Deck Nine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Idol Minds, LLC
Deck Nine (2017–present)
TypePrivate
IndustryVideo games
FoundedApril 1, 1997; 24 years ago (1997-04-01) in Boulder, Colorado, US
Founders
  • Mark Lyons
  • Scott Atkins
Headquarters
Westminster, Colorado
,
US
Key people
Websitedeckninegames.com

Idol Minds, LLC (doing business as Deck Nine[1] or Deck Nine Games[2] since 2017) is an American video game developer based in Westminster, Colorado. The studio was founded in April 1997 by Mark Lyons and Scott Atkins who previously worked for Sony Interactive Studios America. It developed games for PlayStation consoles until 2013. Subsequently, it shifted to other game types before rebranding as "Deck Nine" in May 2017 to develop narrative-driven games. Lyons serves as president and chief technology officer of the company.

History[]

Idol Minds was founded by programmer Mark Lyons and artist Scott Atkins. They had previously worked for Sony Interactive Studios America in San Diego and, after Lyons moved to Colorado with his family, established Idol Minds on April 1, 1997, in Boulder, Colorado.[3][4][5] The studio became known for its ragdoll physics-based game Pain, which was released in November 2007.[6][7] It was among the most-downloaded games on PlayStation Network of 2008.[8][9] In October 2009, Idol Minds made 26 of its 46 employees redundant. One source attributed the layoffs to budget cuts by Pain publisher Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), which was Idol Minds' only source of funding.[10][11] At E3 2011, SCE announced Ruin, a "Diablo-style action role-playing game" developed by Idol Minds and SCE's San Diego Studio.[12][13] After the game was renamed Warrior's Lair, Idol Minds was taken off the project in April 2012.[14][15] Later in 2012, Idol Minds shifted its focus onto mobile free-to-play games.[16][17] Warrior's Lair was canceled in July 2013.[18][19] In August 2015, Idol Minds launched a crowdfunding campaign via Kickstarter for Shutterbug, seeking US$400,000 in funding. The project was canceled ten days later after raising $2,973.[20][21]

On May 31, 2017, Idol Minds announced that it would focus on narrative-driven games with the trade name "Deck Nine".[22] This name was chosen as an homage to the 1983 video game Planetfall.[23] The company created the StoryForge toolset and was developing a "brand new addition to a critically acclaimed franchise".[22][24] During E3 2017 the publisher Square Enix announced Deck Nine was developing Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, a prequel to 2015's Life Is Strange.[25][26] The first episode of Before the Storm was released in August 2017.[27][28] In September 2018, Deck Nine announced it was working with Square Enix on a new project.[29] The studio is developing Life Is Strange: True Colors and the Life Is Strange Remastered Collection (containing remasters of Before the Storm and the original Life Is Strange), which were announced by Square Enix in March 2021 and are scheduled for release in September 2021.[30][31] The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) supported Deck Nine with $2.5 million job-growth incentive tax credits and via the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media (COFTM), the production of True Colors with $150,000 phased film incentives in 2017 and 2018.[32][33]

Games developed[]

As Idol Minds[]

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s)
1998 Cool Boarders 3 PlayStation 989 Studios
Rally Cross 2
1999 Cool Boarders 4
Supercross Circuit 989 Sports
2000 Cool Boarders 2001 PlayStation, PlayStation 2 Sony Computer Entertainment
2003 My Street PlayStation 2
2005 Neopets: The Darkest Faerie
2007 Pain PlayStation 3
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa PlayStation 2 Activision
2012 Ratchet & Clank Collection PlayStation 3 Sony Computer Entertainment
Linked Together[34] iOS
2013 Ratchet: Deadlocked (HD Edition) PlayStation 3 Sony Computer Entertainment
2014 Tales of Honor: The Secret Fleet[35] iOS, Android Mobage
Qube Kingdom[35]

As Deck Nine[]

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s)
2017 Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Square Enix
2021 Life Is Strange: True Colors Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
2022 Life Is Strange Remastered Collection Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Xbox One

References[]

