Indie games have seen incredible success on nearly every platform in the past few years, with many achieving legitimate success through digital downloads alone. One indie game that was met with instant recognition is Arrowhead Game Studios’ Magicka. While the game’s faced a less than ideal and bug-ridden launch, it has since been patched and has been quickly gaining popularity, exceeding all of their expectations. So much so, that a follow-up game is currently being planned by the developer. Wannabe wizards rejoice!
While there are many who would be quick to call PC gaming dead or dying, this is hard to believe when looking at the upcoming releases for the platform. Not only is the multiplayer titan known as Battlefield 3 well on its way to release, but as of late, it’s become clear that indie developers have what it takes to compete with even the largest of gaming companies.
Magicka proved that a great concept executed well is all it takes to catch on with the gaming community, and more than a few major players took notice. Following its launch, Magicka also saw the release of a DLC pack entitled Magicka: Vietnam which has managed to sell “well over 100,000” units. This is quite impressive for an expansion released just last month from an independent developer, and now, it seems that there is more good news from everyone at Arrowhead Game Studios.
In an interview with Joystiq, publisher Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester made it clear that no matter how it happens, a sequel to Magicka will undoubtedly be made:
While it’s never nice to see a quality project be hit with problems at launch, it’s rather exciting to hear that Arrowhead and Paradox are so eager to work on a sequel. While it was no doubt buggy, Magicka was still an incredibly fun and refreshing experience which really brought something new to the table with its unique style of spell-casting.
“When we – and I’m not saying ‘if’ – but ‘when’ we are doing a sequel to this game, it’s going to be done on a totally different technology… It was super buggy at release… We addressed most of them in the first week, but there are still issues with laptops and a few other things. It’s due to the engine that we produced the game on.”
In the same interview, Wester also went on to discuss the possibility of console ports for the game. While he has not dismissed the idea of a disc-based release, his main interest seems to lie in the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, with a PSN release most very probable.
Whether you’ve tried out Magicka on the PC or are holding out for a console release, there’s no doubt that it’s a good time to be an indie game developer. As technology continues to change, so do the opportunities afforded to those in the industry and right now, it seems as if anything is possible for those who are interested in trying something new and innovative.
What are your thoughts on the news that Magicka will be getting a sequel? Have you managed to give the first game a try yet?
Magicka is out now for the PC.
-
Source: Joystiq
