like Witcher 2, Reckoning feels kinda like Junior's First Action RPG.

I tried the demo and it wouldn't load the graphics.

I tried the demo and it wouldn't load the graphics.

You can get the demo on the Xbox360, to avoid Origin (http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Kingdoms-of-Amalur-Reckoning-DEMO/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80245418983), if you have a gold membership.

Good to know the kinds of things you have experience with.  :why_so_serious:

It does look like QTE-infested generic fantasy, though. Oh! I just remembered something amusing I read in GameInformer about this game recently. I'll transcribe it into this thread later on.

its goofy art style (McFarlane??)

I thnk the jarring thing about it is the juvenile cartoonish look is married to an attempt at "serious" worldbuilding and tone setting.  You start off having died and coming to in a pile of rotting corpses, but the visual look of them screams "Looney Toons" not "Adult Aimed Dark Fantasy".  

It tried to go for 'darker fantasy' but its goofy art style (McFarlane??) didn't help. Compare it to Torment intro and you'll realize the difference.  One made you ponder what actually happened and how your character came back to life, while the other one made you go 'ok, let's kick some ass and smash barrels.

The demo is on Steam now too Az, no need to install Origin but you do need an EA account.

You don't need an EA account. You can cancel or click the X to close that prompt. I forget the exact steps but I was able to play without signing on to an EA account. Hell, I didn't let the application phone home or anything.

I hate all that shit these days.

Without question it played best on my PC (even my 5yr old rig) with a X360 controller.  I played the demo again, and still had fun.  I tend to like eurojank like Divinity and Risen, and this feels like a more polished version of those games. 

My beef now comes with Steam not having preorder bonuses, and this 'line in the sand' EA wants to draw with Origin registration.  So I have to choose, Steam with no bonuses, or anywhere else and my game is stored in Origin.  EA's hands are too heavy.

Generally people that post the real bad stuff about me are Democrats and Yankee fans, and that's cool, I get it. But you Yankee fans, keep hating, that's cool, I understand. Please don't come here and post 'You" have 27 or 28 rings or whatever, unless your Derek Jeter because YOU have none, I have 3, I was honored to play with 3 very special groups of men and be a part of 3 World Championships, and that made some folks mad...

:)

I keed.

Also my first impression is that the game is just really weird looking. There's something very off putting about how the graphics all hang together or the colors or the lighting or SOMEthing, but I can't put my finger on exactly what.

You may have already done this: I compared my PS3 to my PC by playing the demo and switching sources on my TV.  Side by side the PC clearly has sharper everything and much shorter load times but on its own the PS3 reaches "good enough" standards, especially from couch distance where jaggies are less apparent.

Just use your PS3 controller with your PC, and may your couch enjoy victory.

Yeah there is.

The model geometry is low-poly but fine, the textures look fine to me as well. Seems to be the scene composition and lighting. The scenes have a hideous mix of colors and the lighting is very soft, very little contrast, lots of different colored lights bleeding together, etc. Colored lighting is very hard to get right, and there are rooms where a puke green light blends into an orange light.

It looks a lot like Diablo 3 art style gone horribly wrong.

Also the long exposition dump at the beginning is pretty stupid considering you wake up with amnesia, just tell all that story shit through the game itself and it would make the intro a lot more interesting.

The 360 controller on PC is really nice for this game.  It auto-switches by button press, so one can play controller then kyb/mouse without even going into a menu. 

As an aside; it's 2012, why are games still coming out with crap UI's? 

As an aside; it's 2012, why are games still coming out with crap UI's?

Welcome to the hilariously awesome effects of consoles. :awesome_for_real:

I finally got around to playing the demo without post processing. Runs smooth, looks good, ok combat, but a bit generic. The FOV was so tiny I got seriously disoriented. Disappointed that you couldn't run out of the first zone in the demo, even though they gave that speech about having 45 minutes to explore.

The skybox is weird in this game, made me think I was in a gigantic cave.

I played a pure sorcery build. Sorcerers have 3 weapons - Staffs (close range) Chakras (throwing discs - mid range) and some sort of Wands (long range). I chose to specialize in Chakras and the heavy nuke spell you start out with.

Combat was quite decent once you got a few abilities. The QTE finishing moves (for extra experience gain) are dumb, but at least I always got 100% bonus exp gain with my APM fingers of doom. Most encounters followed one of three types: 4-5 mobs encounter (use AoE and dodge), 1-3 with ranged charge-up/charge skill (use dodge), or dumbfuck mob (just spam Mouse1).

The story, characters and lore are super generic. It's also very PG-13. So it's just boring. The background lore seems to be quite rich though. Lots of names and history and shit. But that doesn't really matter since it's all boring. Who is actually excited by dark/light elves and dwarves anymore? "oh no, the dark elf king is corrupted with evil and you are the chosen one hohuhuho" fuck you.
The game world is too big. Areas are too sparse when it comes to... well, interesting stuff. It's all mobs and loot chests and fedex sidequest-givers ("Hello, bring me 4 deer heads! I know I'm a hunter but I will ask you, stranger, to hunt in my place. Because fuck you I'm lazy"). Towns are all hub-structured (3-4 questgivers, shop, healer, smith, etc.), with very few intractable characters besides the questgivers. Pretty much like a MMORPG.

