He also believes firmly that he is in the business of video games, not virtual worlds. Whatever he creates will be undeniably a game. The difference is a belief in a fun, directed experience, rather than a completely open world full of player created content. In short, since ZeniMax Online will create an evolutionary product, their jump off point is not Second Life.
Firor also believes firmly in smaller, close-knit development teams that work in concert. He doesn't want a team that is so large as to be unmanageable or disconnected. This kind of thought falls directly in line with ZeniMax Media's corporate philosophy, followed by their main studio, Bethesda Softworks, and means that while they may take a little bit longer to achieve their goals, it will be a tighter, better product for it.
Like BioWare Austin and Blizzard before them, ZeniMax Online carries with them the weight of a major RPG developer on their first foray into the MMO universe. Firor admits that with that hype comes a great amount of responsibility, but ultimately, the game has to speak for itself. Blizzard's label may have raised World of Warcraft's ceiling, but they still needed to produce a great project. It's the same for them and that is one reason why we won't hear much about the game until quite simply there is something to say.
ZeniMax Online is so early in the development process that one major part of Firor's day-to-day job is the search for appropriate office space. There are five people on the development team, currently working at temporary office space in Hunt Valley, and they made the announcement of the studio's founding largely to facilitate recruitment.
"Please email me and send me your resume," was Firor's core message at the show. He hopes anyone interested will give him a shout through the company's job website.
The new studio will be located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, a sometimes forgotten hotbed of game development. Once the home of Microprose, the area now has companies like Big Huge Games, Firaxis, BreakAway Games and Day 1 Studios. Bethesda Softworks and EA Mythic are also nearby, And, unlike the Silicon Valley, the cost of living is also relatively sane.
This is the second go at it for Matt Firor, one of the founders of Mythic Entertainment. There he contributed to a successful company, now one of the biggest MMO operations on the planet, but at the time on a shoestring budget. With a little more leeway, Firor believes he can apply the lessons of what a small, focused team can accomplish and apply it to a larger, modern game.
We'd love to hear your comments on the following page.
