Gearbox CCO: Homeworld "Meant Something to Me"

[StewShearerOld]

Gearbox CCO: Homeworld "Meant Something to Me"

Speaking at PAX Australia Gearbox's Brian Martel discussed his love for Homeworld and drive to acquire its rights.

Borderlands developer Gearbox turned some heads among the real-time strategy crowd when it <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123447-Gearbox-Snags-Homeworld-Rights>purchased the Homeworld IP during the auction that effectively ended THQ. Those heads about spun in a circle when Gearbox announced it would be giving Homeworld and its sequel Homeworld 2 a new lease on life with <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126166-Gearbox-Announces-HD-Remakes-of-Homeworld-1-And-2>HD re-releases. Speaking about the franchise at PAX Australia, Gearbox's chief creative office Brian Martel discussed his personal connection to the series and how it helped drive Gearbox to revive the property.

"[Homeworld] is one of those games that for me sort of moved me as brand. I was impressed with the story and it had some of the best spaceships that I have ever seen, outside of Star Wars," said Martel. In turn, the franchise's dormancy following the 2003 release of Homeworld 2 was something that bothered him. "I really thought that we should get it out there for the rest of the world. And a lot of folks haven't had a chance to play it, it has only been on DVD or CD, it has not ever been released digitally." When it became apparent that THQ was going under and its assets would be up for grabs Martel pushed for Gearbox to acquire it. "When THQ started to evaporate, Brian [Martel] kept coming to my office everyday and saying, 'Hey Randy, you got to get Homeworld,'" commented Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. "So we became part of that process bidding on the brand."

Gearbox would beat out publishers including Aspyr Media and Paradox Interactive in the bidding for Homeworld and now, with the studio's plans to polish the games for modern audiences, stands to rekindle the dreams of countless fans who have been pining after the franchise since Homeworld 2. We can only hope the HD releases find success and perhaps make further Homeworlds a viable possibility rather than the unlikely dream they've seemed for close to a decade.

Source: <a href=http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/23/4551528/gearbox-candidly-shares-story-of-homeworlds-acquisition>Polygon


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[Erttheking]

That's interesting, it'll be a good chance to try out the franchise. I wish you luck Gearbox.

EDIT: People are never going to let Gearbox forget Colonial Marines are they?

 

[ClockworkUniverse]

Didn't Aliens "mean something" to Gearbox too?

 

[RA92]

Dammit Gearbox, don't get my hope up for the third time...

captcha: she's a witch

 

[SerBrittanicus]

Didn't Aliens "mean something" to Gearbox too?

That's exactly what I thought when I read this. I seem to remember several of their staff members talking about how Aliens is one of their favourite franchises, etc, so perhaps it isn't particularly good news that they are saying the same about Homeworld.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

Watch out folks. Randy admitted they were working on a new IP. So i would keep those excitement levels on low.

 

[FightingFurball]

Didn't Aliens "mean something" to Gearbox too?

That's exactly what I thought when I read this. I seem to remember several of their staff members talking about how Aliens is one of their favourite franchises, etc, so perhaps it isn't particularly good news that they are saying the same about Homeworld.

Maybe this something is money.

Homeworld meant money to me.

Aliens meant money to me.

Well looks legit

 

[synobal]

Didn't Aliens "mean something" to Gearbox too?

That's exactly what I thought when I read this. I seem to remember several of their staff members talking about how Aliens is one of their favourite franchises, etc, so perhaps it isn't particularly good news that they are saying the same about Homeworld.

Maybe this something is money.

Homeworld meant money to me.

Aliens meant money to me.

Well looks legit

I was going to say the same thing. Clearly great minds think a like.

 

[bificommander]

Okay, I'm keeping my hopes up for a decent game. That hope is based on the assumption that Gearbox was right, and that the shitstains that were Duke Nukem Forever and Aliens Colonial Marines really were to blame on the previous developers. Which means I'll buy it AFTER it has been reviewed properly.

I would very much like a HD remake of Homeworld 1. I can't get that one to run anymore with a decent resolution and something other than the D3D graphics option, which makes it look uglier than it used to be. I was always of the opinion that Homeworld 2 had the better controls and graphics, while Homeworld 1 had the superior story. So, copy Homeworld 1's story, slot in Homeworld 2's controls, and add some new shiny graphics, and I'll fork over the cash.