Speaking of being like a MMORPG. Every quest including the main quests feels like they're taken directly from a MMORPG. Felt like playing SWTOR again. Main quests and sidequests - only difference is main quest got recurring characters and some cinematics.

The interface is horrible. Probably developed for consoles first.


TLDR; The game is a singleplayer MMORPG, much like Two Worlds II. It has a horrible interface and a camera/turn-system that takes like an hour to get used to (earlier I couldn't finish the demo because I became nauseated). Combat plays like Zelda - dodge, attack, dodge. Plot and characters are PG-13 cardboard cutouts and boring - don't expect xtreme bioware tableflipping or romancing or anything like that. Writing is not horrible but it's absolutely not interesting.
I expect only a few percentage of people who play this will actually finish it. It can be very tedious. Your character grows boring fast - and since it's a single character game that kind of sucks balls, no?

After playing a few hours I think it's pretty fun. It's like Skyrim-lite; Skyrim's the better game for sure, but I've beat that and this is new and shiny. The combat is also faster paced, although I hate the QTEs because I am terrible at them.

- Why can't I just open barrels and crates instead of going on a insane whacking rampage when I want to check their contents? Maybe the newest generation of console and computer players find the possibility of simply opening a crate boring and not heroic enough :P

I think the original plan was that this *was* going to be an MMO, but they changed their minds at some point.  At least I'm pretty sure I read that.

I haven't read this thread. Just glancing above, it seems like teh hate is going strong. Hmm.

I'll just play it and have some fun.  It is a rare title that I allow myself to do that with.

I don't like that Day9 guy, too jittery.  Really like the Total Biscuit guy, he's able to form coherent sentences.  I know it's a blog, but I wanted the Day9 guy to actually ask some pertinent questions instead of raving how awesome the game is to the game's creator.

Really do hope Amalur does well.  I think they have a good idea there.

To the people who said this felt like a single player MMO - I think the original plan was that this *was* going to be an MMO, but they changed their minds at some point.  At least I'm pretty sure I read that.

You guys probably keep up better than me. I wouldn't know. Although I haven't got too far into this game, I will say it's kind of puzzling how this would translate into an MMO. You're basically the "chosen one". Or maybe not that. You're someone who chooses what you want for yourself. The rest of the world is tied down to fate. Unless something comes up where others become like you, it's hard to see an MMO with a bunch of ubermensch characters running around.

I see what you're saying but it's an MMO, there's never an explanation on why there are tons of heroes running around doing the same thing you are with the same stories. Might as well just go all the way and not worry about the entire premise, either.

To the people who said this felt like a single player MMO - I think the original plan was that this *was* going to be an MMO, but they changed their minds at some point.  At least I'm pretty sure I read that.

The main storyline doesn't just place your character in the position of simply badass "chosen one" like a Revan type. But more like some existential oddity..an exception to the laws of the universe type. They're not even supposed to exist - their very nature is not what the gods even chart out for people. At least one main character says that.

That isn't to say I don't think the IP can't have an MMO. Just that I would think it'd be in some different setting/storyline.

Take a look at this link:

http://www.amalur.com/history/age-of-arcana/i

The single-player game takes place during the "Age of Arcana" era ("The Crystal War Begins", chapter VI): yep, in the middle of Amalur "world history", so to say. MMOG, from what I understand, will take place at the beginning of the "Age of Heroes".

Not sure if the guy is playing on low details but man, this looks just comically awful. And considering the supposed 'writing talent' they had... Hahahah.
[screenshot]

Obviously, you're playing a female though. They look cool. ;)

The New York Times?

What?

This sounds promising so far, and I'll probably pick it up at some point after I'm "finished" with Skyrim.  Hopefully by then it might go on sale (Steam summer sale maybe).  Everyone seems to agree that the combat is its strong point, which is good since the combat is by far the weakest part of Skyrim.  I get my rpg, open world fix with Skyrim and my kill shit good fix with Amular.

Actually, I would say this is almost as much an open world as Skyrim. The lead developer was the lead for Oblivion. It's more directed though. Not sure what to compare it to. Not quite as restrictive as Fable, but not TES either. It also doesn't have the emergent sort of quirks of a true open world. A lot more is scripted.

After playing this game on the console. I am super glad I chose to buy it for a console, I cant see how it would be even remotely friendly with a KB and mouse.

Too much praise, too many comparisons to good games, not enough hate, Origin here I come.

If the story sucks I'm punching this thread.

Games are popular now.

I read that in US magazine.

I don't think a demo is the best place to experience that.  The demo is to show graphics and game mechanics.  Most demos fall short on the world space exploration.

I don't think a demo is the best place to experience that.  The demo is to show graphics and game mechanics.  Most demos fall short on the world space exploration.

You get 45 minutes of the full game after you get out of the starter dungeon.  Actually, if you finish the starter dungeon once you can then start your 45 minutes from the end of the starter dungeon from start-up.

There is plenty of opportunity there to pic a direction and start running.  You can get pretty far/try out pretty much all the low level systems.

Crap demo, excellent end product.

Oh, anything that isn't found in a pure gaming-centric magazine/website/whatever is way more than likely to be paid product placement. It's just advertising.

We didn't grow up, advertising dollars did.

That might be the case for EW or People, but it's certainly not true of the New York Times, Slate, or other mainstream media outlets with journalistic integrity that are starting to have intelligent games criticism.  I'm much more suspicious of the influence of industry dollars in the corporate pure-gaming centric world.

Ok.

