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Mark Jacobs, former head of developer Mythic Entertainment, has opened new casual gaming firm City State Entertainment.
This comes two years after Jacobs’ left Mythic over a disagreement regarding the direction the company was taking under EA.
“I’m tired of strings and being told what to do by other people,” he explained in an interview with Forbes.
“We’re a very collaborative group where we talk about everything, and that’s what you need if you really want to be successful.
“Social games are certainly a lot easier to develop than a traditional game, let alone an MMO, and because of the faster development cycle and the lower costs, we have a lot more freedom in what we want to do. We don’t have to worry if the hardcore gamers are going to get incredibly upset because we’re doing something a certain way. We don’t have to worry if our game is going to sell another 20 copies. We’re just looking to make fun, enjoyable games.”
City State Entertainment is made up of 12 full time employees, including former Mythic and Bethesda employee Andrew Meggs. The studio is funded by Jacobs.
Referring to his past with Mythic and EA, he explained:
“At the end of the day, when you take other people’s money, you have to do what they tell you to do; I’ve done that before, and a lot of times it’s cost me.
“I didn’t want this studio to be the old boys’ club. I was looking for, and continue to look for, a mix of people that represent a much more diverse segment of the gaming population – whether that’s women, young people, whoever – and, to be very blunt, not just ‘old white guys.’ I want people who can come in and bring in their different perspectives, and their ideas for new games and features.”
With even EA putting its toes in the casual gaming pool, it’s interesting to see Jacobs doing the same. However it’s likely we won’t simply be seeing Zynga-styled clones from City State Entertainment. With the likes of the browser-MMO Glitch attempting to develop its own surreal niche on the casual sector, it’s likely we’ll be seeing more and more ambitious titles in the genre.
