![]() ![]() The porting work was tough and highly technical, and it enabled the company to learn all of the platforms and stay platform agnostic. Then they started making ports of Minecraft and it had made seven such titles before the work was done.ĤJ made a big name for itself developing Minecraft for Sony, Nintendo and Xbox consoles after Microsoft acquired the property from Mojang. The studio alternated between original games like Star Trek: Conquest to ports like The Elder Scrolls IV for the PS3. This new venture turned out to have real longevity in a game industry that sees many studios die. The State of Emergency rights ultimately wound up with DC Studios.Īfter that, van der Kuyl, Paddy Burns and Frank Arnot started 4J Studios in 2005. In 2005, it was shut down altogether in a broader cost-cutting move. VIS Entertainment struggled during the post 9/11 and post-dotcom bubble era, and it was acquired by Bam! Entertainment in late 2004. We sold it to a small publisher called Bam! Entertainment.” 4J Studios in Dundee Scotland. “It was a bit controversial as a riot simulator,” he said. When it did launch in 2002/2003 across multiple platforms, it was a hit. After 9/11, it wasn’t seen as a tasteful game. They saw enough success with work-for-hire to make their own title for Rockstar Games called State of Emergency.īut the studio had to hold back the launch of that game due to controversy, as it was about riot control in a chaotic city. They adapted Earthworm Jim to the Nintendo 64. Van der Kuyl and Peter Baillie started VIS Entertainment in Dundee back in 1996 and worked on H.E.D.Z. He has been making games with his cofounder Paddy Burns for a long time, and they’ve been best friends since they were 11 years old. Van der Kuyl said that the company has been fortunate along the way, and his team has collected tons of experience. It’s been a long road to get to this point. Origins 4J leaders Chris van der Kuyl (Left), Paddy Burns, and Richard Reavy. It turns out that, the more experienced they get, developers would rather work on their own ideas for games, free of encumbrances on creativity. So it’s interesting to see 4J go in the opposite direction, investing in new IPs as well as its own engine. They are being very careful about taking risks. During the economic downturn, some companies like Warner Bros Games and Take-Two Interactive have said they’ll focus on well-known franchises rather than original IPs. ![]() This decision on doing games on your own or making games for others is getting to be an important decision for game companies. 4J has even created its own game engine, though Manic Mechanics does not use it. It’s a lot like Overcooked or Diner Dash in that respect. In the comedic game, you have to prove that you can keep up with your friends and show off your skills as a mechanic faced with one task after another. The title is the company’s first self-published game, and it’s a typical game for 4J with a focus on enabling everyone to play. And last month, the Dundee, Scotland-based 4J published Manic Mechanics, a couch co-op game for the Nintendo Switch. ![]()
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