With electronic gaming creeping up on movies in dollars earned, don't we deserve some good reviewers?  We can't have thoughtful criticism because "LOL video games"?

With electronic gaming creeping up on movies in dollars earned, don't we deserve some good reviewers?  We can't have thoughtful criticism because "LOL video games"?

We already have thoughtful criticism. My point was that we shouldn't expect it from the NYT.

There is a whole sub-topic here about the "language of critique". But I don't know if we want to have that debate again :)

Story: A bit further into the game and I have to admit that I like some of the story lines concepts.  The Fae start off seeming all kinds of awesome, but by the end of the House of Ballads line you're seeing the cracks/flaws and I felt pretty bad about killing off the Maid.  There has been dialog that makes me laugh out loud, a definite plus.

Combat: A bit further into the game and I really like how combat gets more options that you are rewarded for using.  At the same time, your basic attacks still provide quite a bit of value and you fuck yourself if you don't work them into you repotoire.  Dodge (which at this point is a teleport) + attack launches a single target into the air and smacks him repeated with a whirling circle of <place you weapon element here>.  It's gonna take awhile before that gets old.  The fate meter/system is the perfect answer for, "ahhhh!!!! I can't kill this boss!".  Just run around whacking shit for awhile till your fate meter is full and go kick his ass (and get massive xp!)

I just really like the game quite a bit.  Playing for the first hour I would have said, "game is ok, nothing special".  Now (8 hours?) I'd say, "will definitely being rolling other characters/playing more!".

yes, I'm blushing about the fanboi on my nose.

The lorestones in particular need a mute button :)

But maybe, just MAYBE, if an outlet like the NYT starts to seriously evaluate something instead of the gaming wank sites we get on a normal basis, it might accrue some value to the consumer?

Curt Schilling is going to be on Conan O'Brien, more than likely talking about this and 38 Studios.

I really want to like this but the camera is driving me bonkers.

That's clever that he can use his baseball fame to sneak into real media like that. Can you imagine, say, Marc Jacobs, Smedley, or Rob Pardo on the late night circuit?

You can watch the Conan episode online here: http://teamcoco.com/video

Either the full episode or the Schilling segments. Two have baseball-related titles but the third is: Curt Schilling Puts Conan in Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning (http://teamcoco.com/video/curt-schilling-video-games)

BTW one other reason for Curt to go on, and to be able to get on, Conan in particular is their Boston connection.

I bought a house in the spider village [...]

Hah, I went back to finish that faction quest and I am stuck on the same boss.  I'm playing on hard, switched to full Sorcery, and have been having a fine time but that fight is quite the difficulty spike.  I died so many times I got the "you should tone down the difficulty, friend" notice.  I can't believe the summoned creature helps you though, mine just stands around watching me die.  I want reckless assault back.  :/

Hah, I went back to finish that faction quest and I am stuck on the same boss.  I'm playing on hard, switched to full Sorcery, and have been having a fine time but that fight is quite the difficulty spike.  I died so many times I got the "you should tone down the difficulty, friend" notice.  I can't believe the summoned creature helps you though, mine just stands around watching me die.  I want reckless assault back.  :/

So, I just did that faction quest. I'm not sure why you guys were having trouble, I beat it with no issues. Did you have your fate saved up? If not, I could see how it could be difficult, I guess, if you weren't might/sorc (OP) + Greatsword and had a full fate bar. Fate-mode is auto-win.

It's worth noting that the 330,000 count ... only includes retail sales and not copies purchased on digital platforms.

I like this game and this world.  I want to keep supporting it.  I just wish they weren't part of EA.  To me, its a nearly perfect game for my schedule.  I can play it for 15 minutes and actually get something done.

DLC was released this week.  $10 for a pirate area.  I won't be getting it.  By the time I crossed the water to the second half of the map, my character was a tornado of destruction, there were no new enemy types and I had lost track of the story so I just sprinted through to the end.  My game map tracks my interest levels pretty accurately.

State officials have been meeting with the video game company owned by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, Gov. Lincoln Chafee told NBC 10 on Monday.

"We're always working to keep Rhode Island companies solvent, and that's what we're doing with 38 Studios," Chafee said.

Providence-based 38 Studios was founded in Massachusetts but lured to Rhode Island in 2010 after state officials offered it a $75-million loan guarantee. The state said its backing would help the company bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of tax revenue to the state.

"We're working with 38 Studios on different issues. That's all I can report right now," the governor said.

Calls placed to 38 Studios on Monday were not returned.

Keith Stokes, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp., had no comment.

In February, the company released the single-player role-playing game "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning."

According to the NPD Group, 410,000 copies have been sold since its release. The figures represent sales in the U.S. across Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC versions of the title.

Stokes was criticized during last year's governor's race for advocating the loan guarantee to bring the company to Providence.

Schilling told NBC 10's Gene Valicenti after the game was released what the taxpayer guarantee meant.

"The only way taxpayers lose is if the company failed," Schilling said.

I'm just a simple country lawyer, so I don't quite get what's going on with this. Is this as simple as 38 Studios being given a massive loan by Rhode Island that they are now having trouble paying back, or is it something else?

A loan guarantee is not the same as a loan, technically.  By offering to guarantee $75 million of loans, Rhode Island hopes to help 38 Studios find the additional financing it apparently needs.  If 38 Studios gets the loan and stays alive long enough to pay it back, then RI taxpayers lose nothing.  If 38 Studios gets the loan and then fails, then RI taxpayers are on the hook for the amount of the guarantee.  That taxpayer money would then go to the private entity - bank or other investor - as a repayment.  

