Splash Damage's rules of engagement: No ports, no movie games

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 25th 2009 at 4:00AM }

Speaking today at the Game Horizon conference in the UK, as reported by Gamasutra, Splash Damage CEO Paul Wedgwood laid down his company's "rules of engagement." The rules are simple, according to Wedgwood: "Don't work on movie licenses, don't work on ports, don't do work for hire, and find a big brother to nurture us in those early years." He noted that this is how Splash Damage attained its focus, which is to "shamelessly pursue critical acclaim" by "focusing all our effort on making sure the stuff we do is better than the stuff we did."

The most important factor, said Wedgwood, is people. He stated that "People are the only important asset you have," adding that, as a company, one should attempt to "hire people who are better than you -- because guess what? They have better ideas than you." Here's hoping that the folks Splash Damage hired earlier this year have some great ideas for Brink, the company's first console title.

Tags: brink, game-horizon, splash-damage

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

+++volume+++ @ Jun 25th 2009 4:06AM

Am I the only on that loves that logo?

+++volume+++ @ Jun 25th 2009 4:07AM

*waits for grammar nazi to correct my spelling of 'one'*

Boff @ Jun 25th 2009 4:24AM

Isn't it a capital 'N' for Nazi? ;o)

michas_pi @ Jun 25th 2009 4:27AM

@+++volume+++:

The spelling Nazis will get you, instead :)

Anyway, I like Splash Damage. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is still a great game.

Brodie-san @ Jun 25th 2009 6:41AM

"Nazi" when referring to members of Germany's national socialist party. "nazi" when referring to someone "who is fanatically dedicated to, or seeks to control, some activity, practice, etc."

ChomskyKnows @ Jun 25th 2009 11:17AM

i like the name of the company actually. the logo, not so much...

B3astofthe3ast @ Jun 25th 2009 4:43AM

So they want to be the next Team Ico, Nintendo EAD, etc....good luck.

lostmongoose @ Jun 25th 2009 4:43AM

"Don't do work for hire"

RtCW:ET, ET:QW, and doom3 MP component.....all id software IPs. one rule broken, two to go.

DeepFriedSushi @ Jun 25th 2009 5:05AM

doom was turned into a movie so thats both.

MarioSpitza @ Jun 25th 2009 8:31AM

So to summarize everything: "We only make quality, original, exclusive IP's. To us, the workers are important, and the most vital asset to our company."

Excuse me if I sound cynical, but this sounds like a pandering, corporate statement.

Crazy-008 @ Jun 25th 2009 9:30AM

Give em the benefit of the doubt. Let's see how Brink turns out.

Teph @ Jun 25th 2009 11:00AM

While I'm aware that they're a company and that they'll probably spout out corporate slop just the same as the next guy... I actually know these guys. They're serious about making games that are fun, that they would want to play, and I trust them when they make comments like this.

They are all really a great group of people. A small dev that isn't owned by some large publisher and hasn't been forced to spew out sequels and movie games they don't want anything to do with.

His statement holds quite true, actually.

why not the LS2LS7? @ Jun 25th 2009 11:26AM

And what happens when your big brother tells you to port a movie IP?

JamboGT @ Jun 25th 2009 11:58AM

Was at this conference talking to this guy and it all seemed genuine, they have never made anyone redundant they are an independent team with no big brother really. Initially they came from the mod scene then have recruited many top guys from other big studios as they have moved onto consoles.

WEGGLES @ Jun 27th 2009 2:56PM

"Splash Damage attained its focus, which is to "shamelessly pursue critical acclaim" "

Which is why ET: Quake Wars is a giant piece of trash in every conceivable way?

I got it at the $10 sale at B-Buy. And regret it. I'd rather have gotten an XBLA game. :\