[ibimage==31054==Large==none==self==null]
Earlier this week, LA-based Industrial Toys announced a $5 million Series A funding led by Accel Partners. Accel sees the future of gaming going in the hands (literally) of the player and the funding will fuel development for gaming on mobile phone and tablets. Along with the news, Industrial Toys said they will go into beta this summer with their first project Midnight Star, a free-to-play shooter game.
The mobile gaming industry is fertile ground: in 2013 it was valued at $13.2 billion and is expected to grow to $22 billion in 2015, according to Gartner. Both Industrial Toys and Accel Partners have played crucial roles in developing the industry as well. Industrial Toys founder Alex Seropian created Halo - which is arguably the most successful console game of all time - and Accel Partners has invested in Rovio (Angry Birds) and Supercell (Clash of Clans).
Accel Partner Vas Natarajan said that by developing games for mobile and tablet the “opportunity to 'activate' core gamers is even bigger -- the content just hasn't been there."
To be clear a “Core” gamer falls between the “Casual” and “Hardcore” gamer. “The mid-core gamer enjoys games but may not finish every game they buy, doesn't have time for long [massively mulitplayer online] quests,” according to Wikipedia.
[ibimage==31053==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-left]
Going from console to mobile brings about a new set of challenges like understanding how people interact with their devices and developing touch and gesture-based controls (for instance, a user can can pinch the screen to zoom in on a target). The team of 20 includes co-founder Brent Pease, Tim Harris and console game veteran Mike Dekoekkoek. The game is being built with the Unreal Engine 3 game platform.
Development has also focused on both the graphics and narrative. “We need a storyline we can sink our teeth into and quality that mirrors what we'd expect from a PC and the console - but with gameplay design specific to next-gen devices," said Harris, President of Industrial Toys. Along with game, the company will release an “interactive graphic novel app” written by John Scalzi titled “Midnight Rises”. The game and comics will be illustrated by Mike Choi, former X-Men comic artist.
Gamers and industry leaders alike are enthusiastic to see how the partnership plays out. Forums on the Midnight Star website are already buzzing and leading media outlets like IGN, Polygon and Pocket Gamer have responded positively thus far.