Separately, 410,000 does not sound like a lot these days.  If 38 is lucky enough to keep $10 a box, there is no way they made money on that game.

Last year Schilling told Reuters that he had invested "$30 million to $35 million" in 38 Studios. A disclosure filing obtained by WPRI shows that Schilling only advanced the company $4 million of his own money, and has already been paid back—with the funds from Rhode Island loan.

The loan's facilitator, Rhode Island's Economic Development Corporation, called an "emergency meeting" for tomorrow morning, wherein it will discuss "an unexpected occurrence that requires immediate action to protect the public regarding the 38 Studios financing." As reported earlier, if 38 Studios were to fully default on its loan obligations to investors supplying the loan via the Rhode Island government, the responsibility would fall to Rhode Island's taxpayers – to the tune of $112.6 million.

Of the $75 million borrowed by 38 Studios from the state of Rhode Island, $49.8 million was received by the studio as of March 15, WPRI reports. Given that, it seems worrisome at best that 38 Studios was unable to fulfill its recent payment of $1.125 million. 38 Studios is working on the Kingdoms of Amalur MMO – the game was originally promised for a launch ahead of 2013, when 38 Studios is set to begin paying back bondholders on its $75 million loan. It's unclear what stage its MMO is at, and 38 Studios hasn't made a public statement regarding its recent issues.

Schilling, however, was not one of the stupid players. Few if any pitchers of his era matched the way he studied batters and prepared for his games. But like Musashi implied that doesn't mean that makes him a good business person. Neither does being a hardcore gamer.

Schilling is not the CEO or CFO, it's not like he's solely (or even mostly) responsible for these decisions.

It seems to me that the idiots here are the people in Rhode Island who thought this was a good idea. They gave them a loan and expected them to start paying it back before the game was released? What? How does that make sense? They have no source of revenue until the game ships, how the fuck are they supposed to start paying back a loan?

Quite frankly a state giving a loan to company making an MMO is a fucking ridiculous idea. Might as well just throw some money in a burning trash can.

Whoa whoa whoa, being good at your profession doesn't suddenly vault you out of the realm of stupidity.

History will paint him as the one who was responsible, so that point is absolutely moot.

Schild was hit in the nuts by a line drive once.

As far as being a good business person, they got a $75 million loan from Rhode Island. Seems like good business move to me - not for Rhode Island of course though.

Yes, I would have to agree.  How is the media reporting on this?

History will paint him as the one who was responsible, so that point is absolutely moot.

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling asked Rhode Island officials for more money for his video game company 38 Studios LLC in a private meeting Wednesday morning, held to discuss whether its reported financial troubles threaten the state’s $75 million investment in the company.

“Rhode Islanders’ hard-earned money is at stake,” Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee said before the closed session.

Members of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp.’s board took no action on Schilling’s request Wednesday, and the amount he asked for was not disclosed. “My priority right now is to get back to my team,” Schilling said in a brief statement to reporters.

Chafee began talks with the game company over the weekend, after reports that it missed a $1.12 million loan payment. Schilling moved the company from Maynard to Providence last year in return for $75 million in loan guarantees from the state. The company promised to bring 450 jobs to the city, and Rhode Island officials hoped it would anchor a new video game sector there.

Massachusetts officials tried to keep 38 Studios in Maynard, but declined to match the Rhode Island offer.

Hey, here's a thing Curt Schilling said last year!

"There can be no question our country is in the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. I also think there can be no question that it falls on us, the individuals, to find a way out of our own personal crisis."

Schilling has been vocal in his criticism of the ARRA stimulus, even though it directly funded the Rhode Island job creation program that handed out $75 million to 38 Studios.

That's a shame, I thought it was a solid title.

I guess we have yet to see the McFarlane, R. A. Salvatore ETC.. output though.

How is it a solid title when we have zero proof or examples of work from the Studio?  All we have is a game Real Big Games reskinned for Amalur.

How is it a solid title when we have zero proof or examples of work from the Studio?  All we have is a game Real Big Games reskinned for Amalur.

Big Huge Games.

Also, generally if a company has anything "good" in development - I hear about it. I know people at 38 and I've heard precisely fuckall.

I....., was referring to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in response to its low sales?

The second line refers to the title we haven't seen "fuck all" about.

Great example of how some like to jump down peoples shit for simple misunderstandings...... Stay classy guys.

ROTFL I'm listening to a report on the local NPR station, they're apparently seeking to get a film credit from the state, based on the cut scene videos being "film," to pay off the loan.

Keith Stokes has resigned (http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/05/providence-ri---89.html) as head of the state's Economic Development Corporation, amid controversy over a $75-million loan guarantee the EDC gave retired Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's video-game company that is now in default on payments owed the state.

This is starting to get a ton of coverage (http://www.golocalprov.com/politics/donna-perry-taxpayers-are-owed-transparent-answers-by-the-edc/). Apparently this isn't even a loan payment, it's just a good faith payment, the actual loan payments are far larger and start next year. In addition to paying himself back his investment, apparently RA Salvatore is getting paid $5 million just for the already shipped game.

