Graphics by Sarah Geiger
Lara Croft, Mario, Pikachu, Link, Solid Snake, Master Chief and Pac-Man would sure be proud of Fargo-Moorhead. The area is quickly becoming a hotbed for game developers who are living out their dreams. Read on to find out what you should know about the FM game developers scene.
Wicked Soul Studios
It all started with the Atari 2600 game “War- lords”. CJ Schnase was instantly hooked on video games and it was a passion that he never let go.
“I’ve been obsessed with video games all my life,” Schnase said, “Probably the typical story. I played so many hours of video games; why not make them?”
That’s exactly what he did. After receiving his degree online from the University of Advancing Technology, Schnase began to dabble in video game design before being invited to a Fargo Game Makers Meetup from Sarah English, McCal Johnson and Kyle Weik, founders of Beach Interactive, a game development company out of Fargo. Once Schnase attended the event, he realized that there was a market for his company he started a few years ago, Wicked Soul Studios.
“Our origins would be back in 2010,” Schnase said, “It was a friend of mine and I who started the company. For about three years we worked on random personal projects to learn the new Unity engine. It was in August or September last year that I applied for the Wii U license and in the first week of December, we got accepted.”
For the last couple of years, Schnase and his team of freelancers have been working on their game, “Cursed Gold.” It’s a 2D side-scroll- ing game where you play as pirates who land on an island searching for treasure. You must compete against rival pirates and indigenous people on the island to find the cursed treasure.
Wicked Soul Studio will launch a Kickstarter pro- gram in September when the first level will be available. He said the absolute earliest that the game will be available is Christmas. If it weren’t for the fellow game developers in the community, Schnase would not be where he’s at today.
“Keep your eyes out for the video game industry because it’s happening here in Fargo,” Schnase said, “I always tell people that we’re not about farming and oil anymore. If there’s anything people think they want from a video game studio, I’m sure most of us would be willing to do contract work for any company, regardless if it’s video game or some sort of 3D application thing.”
CJ Schnase is the founder of Wicked Soul Studios. Look for his game, “Cursed Gold”, to launch on the Wii U next year.
Watch facebook.com/WickedSoulStudios for more information about the Kickstarter campaign.
PODS Game Design
Dave Binkard’s family is going to get quite a reputation soon, although people won’t know it. Binkard has recently started PODS Game Design. The name derives from a combination of his family: his two kids Paxton, Oskar, Dave and his wife, Sammy. It all started with MSUM’s College For Kids program. Binkard pitched an idea for a class on video game design. MSUM loved the idea, and it took off.
“When we started, we had two sessions of 20 kids each, so 40 kids total,” Binkard said, “The demand was so great that we ended up with 108 kids registered between three sessions instead of two. It just showed that there was a huge demand.”
From there, Binkard has officially launched PODS Game Design. This month, he will start offering classes on Saturdays. There will be four sessions, a morning one for beginners and a more advanced class in the afternoon. Each class will focus on learning how to create a video game using a program called RPG Maker.
“What we’re offering is that mentorship that really guides them through that,” Binkard said. “If they get frustrated with something, we’ll be there to guide them and help them out.”
Demand has been high for the classes for kids ages 10-18. Binkard is hoping that he’ll be able to capitalize on the momentum and expand the business. He is quite surprised and happy with the support PODS has received, not just from the community as a whole, but the local game makers community as well.
“Before we had the Fargo Game Makers meeting, we were all independent, floating on our own, but this is something that is drawing us together,” Binkard said, “I think we’re creating a pretty close-knit community. … We’re hopefully going to share the success with each other.”
The larger question is, since PODS Game Design will be educating younger children, if they want to continue their education in video game design, they have to go out of town to pursue a college degree. Binkard believes it is time the local universities begin seriously talking about adding a video game design degree.
“I think that we need to make more noise about how this (college courses on game design) is something we want,” Binkard said, “I think video game design is still not taken as seriously as other studies. Video games are a multi-billion dollar industry. They easily outdo any other form of entertainment. It’s really something that colleges and universities should start taking a good hard look at offering.”
Dave Binkard was inspired to start PODS Game Design after seeing the success of MSUM’s College for Kids classes. His video game design courses began this month.
Facebook: podsgamedesign
Twitter: @PODSgamedesign
OTHER GAME MAKERS
You might be surprised by the amount of companies working on various video games in town.
Beach Interactive
beachinteractive.com
Search Facebook: BeachInteractive
Startup game studio focusing on education, adventure, creativity and character.
Games: On My Own and The Abettor’s Letters
Big 4 Productions
big4production.com
Search Facebook: Big4Production
Startup company working on a virtual reality horror game.
Games: Reshift, Raccoon Jump, Sweet Escape, Bad Christmas, Illusion of the Wind, Time Warp, Never Sleeping Always Waking, Temple of Romu, Stealth Bot
Close Studios
closestudios.com
Search Facebook: closestudios
Focuses on mobile, PC, Linux and Mac platforms.
Games: On My Own
Raven Rock Digital
Search Facebook:RavenRockDigital
Startup currently working on “Infinite Tower” for PC. A game described as being a mix of “Dark Souls” and “Diablo.”
Games: Infinite Tower
RESOURCES
Looking to get involved? Here’s how you can do it.
Tech Tailgate
techtailgate.com/#meetups
There are plenty of opportunities for people to meet up and collaborate. Go to techtailgate.com/#meetups for a full listing of all the tech meetups.
Fargo Game Makers
Search: Fargo Game Makers
fargogamemakers.com
With monthly meetups, the Fargo Game Makers encourage collaboration and self- learning amongst its members. Watch the website for the next meetup.
Geek Meet FM
meetup.com/Geek-Meet-FM
Search Facebook: Geek Meet FM
This group of self-appointed geeks, nerds and hackers meet the second Tuesday of the month at the Prairie Den to collaborate and create a community.
Gamers Unit Meetup produced by 702 Communications
meetup.com/Fargo-Gaming-Meetup
Another meeting of the gaming minds, the Gamers Unit Meetup hopes to connect gamers to launch large gaming tournaments and meetups.
Fargo Hackathon
Nov. 7 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
emergingprairie.com/event/fargo-hackathon
While not specifically a gaming event, the Fargo Hackathon brings together developers to create something from scratch in only a couple of hours.
Sarah English on Game Development Community:
“I think we’re going to see lots of young people acquiring game development skills early on via things like PODS Game Design classes. As game makers come together and dream big, we’ll probably see more studios, more conventions and some awesome projects.” – Sarah English, Beach Interactive
Kyle Weik on Game Development Community:
“It’s still in the early stages, with most teams focusing on smaller games for mobile so far. Everyone is working towards taking it to that next level, and one breakout game from this area is gonna light up the scene. We want to challenge people’s perceptions of what’s possible in this area, and I think the game dev. community is on the right track.” – Kyle Weik
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