9/8/2023 0 Comments Draugen angle![]() There are technical hurdles that still need to be solved, in addition to making the technology accessible to more than enthusiasts, but once those are reached it’s clear that it will be one of the largest mediums for interactive entertainment. VR is a very exciting technology that will eventually become mainstream. How do you view the development of VR? Speaking of The Park, VR seems almost tailor-made for that kind of experience. The Nordic game industry is a very creative industry with world class studios, big and small, and I believe it will continue to be one of the industries pushing the boundaries of creative and commercial success in the overall gaming industry. Where do you see the Nordic game industry positioned in terms of global impact within the next 5-10 years and why? I’m Portuguese and wouldn’t mind bringing some of Portugal into our games too! This is not necessarily a uniquely Nordic concept, though, but bringing such rich mythology, culture, and folklore to games is very exciting. Another example is Through the Woods by Antagonist which is strongly inspired by Norse mythology and Norwegian art and nature. ![]() One example is Red Thread Games' upcoming game Draugen which is based on Norwegian folklore and is set on the western coast of Norway in 1923. This is creating some truly compelling gaming experiences that cuts away from the tried and true high fantasy setting. What we’re seeing in here Norway is that a lot of indie developers are incorporating Norwegian culture, folklore, and even locations into their games. What is it about our region that make our games unique? What is your perspective on "Nordic" game design, being a Nordic game designer yourself. Our ambition is to create both smaller and larger games going forward, and not lock ourselves down to only one project for years at a time. Last year we did another smaller experimental title called Hide & Shriek which served the same purpose. We succeeded on all the goals and many of those learnings were then leveraged into Conan Exiles. The Park was the first of our smaller and experimental titles and was focused on testing a new technology (Unreal Engine 4), switching to shorter development cycles (6 months vs the multi-year projects of the past) and launching on Xbox One and PS4. ![]() What did you learn from that, and are there any plans for more of those kinds of projects? In 2015, Funcom experimented with a smaller scale experience in The Park. We think it’s important to keep up with the changing times as long as we can keep focusing on what’s important to us: making great, immersive games. We’re not the company we were back then and we’re not the company we were five years ago. We’ve been around since 1993 and the company has gone through some significant changes during that time. It’s great to see the development of the Nordic game development community and to be part of it, with very creative and successful studios working on a wide variety of games. We believe in making games we love and games we care about. What kind of mission statement is Funcom working from amidst this? The Nordic game development scene has seen quite a growth spurt as of late, for example with the growth of Paradox and DICE, and also with smaller studios like Playdead and Image & Form. ![]() It’s good to see that the strategy is working with both the smaller games allowing us to learn and experiment with different ideas and with the first of our larger games, Conan Exiles, having a great start. We’ve been transforming the company to match the evolution of the industry and the new strategy of smaller and larger games is a reflection of that. What’s been going on at Funcom these past few years?įuncom has a colorful history of ups and downs and the last few years have been no exception. In the following, Anders Høvring Hansen from IGN Nordic interviews Funcom CEO Rui Casais on the current state of things. Since then, most notably, Funcom have released MMOs Age of Conan, The Secret World and The Park, while 2017 marks a return to Hyboria with Conan Exiles, yet an MMO.
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