darwinia-plus posts

UK-based Introversion Software had had a number of major successes for a small indie developer, releasing acclaimed PC games like Darwinia and Defcon. However the year 2008 did not turn out the way the company thought it would. In a rather extensive three part article on the company's blog site, Introversion's Chris Delay goes into detail on what went wrong in 2008.

In summary, Introversion had a number of projects either be delayed or fall by the wayside in 2008, including a planned DS port of Defcon, a game called Chronometer for the UK-based TV network Channel 4 and Darwinia +, a still-unreleased merger of Darwinia and Multiwinia for Xbox Live Arcade. Even the release of Multiwinia for the PC this year generated poor sales.

In the end, Delay states, "By all accounts, 2008 was a disastrous year for Introversion, characterised by an incredibly positive start and a noticeable increase in ambition, but not a single genuine success throughout the whole year." The good news? Introversion managed to stay alive and kept everyone on the team employed even though it had to cut costs considerably to do so. Delay also stated that the beginning of 2009 has seen "alternative funding through grant schemes". Their main project now is to finish Darwinia + and while Delay admits "This is not a situation we would ever deliberately put ourselves in – all eggs in one Microsoft shaped basket," he adds that "the first time in a long while, I'm feeling confident."

Download the Multiwinia demo at Big Download