  1. ^ "Summary: Deck Nine". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  2. ^ "Summary: Deck Nine Games". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "info". Idol Minds. Archived from the original on May 29, 1998.
  4. ^ Thomas, David (March 10, 2003). "Preteens may follow 'My Street' online Louisville's Idol Minds aims to expand appeal of Internet gaming". The Denver Post. Digital First Media. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  5. ^ Mook, Bob (November 20, 2005). "Louisville company tries to leave mark in video game world". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  6. ^ Roper, Chris (November 7, 2007). "Pain is Coming". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  7. ^ Caron, Frank (November 30, 2007). "Pain brings pleasure on the PlayStation Network". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  8. ^ Cavalli, Earnest (December 30, 2012). "Pain Tops 2008 PSN Download List". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  9. ^ Plunkett, Luke (January 26, 2009). "Open Up For A Strong Dose Of PSN Stats". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  10. ^ Yoon, Andrew (October 21, 2009). "Rumor: PAIN developer Idol Minds lays off more than half of staff". Engadget. AOL Tech. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  11. ^ Crecente, Brian (October 21, 2009). "PS3 PAIN Developers Hit With Lay-Offs?". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  12. ^ Schramm, Mike (June 7, 2011). "Ruin preview: Hack and social". Engadget. AOL Tech. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  13. ^ Welsh, Oli (June 7, 2011). "Ruin announced for Vita and PS3". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  14. ^ Dutton, Fred (January 13, 2012). "Vita/PS3 RPG Ruin gets a new name". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  15. ^ Brightman, James (April 2, 2012). "Sony pulls Pain studio Idol Minds off Warrior's Lair project". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  16. ^ "Idol Minds thinking mobile for gaming's future". BizWest. August 2, 2013.
  17. ^ "Games — Idol Minds Game Development". June 16, 2016. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2018. Unfortunately, the title was not completed and in 2012 we shifted into mobile F2P gaming.
  18. ^ Lien, Tracey (July 3, 2013). "Sony cancels Warrior's Lair on PS Vita and PS3". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  19. ^ Moriarty, Colin (July 3, 2013). "Warrior's Lair on PS3 and Vita Has Been Cancelled". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  20. ^ "Shutterbug (Canceled)". Kickstarter. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  21. ^ "Colorado team's video game project a fantastical photo safari". The Pueblo Chieftain. August 17, 2015. Archived from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Wawro, Alex (May 31, 2017). "Pain dev Idol Minds rebrands and shifts focus to 'narrative-driven' games". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  23. ^ "Our Story". Deck Nine. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  24. ^ Dring, Christopher (June 1, 2017). "Pain developer Idol Minds rebrands to focus on narrative". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  25. ^ O'Connor, James (June 11, 2017). "Life is Strange's three-part prequel, Before The Storm, announced". VG247. Videogaming247. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  26. ^ Davenport, James (June 11, 2017). "Life is Strange: Before the Storm is releasing its first episode this August". PC Gamer. Future US. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  27. ^ O'Connor, Alice (June 12, 2017). "Life Is Strange: Before the Storm starts in August". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  28. ^ Sarkar, Samit (June 11, 2017). "Life is Strange prequel Before the Storm debuts this summer (update)". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  29. ^ Fogel, Stefanie (September 20, 2018). "'Life Is Strange: Before the Storm' Dev Making New Square Enix Game". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  30. ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 18, 2021). "'Life is Strange: True Colors stars an Asian-American lead in an all-new adventure". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  31. ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 18, 2021). "'Life is Strange and Before the Storm getting remastered re-releases". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  32. ^ Sealover, Ed (November 19, 2020). "Colorado EDC offers incentives to 3 companies for a combined 655 jobs". Denver Business Journal.
  33. ^ "Deck Nine Games is set to release All-New Game "Life is Strange: True Colors" adventure with Asian American lead". oedit.colorado.gov. Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. April 13, 2021.
  34. ^ "Linked Together". Metacritic. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  35. ^ Jump up to: a b "Qube Kingdom: difendete il regno di Qubria con tanti soldati...cubici!". AndroidWorld (in Italian). September 22, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""