HW2... eh, dunno if it needs an HD release. The original still looks and plays good, and unless you're going to rewrite the whole story, I don't see the point. I'd prefer a Homeworld 1 HD remake, then a Homeworld 3.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Honestly, I'm disappointed that Paradox Interactive didn't get it. They know how to make a great strategy game.

 

[Stomperchomper]

One would hope that if all they're doing is an HD re release of it, there isn't really room to screw the game up since they should just be making it prettier.

 

[Khymerion]

Honestly, I'm disappointed that Paradox Interactive didn't get it. They know how to make a great strategy game.

As much as I would have loved Paradox to get it... there is part of me that would be almost leery of them making a HW game. Can you imagine what a Paradox style tech screen (ala, their Hearts of Iron series) would be like in Homeworld? Terrifying.

But at least they would give us a massive galactic map with like 6000 sectors to fight across.

 

[bimon_1234567]

Honestly, I'm disappointed that Paradox Interactive didn't get it. They know how to make a great strategy game.

As much as I would have loved Paradox to get it... there is part of me that would be almost leery of them making a HW game. Can you imagine what a Paradox style tech screen (ala, their Hearts of Iron series) would be like in Homeworld? Terrifying.

But at least they would give us a massive galactic map with like 6000 sectors to fight across.

I think HoI 3 has a rather nice research section.

The only thing that annoys me is that you have to research cavalry and militia armament separately from regular infantry armament.

 

[Dragonbums]

That's interesting, it'll be a good chance to try out the franchise. I wish you luck Gearbox.

EDIT: People are never going to let Gearbox forget Colonial Marines are they?

Nope. That was a huge sleazy scam towards Sega and the consumers.

 

[blackknight467]

What about homeworld cataclysm? Will they get around to that too? That was by far my favorite game in the franchise.

 

[GundamSentinel]

I'm still cautiously positive about this. And whatever they do, they can't screw with my current Homeworld experience. *hugs Homeworld 1 and 2 discs*

 

[CyberMachinist]

Hopefully it turns out well cause this well be my first time experiencing Homeworld.

I'm still cautiously positive about this. And whatever they do, they can't screw with my current Homeworld experience. *hugs Homeworld 1 and 2 discs*

I envy you, I'm now seriously regretting looking at HW 1 at my local Walmart years ago and dismissing it as another game I wouldn't like....... Damn what could have been and i was almost considering on getting it too.

 

[Ishal]

That's interesting, it'll be a good chance to try out the franchise. I wish you luck Gearbox.

EDIT: People are never going to let Gearbox forget Colonial Marines are they?

I find it a bit unsettling that you might think people should let them forget.

 

[Erttheking]

That's interesting, it'll be a good chance to try out the franchise. I wish you luck Gearbox.

EDIT: People are never going to let Gearbox forget Colonial Marines are they?

I find it a bit unsettling that you might think people should let them forget.

Eh...I dunno. I guess I just don't understand why this game, of all the bad games out there, is getting the most hate. I mean, people don't get on Capcom for Steel Battalion Heavy Armor, and that didn't even work.

That and I know that Gearbox can make good games, and I think that they'd be able to pull this off well. There's getting on a developer for messing up, and then there's never letting a screw up go, even after they release something good after, proving that they can still make quality work.

 

[Ishal]

.

That and I know that Gearbox can make good games, and I think that they'd be able to pull this off well.

And that is why. You answered it yourself. Gearbox can make good games, I purchased Borderlands 2 plus two of the DLC on the steam sale and I'm loving it so far.

It's the same reason people blew their stacks over ME3. What I think people don't understand is that all that rage over ME3 wasn't specifically over that particular game. It was due to Bioware disappointing so many people as developers. For many people, DA2 was a sign, but they waved it off as a fluke. Then ToR happened, "hey now, it's Bioware's first time doing and MMO, everything is still okay right? ... right?" Then ME3 happened and it finally hit people that, for many, the Bioware they knew and loved was gone. For so many people, Bioware was the main reason they kept gaming, to see them screw up like that sucked, they got burned. Now gamers, especially on forums like this, are cautious at best, and overly caustic and pessimistic at worst. And what sucks is Bioware can also do better! Or, they could have done better...

I think they'll do a good job here too, honestly. But I don't think people should throw money at it right away or expect the world from Gearbox.