Vigil: THQ has taken "a lot of bullets" while restructuring
But publisher's faith in creative talent and new properties will change perceptions of company, says Darksiders team
The restructuring of THQ, which has resulted in cancelled projects and studio closures, has been necessary to help turn around the company and change perceptions that it's not just a house for kids games and wrestling licenses.
And according to David Adams, general manager at Darksiders outfit Vigil Games, the publisher has put great faith in its new creative talent and intellectual property, supporting its developers rather than pressuring them to churn out games on demand.
"THQ went through a lot of pain and restructuring - they took a lot of bullets so we could continue to make our game, and that's a good indication of their faith in us, and their drive to make great-quality products," said Adams, speaking in an exclusive interview published today.
"You always hear the strained relations, because it's a pretty stressful thing. There's a lot of money involved, a lot of people involved. The one thing I've been impressed with at THQ, since we've been there... it's funny, because when we signed with THQ we didn't think they'd want to publish us, but since then they've put out Saints Row, Company of Heroes, Red Faction, UFC."
Vigil received the cold shoulder when it first began shopping the recently released Darksiders to publishers, said Adams, who also admitted that although the team didn't have established development methods in place, THQ believed in the team's final creative vision.
"We were pretty lucky, just because our publisher had this weird, insane faith in us that I don't necessarily think any other publisher would have had. They signed us when there were about six or eight of us, and pretty much every other publisher just said: 'You guys are lame...'. But our take was that if we just did really cool stuff, people would see that - they'd want to jump on the bandwagon and support us, and THQ did.
"Hopefully it's a reflection on us - we are very iterative on everything we do, and that's not just related to the actual games that we make. It's also the processes, trying to be more efficient, do stuff quicker, using less money - it's something we're constantly working on," added Adams.
The full interview with David Adams and Joe Madureira, creative director of Vigil Games, where they discuss the upcoming Warhammer 40k MMO and the evolution of the studio, can be read here.