I guess Curt won't be coming back here to hang out…  :crying_panda:

Things be getting weird, looks like the studio tried to make their loan payment by pulling money from payroll.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/politics/local_politics/38-studios-pays-edc-not-employees

it's hard to see how they could have miscalculated so badly that they've run out of cash this far from launching the mmo (their next source of income).

I thought that buying the Big Huge Games was the reason 38 Studios was in trouble now but considering they got the loan a year after that it's hard to see how they could have miscalculated so badly that they've run out of cash this far from launching the mmo (their next source of income).

Keep in mind that the MMO has been in development since at least 2007. And I don't mean "concept sketches and word docs" development.

That's a lot of time and money wasted.

If 38 Studios goes down (when?) none of those people are going to stay in RI and help the economy, so that money spent will have been totally wasted. AFAIK there are no other video game companies in Rhode Island.

Anyway, I read elsewhere EA co-funded KoA to the tune of 50 mill and it didn't come close to breaking even

MMO release date leaked? (http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723934/38-studios-back-in-business-amalur-mmo-release-window-outed-by-rhode-island-governor/)

So a year before the real fall on your face failure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9nvnrP0j8U

They finally put out in game footage! ... aerial shots of the world zones.  I actually love the art style.

The EDC put the taxpayer's money up for collateral, but didn't actually use it for the loan principal. This means the taxpayer carried all the risk in the transaction, with literally no upside at all. The upside went to private investors who enjoyed a 7% coupon rate on an essentially risk-free bond.

Things be getting weird, looks like the studio tried to make their loan payment by pulling money from payroll.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/politics/local_politics/38-studios-pays-edc-not-employees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9nvnrP0j8U

They finally put out in game footage! ... aerial shots of the world zones.  I actually love the art style.

So apparently they managed to pry up enough couch cushions to scrape together the money to make the loan payment, and now apparently 38 Studios is good til November or so.

Of course, if what I've heard about their expenses is true ($4 million a month in payroll alone) then they probably won't survive til then.

Well we're hearing, what, 600k copies of KoA sold?  That strikes me as a bit low for a game that got as much press as this one did.

Curt was on Fallon and Conan to shill the game, but each of those interviews were spent 3/4 talking about his career and only a cursory glance over "hey, I've got a game out".  It was actually a marketing failure, if that was an angle they were going for. 

It got press?  Here was the only place I heard any mention of it.

I wanted to clear up some misinformation around 38 Studios first product, Reckoning. Sales of Reckoning OUTPERFORMED EA’s expectations and sold more than 1.2 million units in the game’s first 90 days in the market.

Curt just posted this (https://www.facebook.com/curt.schilling.56/posts/3736358441248) on Facebook:

A shame they haven't paid their employees in a month and health insurance coverage will end tomorrow. Prospects for this game actually coming out seem grim.

Yeah, that actually does look neat.

(https://p.twimg.com/AtodSz3CQAA3Ht0.png:large)
(https://p.twimg.com/AtodBMVCEAED-BB.png:large)
(https://p.twimg.com/AtocgdBCIAA94t4.png:large)

That non-horse mount reminds me of something too that I can't put my finger on.

Reminds me more of Fable's art style than WoW's to be honest.

Do not let the shiny distract you. Anything without a UI is a pre-rendered or posed marketing shot and therefore suspect.

Is it pretty, yes.  Is it a reality-based creation of the game engine? Doubtful.

Particularly given the "ohmgwtf we're screwed" nature of the last few weeks. By this time they should have some videos, not stills.  

Curt Schilling's 38 Studios laid off all of their employees today, a source familiar with the company tells Polygon.

I'm loathe to put faith in Crecente's reporting, but it guess 38 Studios is now a big fat zero.

Aww, that's depressing the hell out of me.  The screenshots looked cool, KoA looked cool (and people say it's not bad to play either, I'm looking forward to playing it once it enters my price range).  Taxpayers get screwed, the games industry gets a black eye, talented people get laid off.  It's a bad outcome all around.   :sad:

Confirmed by Gamasutra.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/171015/38_Studios_Big_Huge_Games_lay_off_their_entire_staff.php

Fucking hell. Employees found out their health insurance was ending tonight through one employees pregnant wife being told by her doctor on Tuesday afternoon.

That's really shit. So much for one big family!

I wonder how much they needed Amalur to sell if the 1.3m (or 1.2m) sales now reported lead to this in just 2 months after release...

A fucking letter? Schilling didn't even bother to gather them in the parking lot and tell them to their face?

More than likely, since it was published by EA, they got a really shit royalty deal that had milestones they couldn't reach (like an idiotic Metacritic rating or some shit). So while they sold that many, they probably didn't get more than $5-$10 a copy, if that. And when you burn through $50 million with nothing to show for it (and you give $5 million to a hack like Salvatore to write GODDAMN LORE any shithead fanfic author on the Internet could write), that's just not enough money.

I know that, but I wonder how much were they actually counting on it to sell to actually keep 38 Studios afloat if 1.2m sales lead to a shitdown in just a few months?

Quote
I wanted to clear up some misinformation around 38 Studios first product, Reckoning. Sales of Reckoning OUTPERFORMED EA’s expectations and sold more than 1.2 million units in the game’s first 90 days in the market.

This is fucking bonkers.

