ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain opens new studio
by Rubi Bayer 
Nov 23rd 2009 at 1:00PM
Filed under: Horror, MMO industry, New titles, News items
Jeff Strain has a shiny (slimy?) new project just officially announced today. Undead Labs is his new studio, which is already at work planning a zombie MMO -- more specifically, a zombie-console-MMO. To quote the Undead Labs site, "Zombie MMO! Hell yeah!" Of course, we already have a million questions, but he was kind enough to answer many of them well in advance. (Points to him for anticipating them and spelling it out right up front, and for making us laugh.)
It's early days yet so we don't have a laundry list of specific details and screenshots, but the site already shows a departure from the traditional way of doing things when it comes to MMO development. A look around Undead Labs sets the tone right off, beginning with the aforementioned answers to questions, and continuing with a fairly amusing etiquette guide. Strain and Undead Labs look to be off to a running start with things, and we are going to be keeping a close eye on the impending zombie apocalypse.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Zen said on 1:29PM 11-23-2009
Fantastic news! I'm glad he's not out of the gaming business; he's the kind of dev you wish there were more of: honest, passionate and a brilliant manager. And by dev, I mean someone you'd want to work for. Also: zombies? lock and load!
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Arnie said on 1:34PM 11-23-2009
This guy has some brains on him, will look forward to this.
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Jarin said on 4:46PM 11-23-2009
I see what you did there.
Vlo said on 1:45PM 11-23-2009
Was sort of hoping to see Jeff open up his own game publishing company so he can buy ArenaNet back from NCSoft. Though this seems very interesting.
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derella said on 1:44PM 11-23-2009
Personally, I find the news disappointing. Another great game developer is moving from PC to consoles... Still, I wish him all the success in the world.
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Brian! said on 2:22PM 11-23-2009
More money in consoles on sales. Console subscriptions could be a goldmine. I don't own a single console at the moment though, so I hope a PC version gets made too.
GryphonStalker said on 3:12PM 11-23-2009
As a gamer who highly enjoys playing MMO's with her husband. I am bummed about the console decision and hope they reconsider doing a PC version.
Keen said on 1:53PM 11-23-2009
Consoles... blech.
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Atnor said on 1:57PM 11-23-2009
Nice start with the Q&A post.
Liked the answer about subscription vs RMT-focused game design. Big believer of the pros and cons of each model, and your game has to fit. Nice to see he has a good handle on that.
Cool concept, but, he lost me at console MMO. Oh well.
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Meagen said on 2:10PM 11-23-2009
This will no doubt be a great game because zombie consoles are the scariest thing ever.
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Aganazer said on 2:21PM 11-23-2009
It sounds like they are on the right track. Here are a few interesting bits I found from the interviews and such...
"Zombies are fun because they give us an excuse to break all the rules, without guilt. I’m not just talking about over-the-top violence — we’ve got aliens, terrorists, and robots to fulfill those needs"
"The game will almost certainly be subscription based."
"same-screen cooperative play"
Will have fast and slow zombies.
"Strain says that it will work in a different way than you're use to, with more quick action for shorter bursts, and far more survival elements than a traditional MMO. Undead Lab's zombie game will feature far more focus on how characters develop over time through the choices they make, instead of simply leveling up mathematically."
"One of the very first goals is going to be to get together with other players and establish a place that you can call your own that you must actively maintain and defend"
"It is important to state that this is not a horror game. You have to have a purpose and you have to believe you're trying to survive for a reason and that is why you have a safe base."
Another interview implies that it won't be a "classic zombie corridor shooter". :)
"it is going to be an M-rated game"
"this isn't something you're going to see next Christmas or the Christmas after"
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Leshrac said on 3:20PM 11-23-2009
Eff consoles.....they're toys with 4 year old technology, heck my netbook is more powerful then a 360.
Almost 1 out of 2-3 homes in the US has a pc, so there is your built-in audience. The pc gaming market should not be shrinking, every year Microsoft re-commits to pc gaming with some new initiative then fizzles out.
Developers go after consoles because it is low hanging fruit; console owners have a black box and unless they have games to play on it it collects dust. The strength of the console is its weakness; proprietary.
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breezer said on 4:27PM 11-23-2009
These complaints about the consoles don't make any sense to me.
Who cares if it's on a console if it's a good game?! Who cares if the technology is old. How old is WoW technology? 15 years?
If it's fun, who gives a damn?
Srsly. What difference does it make?
Leshrac said on 4:36PM 11-23-2009
Who cares? Most of console games are shit and are in the process killing pc gaming.
The technology of the 360 is limiting what developers can do, which is why MMOs have such a problem on consoles; limited hard drive space, limited ram, limited video capabilities too. Most, if not all, of the big shooter titles are for consoles, and the MP is neutered because you can only have 12 players max? and the maps are tiny and you cannot have vehicles.
Try and find me an equivalent of BF2 pc, MP, on the 360? On the pc we had 64 players, tanks, helicopters, jets, massive maps......don't tell me technology doesn't mean anything.
Oxlar said on 3:52PM 11-23-2009
console MMO? Pass. Besides, how many different zombies can you kill in an MMO before your ready to pull your eyes out in boredom?
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breezer said on 4:25PM 11-23-2009
Sounds awesome and he comes across as very likable in an honest way.
On the other hand I'm really not a fan of subscription model elitists. You wanna know what's REALLY fun, Jeff? Not paying 180 bucks a year to play a game.
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Dumac said on 5:01PM 11-23-2009
Whatever. I hope he doesn't start a trend of MMOs migrating to consoles, as just about everything else. Of all the people to do that, please, not him. For entirely selfish reasons, i am going to wish his dream of taking the industry in another direction, which is apparently consoles, fails, because MMOs have come to become one of the last staples of PC gaming. And now this. Don't do this to me. :(
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Utakata said on 7:09PM 11-23-2009
Sorry. I stopped reading after consoles.
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Tom said on 9:46PM 11-23-2009
I have a lot of admiration for Strain, but this particular game he's developing now sounds just awful for quite a number of reasons. Fortunately, there are many other good games in the pipeline from other developers
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Bossy said on 7:42AM 11-24-2009
No surprise.
After all Guild Wars was awful too.
Lucky they didn't put a subs on it or else to would be dead 4 years ago.