Work for hire across Lyon and Austin were a given, but another major title also began production. Seriously, check out this amazing interview with Blake Hester for Polygon if you are interested further in The Crossing, it is a fascinating read!Īrkane Studios needed solid money after being absent from major development for a few years, despite continued strong relations with Valve. Apparently, the game demo sat around the office for years after development had ceased. In addition, the budgets being offered by publishers were becoming minuscule, so the project had to be shuttered leading to it being known as the "ex-girlfriend" - a passionate love affair best left in the past - by project leads and studio founders Raphael Colantonio and Viktor Antonov. Deals fell through over and over again, and PS3 ports of the game were going to make publishing an expensive chore for the team. It was ambitious, but that made it a tricky sell for a studio that had yet to truly establish itself. A mix of AI and online players would compete across a vertical map in a shared space. A $15 million game called The Crossing, which used Valve's Source Engine, was an incredibly ambitious “cross-player” title set in Paris that was being developed from 2007. It also gave the Austin team time to hire a team of developers that would eventually be capable of producing exceptional games.ĬREDIT: Polygon (Arkane Studios - The Crossing)Īrkane entered something of a dead zone for several years. Austin was left to form relationships with studios and publishers, a smart move given its US location. As identified in a fantastic Noclip documentary, the studio back in Lyon had to do the bulk of heavy development work because production was cheaper. Arkane’s first-person mechanics needed a bit of refining.ĭuring the time Dark Messiah was in the final push, founder Raphael Colantonio made the move to Austin, Texas and formed an auxiliary studio under the Arkane name. The Metacritic score of 72 is made up of some strong 80s and a large amount of 40–70 scores, with little in between. Oddly, even on PC, there was a critical divide. With technical issues exaggerated, simplified mechanics, and horrible graphical quality, it was hardly the version of the game Arkane could be happy with. While on PC it was well regarded, on 360 it took a major critical hit. The result was the Xbox 360 title Dark Messiah: Might and Magic in late 2006. Ubisoft made an approach in between the Valve work, seeing the talent at the studio. The project went over budget and over deadline, while other concepts fell through entirely. It is a relationship that would purr in the background for years to come, resulting in a failed Half-Life spin-off called Ravenholm during 20. It appears that the studio was kept afloat for a few years by slotting in with Valve for a source engine project thanks to some legacy Arx Fatalis love from the PC behemoths. That being said, the 2002 to 2007 period was very fraught and full of odd happenings. However, the team were clearly incredibly proud - it is still heavily featured on their website and would come to be a vital touchstone for future successes.Ī major success, beyond staying afloat - which is quite an achievement in the industry - would take many years to realise. One deal fell through, and though Arkane had a second publisher sorted, on release the game struggled financially in spite of good reviews. In 2002, a fresh-faced team had managed to put together the original Xbox game, named Arx Fatalis, but not without serious publishing trouble. The action RPG is set in a fantasy world that you explore in first-person - a USP for the developer that would become a hallmark. The first, and original, is situated in Lyon, France and was started in 1999, with a clear goal of trying to create a second sequel to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. Bethesda Softworks’ Arkane Studios is comprised of two teams: Arkane Lyon and Arkane Austin.
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