3 million copies was what they told the state as expected sales to break even, yet he quotes here:  


So who is full of the bullshit?  He's telling the state 3mill, but EA is cool with 1.2mil.  So if 1.2 million OUTPERFORMED EA's expectations, does that mean that EA did not expect the game to be profitable?  Apparently, the math on the profitability was as good as the system design for the company.  This is fucking bonkers.

whoa, this is really like the "parking lot" disgrace back during Sigil's time...Probably worse, with the whole health insurance on top.

Was it 3 million copies of Reckoning, or 3 million copies of MMO-that-will-never-actually-be-made?

What I find baffling is how they spent all that money so fast.

So who is full of the bullshit?  He's telling the state 3mill, but EA is cool with 1.2mil.  So if 1.2 million OUTPERFORMED EA's expectations, does that mean that EA did not expect the game to be profitable?  Apparently, the math on the profitability was as good as the system design for the company.  This is fucking bonkers.

I guess this means Schilling won't be coming back here, huh?

What I find baffling is how they spent all that money so fast.

Probably the most damaging thing was that the terms of the loan required them to have something like 480 jobs filled, which is completely untenable for many larger, established developers, never mind a fresh start-up with no titles out the door.

You can't subsidize videogame companies like you subsidize other industries.

You shouldn't dump the majority of your state's kickstarting fund into a single venture

Apparently originally the fund was only going to allow for 10m as a cap for an individual business, but the governor intervened and got them to remove it from the bill because he was already in negotiations with Schilling before the bill even passed.

Keep in mind that matching or bettering this was also a big issue in Massachusetts and our governor took a lot of heat for not doing so.

You shouldn't dump the majority of your state's kickstarting fund into a single venture, and you shouldn't request all that money knowing the expected return on it (450 jobs) is completely unworkable.

Everyone at the table should have fucking known better than to do this deal.

“I’m stunned, and I’m heartbroken,” said R.A. Salvatore, a Leominster fantasy author who was a consultant to 38 Studios and whose son worked at the company. “This is one of the best teams I’ve ever seen assembled. They were doing amazing work.”

I am guessing that a lot of them probably stayed where they were in MA if they could swing it and commuted as RI is basically a suburb of Boston anyway.

I am guessing that a lot of them probably stayed where they were in MA if they could swing it and commuted as RI is basically a suburb of Boston anyway.

http://www.boston.com/businessupdates/2012/05/24/curt-schilling-studios-lays-off-all-staff/Oz242vVpcy6FLRwegTtkOP/story.html

This will be a great thread to drop back in on in a few years:)

But again, at the end of the day we have to deliver and that is the thing that makes me rest easy. We will deliver, we really don't have a choice. The financial and personal investment I've made allows only that as an outcome.

I had no idea the massive undertaking 'making a cool game' was when I opened the doors last year. Scary? Hell ya. Daunting? Absolutely. Doable? You bet. But understanding the financial landscape was something that had I not done it BEFORE we signed off on this startup would have destroyed us.

One of the things I promised members of this family was total commitment. Our benefits package is total health coverage.

Oh there is a master plan, and when legal statutes force me to have to reveal them publicly then I guess that will happen. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because you haven't been told, somethings not being done. Making an MMO, any game, is a massive undertaking requiring tens of millions of dollars and tens of hundreds of people. Budgeting those dollars and taking care of those people is my #1 goal as President of this company. If our game is great, which we believe it will be, does giving you the information before we release it make it any greater?
The details that will be made public will be done so when they need to be on a schedule we deem to be the most beneficial to the game, the company, and the people. If getting the word out early is a requirement to your game being good, you've lost before you started. And as for partners, there are none. GMG, at the moment is owned 100% by me, R.A., and Todd, have both signed on to oversee their respective areas as leads for the flagship title.

(and you give $5 million to a hack like Salvatore to write GODDAMN LORE any shithead fanfic author on the Internet could write), that's just not enough money.

Hey folks!

Today was a rough day at the studio. After a long stretch of difficult circumstances, things finally came to a head, and this afternoon, we on the Reckoning team down in Maryland began to pack up our offices and say our goodbyes.

Before heading off to wherever I may land next, I first wanted to drop a quick word to you folks, the Reckoning community.

First, I just wanted to say thanks for all the well wishes today--this has been a pretty horrible time for those of us at both BHG and 38 Studios Providence--and we greatly appreciate the great display of compassion throughout the fanbase.

Second, on behalf of the Baltimore studio in particular, I just wanted to thank you all very much for your support over the past year, and for your enthusiasm for Reckoning. It has been truly humbling.

Third, I wanted to apologize for the lack of a patch for Reckoning. It's something we very much wanted to do, but various issues outside our control (which unfortunately I'm not at liberty to disclose) prevented us from doing so for a long time. Finally we received clearance to do a PC-only patch, which wasn't ideal (we wanted to do a patch on all platforms) but it was better than nothing. So we commenced working on that--working on everything from miscellaneous bug fixes to Joe Q's addition of new camera features to Dakota's addition of two new difficulty modes...but before we finished, the company collapsed. Now, barring some sort of miracle, it is highly unlikely that any patch for Reckoning will ever see the light of day.  I am deeply sorry that we were unable to get a patch out the door sooner, before this catastrophe struck--you supported us, and you deserve the support yourselves. While I consider Reckoning a very strong game and not especially buggy, that's not the same as saying that it's perfectly balanced or bug-free, and it kills me that I'll never get the chance to correct any of its issues.

Once more, on behalf of Big Huge Games and the Reckoning development team, thank you for everything, and take care!

