New Montreal-Toronto studio developing 80s-inspired open world video game
A new video game studio in Montreal and Toronto is developing a franchise and hopes to change the way studios are set up and run.
China-based NetEase Games launched Bad Brain Game Studios in the two cities to develop a new AAA "open world, multi-platform experience built with Unreal Engine 5 and is inspired by cult 1980s movies, mixing elements of adventure and horror."
The studio is currently trying to recruit talent from Montreal, Toronto and beyond with the goal of having established brick-and-mortar premises in the two major Canadian gaming hubs by the end of 2023.
"If you look at Montreal, it's one of the biggest gaming hubs on the planet, period," said studio head Sean Crooks.
"The plethora of talent there that we can encourage to join the studio there is phenomenal. It's a great opportunity, and not being there would be a mistake."
Crooks said the team knows the gaming industry is competitive and tough but is confident with the team he's surrounded by, including creative director Guillaume Apesteguy, game director Danny Belanger, narrative director Kyle Francis and production designer Anthony Straub.
"We've all worked on massive open-world games such as the Driver series, Just Dance, Watch Dogs, etcetera, even Splinter Cell," he told CTV News. "The team, in general, has a very deep background of knowledge about video games."
In addition to their video game expertise, the team wants to create a unique studio culture that avoids the remote work, disconnected teams trend Crooks has seen develop, especially during the pandemic.
"Being small at the start means we can really craft how we want to develop games, how we want the culture of the studio to be," said Crooks.
"Studio culture has been a massively important thing to me. We've seen a growth as of late in a lot of people who kind of feel like they work for hire, and we don't want that. We want a family. We want a group of people that want to support each other."
A promo image for Bad Brain Game Studios, a new video game maker based of Montreal and Toronto currently in search of talent. (2023, Bad Brain Game Studios)
DREAM GAME TO DEVELOP
Crooks said that NetEase asked him when approaching the team to make a game: "What game do you want to make?"
"I've not had that question very often, if at all, in my career," said Crooks. "When that was put to us -- the group -- that was the dream question for a developer."
Though he, like all in the gaming industry, wouldn't give away too many details about the game in development, Crooks said it taps into the teams' love of 80s music and popular culture.
"Let's think: Stephen King meets Stephen Spielberg," he said, as Ghostbusters proton pack leaned against a wall behind him on the Zoom interview.
"The 80s has moved into the realm of almost mystical to the modern generation. For our generation, it's nostalgic, [and] for the new generation, it's, 'Ooo. What's that?'"
He said NetEase's support and the team's experience mitigates the risk of developing a game in the high-stakes industry.
The Bad Brains team is entirely gamers that understand what works in the industry, Crooks said.
"They all know the type of games they like, and they play," said Crooks.
Crooks confirmed that the name Bad Brains did not come from the hardcore punk band formed in the mid-1970s, but from the basis of many great ideas.
"We started saying things like, 'Hey, this might be a bad idea, but...' When you throw that out there to the team, they work on it, and some of the best ideas, some of the most creative outputs from some of our projects have come from that really basic statement," said Crooks.
"We kind of said, 'you know what. When all of these ideas for video games come from left field, from kind of rogue ideas, why don't we base the studio name around that.'"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.