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Cheyenne Mountain Sees Funding Issues, Stargate Worlds Still Moving Forward
by Leigh Alexander
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December 5, 2008
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As of press time, it's been 22 days since staffers at Stargate Worlds creator Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment should have been paid. At least, so says a a rather stark, declarative insider website devoted solely to a running tally.
Cheyenne Mountain actually seemed to be having a strong year; in March, the company's Joel Ybarra told Gamasutra that it has four teams at work on both the Stargate MMO and a second, unspecified online title.
And in April, the company formed its own publisher, FireSky, to handle Stargate Worlds and Cheyenne's other unannounced online titles.
But the company's Kevin Balentine, when approached about the "Days Since Cheyenne Mountain Employees Have Been Paid" website, told Gamasutra that the company is indeed facing cash flow challenges as a start-up in the economic downturn.
"At Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, we have always been upfront with the media and our fans that we are a start-up," said Balentine. "Like many start ups, we face the same cash-flow issues that all pre-revenue companies face."
Balentine says the company's core investors are still dedicated to the company -- "but the new economic realities are forcing us to seek out additional sources of funding, and that’s what we’re doing."
Meanwhile, though, Balentine claims that Stargate Worlds is still moving forward. "We recently completed a successful phase of closed beta testing and we will start a second phase early in 2009," he notes, calling the community thus far "fantastic."
The Phoenix, AZ-based Cheyenne Mountain formed independently in 2005, and in early 2006 announced it gained the Stargate Worlds license from MGM Interactive.
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http://days-since-cheyenne-mountain-employees-have-been-paid.com/
Rob, we played a build of it at Comic Con and it actually was pretty cool. They have a unique system of 'cover' which directly effects how you and your team fights in combat. Our full preview is here (again if this is not allowed - please let me know):
http://www.gamingshogun.com/Article/1976/Comic_Con_2008_-_Stargate_Worlds_Hands-
On_Impressions.html
I'm hoping CM doesn't go under though, it would be a shame.
Please stop focusing on production guys, start sending out resumes immediately. Don't go down with the ship, I'm sure there's some talented folks there that don't need any further hardships than this has already presented.
Stargate also spawned a spin-off TV show that ran for 8 seasons because a lot of people liked it. I don't see how you can call that an unpopular license.
I think it'd make an awesome MMO in the right hands, the mythology in the story is great. Awesome character, weapon and vehicle design. I'm not into MMORPG's but I've always wanted to play a proper Stargate game.
A Serie based on that with Richard Dean Anderson.
As the O'Neil(l) With one or two L's it doesn't feel pure as a spinoff but alos as a rework.
Stargate SG1 runs for 10 seasons, not 8.
With a end movie. Stargate The Ark of Truth.
And a independand story movie. Stargate Continium.
From season 8 SG1 (The hunt for the lsot city) there comes a Spinoff serie.
stargate atlantis. It last season 5 running now to it's end.
Also from Stargate sg1 and atlantis there comes new movies.
And a third show. Stargate universe. It is green lighted and are running auditions for actors.
So it's a big popular IP.
But Altho I 'am a stargate fan. I don't like MMO and MMO isn't the first thing I think of making a game for this IP.
Stargate is first of all squad based.
Exploring the gate network in search of advanced tech. For use agianst the advance alien enemie wich they are at war at.
The shows and movies are focused around a small squad.
The first thing I think of is a FPS modern warfare game. Doing missions for the USairforce off world.
Then secondairy it get space combat with fighters. Gliders.
Third boarding or combat against starships.
No free roaming. Because in the US airforce. You don't wander frealy trought the gates as nomads.
But you are in the line off duty doing missions.
So what I miss is the canceld game of Perception with its publisher Jowood.
Stargate SG1 The Alliance.
Furthermore, most MMO's fail because MMO's require an incredibly broad audience to succeed at making that setting popular. I don't even know any Stargate fans IRL offhand. I may meet them every once in a while, but it's so rare, I meet Highlander fans just as often if not more often.
If any of the assets are to be converted into a fun (and therefore potentially marketable) game of any sort, it should scale back the player counts to a small co-op number (12 or less), and try to cash in on a co-op version of Fallout 3's gameplay, using the Stargate setting. 1000 people waiting in line to turn in fetch quests items to the same quest giver does not make for believable immersion and ruins any sense that you are fitting the "role" of a quest solver. That type of gameplay is just a social fad for teens, NOT Stargate's core audience.
It would be nice, since you haven't seen the series to not judge it.
Everybody is entitled to an opinion, but this is ridiculous...
Anyway only the Atlantis spin-off has enough material for a game.
You obviously think failing to succeed is: not reaching WOW numbers.
That's just mathematically stupid. Just make some multiplications and you will see that a commercial success
doens' t need over 10 millions of players, it actually requires a lot less. (Don't forget they
have a tv channel that can make it popular to it's audience,
which is probably enough to make a decent income)
In general you are judging and making assumptions in both posts. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean
other people won't and since you haven't done any research
how do you draw all these conclusions and make all these decisions? Maybe they have done their homework?
Also you should research the subject of MMO's popularity further, it's not the interesting setting (Smurfs with huge brightly colored armor in low polygon cartoon land) that captivates players, although I wish it was.
Their financial situation is crap, but that is not the fault of the developers, they aren't the ones responsible for funding.
Just for clarification Stargate is the single most successful Sci-Fi Show in the history of television. Not saying it is the best, far from it as it is B-rate fluff at that, but it is the most watched. So It would make sense if no one bats an eyelash at a starwars or a star trek MMO that no one should bat one at Stargate.. Again not that Stargate approaches the quality of those other two IPs, but it's pull has enough weight to do an MMO with