Strangely I haven't seen any gems from Foh linked around yet.

I wonder what the hell was the actual management (http://38studios.com/people/management) of 38 Studios doing all this time.

I recognise the RA Salvatore hate, but for the record that US$5m was if Project Copernicus did well; as I understand it, he got US$1.4m for the launch of KoA:R.

Take a look at the success that is Austin, TX, or the huge game hub in Eastern Canada, heavily subsidized.

I recognise the RA Salvatore hate, but for the record that US$5m was if Project Copernicus did well; as I understand it, he got US$1.4m for the launch of KoA:R.

Still too goddamn much money. I'm seriously, writing lore for an MMOG is a daunting, huge task, but it goddamn isn't one that requires that kind of expense. I'd gladly do it for $50k - open offer to anyone that developer that wants me to do it. It's INSANE to pay $1 million for fanfic lore that most players will ignore anyway. You can hire industry-experienced writers in the video game industry for less than $100k a year. You ONLY pay $1 million if you are licensing a HUGE franchise IP that has millions of fans. Salvatore's name, no matter how many hack genre books he's sold, is not worth that money on his name alone. Even Dri'zzt ain't worth that much as an IP. It's throwing money away.

WHAT FUCKING SUCCESS?

All that press GMG/38 Studios got for signing Salvatore and McFarlane? That happened in what, 2008, 2009? Even if the game had come out this year, that's 3 fucking years too early for the press to matter for anything other than convincing some investor sucker  to toss their money down your glory hole.

Their names were also attached to and used to promote Reckoning.

Paying seven figures to Salvatore might have made sense if he had written a (real) fantasy book set in Amalur in exchange. While his writing might not be great in everyone's opinion, he's still a bestseller and any fantasy he would have written would've gotten readers (and people aware of Amalur).

McFarlane's only current relevance in gaming is that Atomic Comics carries hentai and some gamers like that shit.

I'm not trying to be snarky here, but RI was trying to create a game hub in Providence - Hasbro is there (and is the state's largest employer). Take a look at the success that is Austin, TX, or the huge game hub in Eastern Canada, heavily subsidized.

WHAT FUCKING SUCCESS?

Paying seven figures to Salvatore might have made sense if he had written a (real) fantasy book set in Amalur in exchange. While his writing might not be great in everyone's opinion, he's still a bestseller and any fantasy he would have written would've gotten readers (and people aware of Amalur).

I'm more interested in finding out how to get put in such a position in the games industry that VC, Publishers, and States will throw fucking gobs of money at me to do whatever I really feel like while simultaneously having the ability to parachute out at the end richer and still able to get my next gig doing exactly the same thing.

I know that every big business is like that (See: Mel Karmazin and SiriusXM where they gave him gobs of money to run a struggling company into the ground after he literally destroyed every radio station he ever laid his hands on), but HOW DO YOU GET THE ABILITY TO DO THAT?

I feel the management team completely and utterly failed at everything they are responsible for doing.

Well now that I'm a little more free to talk about this Jesse. The million dollar + payment that went to Rhode Island was in assurance we would receive the tax credits of 8 million. We even had buyers lined up for the credits and the government was sitting there telling us "You give us the million, we give you the tax credits."

We gave them the million. They did not give us the tax credits, which would've not only payed the employees, but saved the studio most likely as we had several publishing deals in the works. The government flat out lied to us (big surprise).

I don't fault upper-managemenet too much, they've actually been pretty open about what's going on and really thought the studio was going to pull through this. They've even been allowing us access to the building to obtain as many assets as we need to build our portfolios back up. I'm sure the full story will eventually come out.
http://viccortis.com - Portfolio

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1593225&postcount=100

There's the finge-rpointing I was waiting for.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1593225&postcount=100

Unless Salvatore had a hand in running the company, I wouldn't blame him for any of this.  If you throw a few million at me to write a story I'll damn well take the offer.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1593225&postcount=100

Pretty sure Skeletor in Reamde was based on RAS  :grin:

Corporate lawyer Jonathan Savage, appointed special counsel to Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, said he has been in contact with 38 Studios officials today and company representatives assured him they are ready to be very flexible to bring in new investment to restart the firm and the state has not given up on its hope to resurrect the company.
“They are diligently pursuing additional capital,” said Savage, who is Chafee’s point man on 38 Studios. “I would anticipate any additional capital would be private.”

http://www.necn.com/05/25/12/Czar-of-Amalur-puts-blame-on-RI-governor/landing_newengland.html?blockID=714028&feedID=4206
Saw this on Lum's blog. Czar of Amalur blames governor.

I think the only conclusion that sane readers can come to is that the staff of 38 studios was indoctrinated.

Some of the hundreds of 38 Studios employees laid off yesterday were hit with a second round of bad news this week when they were told by banks that homes they thought the company had sold for them hadn't been and that they may be stuck with a second mortgage, Polygon has learned.

Several sources directly impacted by the mortgage issue confirmed the news today and a 38 Studios official, who asked to not be named, said the company is working to try and get to the bottom of the notifications and find a resolution.

The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility of retrenchment, the Company has decided that a companywide lay off is absolutely necessary.

These layoffs are non-voluntary and non-disciplinary.

