Trauma Studios / DICE Interview
Die Seite "HomeLAN" hatte die Möglichkeit ein Interview mit "FrankDelise" von "Trauma Studios-Digital Illusions" zu führen:
Yet another developer that first started as a mod for an established game has now been bought by the company that made the original title. This time its Trauma Studios, who created the popular Battlefield 1942 mod Desert Combat, that was bought by the game's developer Digital Illusions. HomeLAN got a chance to chat with the studios' founder Frank DeLise to find out more about the DICE purchase and what it means for the Desert Combat mod.
HomeLAN - First, how did the idea come about for DICE to flat out buy Trauma, rather than just work with DICE?
Frank DeLise - The idea came from Patrick Soderlund, CEO of Digital Illusions. We worked together on both the research and development prototypes for Battlefield 2 and the mod development toolkit for Battlefield 1942/Vietnam. So we established a good working relationship. But we decided in order to take the relationship to the next level; it would be best for an acquisition so that we develop new games based on Battlefield 2 technology and have the full resources of Digital Illusions behind us.
HomeLAN - What does this purchase mean for Trauma itself in the short term?
Frank DeLise - Trauma Studios ceases to exist. In the acquisition, DICE purchased the name Trauma Studios.
HomeLAN - How many employees does Trauma now have and are they looking to expand to hire more folks?
Frank DeLise - Trauma had 9 employees, which have been transferred to DICE NY. We are looking to expand to around 20 people within the year. We are looking for programmers, technical directors, art directors, etc.. Soon we will have a full list of positions available. We are hiring many of these positions immediately.
HomeLAN - The press release stated that Trauma had been doing some development work on Battlefield 2. Can you be more specific on what that work entailed?
Frank DeLise - Some of the prototypes that Trauma worked on included rappelling from helicopters, squads, commanders, artillery, reviving players, wounded state, vehicle upgrades, assist kills, new game play modes, scoring, a couple of level designs and user interface designs. Most or all of these prototypes will make it into the final product. It was an amazing exercise to quickly realize what is fun and what is not, make quick iterations and decide if the feature is good or not.
HomeLAN - Can you give us a quickie status report on how Battlefield 2 is coming along?
Frank DeLise - Battlefield 2 is amazing, I think it will blow away any Battlefield fan, as for its current status, I can?t comment on that other then it is moving along very nicely.
HomeLAN - The press release also said that Trauma is now going to focus on an all new game based on the Battlefield 2 game. Can you be more specific on what type of game this will be and will it be a game in the Battlefield franchise?
Frank DeLise - Unfortunately I cannot comment on either question. All I can say is that we are building a new game based on the Battlefield 2 technology.
HomeLAN - The press release also said that DICE now owns the Desert Combat assets. Why did DICE wish to buy the rights to the BF: 1942 mod as well?
Frank DeLise - Digital Illusions bought all the assets from Trauma Studios, which means computer equipment and domain names. However they did not purchase the Desert Combat mod and its assets, only the domain name and mark.
The Desert Combat mod and assets still belongs to the Trauma Studios Company, which will be renamed since DICE now owns the Trauma Studios name and mark.
HomeLAN - What does this purchase mean for the future of Desert Combat? Will we see a stand alone retail version of the mod released, for example, or will it continue to be a free downloadable mod?
Frank DeLise - The current plan is for Desert Combat to remain as a free downloadable mod for the foreseeable future. Desert Combat is a great mod, but Battlefield 2 will simply blow you away. So for now, play Desert Combat until Battlefield 2 is released to hold you over.
HomeLAN - When you first conceived of the Desert Combat mod, did you have any idea that it would grow to a full fledged developer and then being directly associated with DICE?
Frank DeLise - It was a thought that I always had in the back of my mind, but it is not what drove me. My passion was for the mod itself and the fun it produced. It is obviously great that it turned out this way, since now as a team we can bring new ideas to gamers everywhere.
HomeLAN - Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Trauma Studios and its future?
Frank DeLise - We would just like to thank our fans for helping us fulfill our dreams and we hope that this helps push other mod teams to fulfill their own. Electronic Arts and Digital Illusions see the power of the mod community and trust me, they are looking at everything mod teams produce. So if you really want to get into the industry or just prove an idea, make a great mod and it may fulfill your dreams.
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