SXSWorld
Issue link: https://sxsw.uberflip.com/i/1018784
SXSW.COM | M A R C H 1 5 , 2 0 1 8 | SXS W O R L D 3 5 or start their own. Spector ended up at Looking Glass Studios and then Ion Storm, both of which had offices in Austin and created seminal games. His magnum opus Deus Ex revolutionized player choice in action games. Garriott went on to co-found Destination Games and then Portalarium, bringing Long and many other Origin collaborators. While some talent can be benef i- cial, too much is problematic, and Garriott says this has kept Austin from becoming the foremost city in video game design. "If I could magically f ix one thing about the Austin game industry, it would be to attract, retain or build top ten publishers' HQs here," he says. "Every company has good and hard times, and if your company is going through hard times, you're going to lay off people in the remote off ices f irst, so Austin is constantly seeing wild swings of binge and purge… every time there is economic hardship, tons of Austin studios shut down." This is currently a binge time, with the city hosting the likes of Certain Aff inity (which has worked on Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty), the U.S. off ice of France's Arkane Studios (Prey and Dishonored) and companies like Alchemy and Virtuix that are leaders in VR development. Long and Garriott are particularly excited for Crowfall, an upcoming PvP RPG from ArtCraft Entertainment. Portalarium is about to release Shroud of the Avatar, a crowd-funded suc- cessor to Ultima. The game features an innovative hybrid of single player and online modes, letting players choose their level of interaction with the wider community. Meanwhile, Spector is at work at OtherSide Entertainment on Underworld Ascendant, which also carries on the Ultima legacy. "[Austin gaming has] become a monster," Garriott said. "The skill demands have gone way up, but the opportunities are still very high… once you're in the door of a gaming company, and they know you have skill, you can do anything." Shroud of the Avatar and Underworld Ascendant will both be presented on the SXSW Gaming Expo's Discovery Stage (Exhibit Hall 2 at the Austin Convention Center). See schedule.sxsw.com or the SXSW GO app for details. Still from Shroud of the Avatar. Courtesy of Starr Long.