This is your official notice of lay off, effective today, Thursday, May 24th, 2012.

http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/5/25/3043282/38-studios-downfall-leads-to-second-mortgages-for-some-employees

I can't believe they even offered to sell off potential employees homes to encourage them to move and work for them but only hired an agent instead of buying the property themselves. I get why they didn't do it but just knowing the reasons why should've made them consider not making the alternative offer in the first place.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1593225&postcount=100

Still too goddamn much money. I'm seriously, writing lore for an MMOG is a daunting, huge task, but it goddamn isn't one that requires that kind of expense. I'd gladly do it for $50k - open offer to anyone that developer that wants me to do it. It's INSANE to pay $1 million for fanfic lore that most players will ignore anyway. You can hire industry-experienced writers in the video game industry for less than $100k a year. You ONLY pay $1 million if you are licensing a HUGE franchise IP that has millions of fans. Salvatore's name, no matter how many hack genre books he's sold, is not worth that money on his name alone. Even Dri'zzt ain't worth that much as an IP. It's throwing money away.

EDIT: And since Salvatore says he would only get paid on the backend (an idiotic deal for him, if you ask me), it's still a bad deal for 38 Studios to make because you can get comparable work for far, far cheaper, whether you are paying on the front end or the back.

I thought for sure this was how they would do it. Not like banging out yet another terrible book would have put him out any. Pretty sure Skeletor in Reamde was based on RAS  :grin:

And as pointed out, that US$8m is 2 - 3 months of operation at 38 Studios' then-size. Where was the money coming from past then? "Several publishing deals"? For what? And if any of those publishers got a look at 38 Studios financial information, they would have seen multiple red flags and probably held off.

It makes me think of all those studios who fall over / fire lots of people, then blame the publisher. Yes, publishers can and do behave poorly, but they also make a convenient scapegoat over, "We mismanaged this studio into the ground."

It looks like each loan repayment to RI EDC was a trigger to unlock access to further loans. While they got the $75mm loan guarantee, it looks like only (heh, "only") borrowed about $48mm of it.

Here is a timeline of when 38 Studios is scheduled to get the $71 million in loan proceeds that will be left after bankers' fees and other costs are paid, along with employment targets set by the state. (The dates are estimates that assume the transaction closes next month, and thus subject to change.)
 
- 2010 -

Oct. 1: 38 Studios gets $13 million if the transaction closes and a lease is signed. (Total paid out: $13 million)
 
Nov. 30: 38 Studios gets $9.4 million if it announces the date it will move to Rhode Island. (Total paid out: $22.4 million)
 
- 2011 -

Feb. 28: 38 Studios gets $17.2 million if it relocates and employs 80 full-time workers in Rhode Island. (Total paid out: $39.6 million)
 
Aug. 31: 38 Studios gets $4.2 million if it employs 125 full-time workers here. (Total paid out: $43.8 million)
 
Nov. 30: 38 Studios gets $4.1 million if it signs a distribution agreement for Project Copernicus. (Total paid out: $47.9 million)
 
Dec. 31: 38 Studios gets $3.1 million if it employs 250 full-time workers here. (Total paid out: $51 million) And if all the previous milestones have been met, 38 Studios gets another $13 million from the $20 million reserve fund the EDC is creating to protect taxpayers. (Total paid out: $64 million)
 
- 2012 -

Oct. 1: 38 Studios must employ 300 workers here. (Total paid out: $64 million)
 
- 2013 -

Oct. 1: 38 Studios must employ 450 workers here. (Total paid out: $64 million)
 
- 2020 -

Nov. 1: If 38 Studios finishes paying investors back for the $75 million loan, it gets the $7 million remaining in the EDC's reserve fund. (Total paid out: $71 million)

When Schilling made his initial $5 million investment in the start-up in 2006 (38 Studios was initially known as Green Monster Games), he hadn't yet told his wife about his decision.

It was April 2009 and Schilling felt he had taken 38 Studios to the brink, extending himself and his family both financially and personally. ...He admitted [while considering the acquisition of another gaming company, Big Huge Games], "I have put the majority of the money I've earned in my life on the table. If I make another financial investment, I will have crossed the point of no return from a personal investment and company standpoint."

I actually believe that government does have a role in business, but it has to understand that business and have proper oversight (especially in this case). After all, if RI had a better understanding of the game industry, they probably wouldn't have acted as guarantor on such a high-risk deal.

From Severian's link three pages ago: http://www.riedc.com/files/38studios/Copyright%20Mortgage%20and%20Assignment%20-%2038%20Studios,%20LLC.pdf

Does that mean if 38 does go chapter 7, RI inherits everything? Kinda looks like all of it was out up as collateral.

http://www.riedc.com/files/38studios/Copyright%20Mortgage%20and%20Assignment%20-%2038%20Studios,%20LLC.pdf

Does that mean if 38 does go chapter 7, RI inherits everything? Kinda looks like all of it was out up as collateral.

But now it is in default again, Chafee said. Under federal law, employers who have at least 100 employees and plan to shed at least 50 jobs are required to give a 60-day notice to workers and state unemployment officials.

Chafee said Friday he would seek an audit of how the company used the $50 million it has received in loan funds, all of which is gone, state officials have said. The governor wants "everything documented" because, he predicted, there are going to be "so many lawsuits."

In November 2010, the EDC borrowed $75 million from private investors on behalf of 38 Studios. The quasi-public agency agreed to pay back the bondholders with money 38 Studios pledged to provide from sales of its games. The interest rates on the bonds range from 6% to 7.75%