Witcher 3 devs launch new studio, Wickerman Games
Chris Hardwick and Dan Cordell to focus on a new approach to RPG design
A new UK indie studio just launched, Wickerman Games, and it's the lovechild of Chris Hardwick and Dan Cordell, both formerly of CD Projekt Red.
The two founded the company in February and its been in stealth mode since then, but the pair are now ready to reveal their plans for a new, transparent style of RPG development.
"We have somewhat of an unhealthy obsession with pen and paper RPG's and we wish to bring what we love about these games and merge them the things we love about computer games," it said in a launch statement.
"The concept of dynamic storytelling and giving the player as much freedom as the ruleset allows is the core concept of what we aim to achieve at Wickerman Games. Layering simple systems on top of one another to allow for some truly emergent gameplay. Choices should matter and have a dramatic effect on the outcome of the plot and as such the game world needs to be built in such a way to accommodate this."
They promise to keep fans informed throughout the development process and to continue that relationship post-launch, offering content DRM free.
Hardwick is the creative and technical director at the new company. As well as two years with CD Projekt Red he's worked with Starbreeze, EA and Codemasters. Cordell is the art and company director and has worked with the Chinese Room and Digital Arrow as well as CD Projekt Red.
The studio has yet to reveal its first game.