Igniting the Flame of "Gaslight Studios"

It has been a long, well tread road that I have traversed over the past 7 years that I have been a professional developer of video games. I know that I am certainly not the first person to go this route, and there is no way that I am going to be the last. With how the video game industry is growing, there is no end in sight to the bevy of talent the world will see in days yet to come.

At the start of the new century, I joined the famed development company 21-6 Productions to help with some of their initial projects. In the years to come I worked on art, programming, scripting, story design and project management to name just a few things. If it was not for them, I would not have the talent, experience or opportunities that I have today. And it is one of those opportunities that I am most excited about.

In June of 2008, I left 21-6 to take the plunge that many game developers dream of, but few have the chance to make it happen. I left to begin my own production company - Gaslight Studios.

We are, so far, a small yet growing team of talented and eager professionals with backgrounds ranging from art and programming to stage and film production - and of course myself, with 7 years professional video game design and development experience to lead this troop of misfits. We design, develop, create and consult. We construct, imagine, draw and write.

And with all this, what can I say about what we're working on? Publically, I can announce 2 projects that are underway:

Torque HLSL Shader Packs - Torque Shader Packs starring the Torque Shader Platoon! Each pack will introduce you to a new colorful character from the Platoon who will teach you how to develop different and more advanced shaders than the last pack. These packs will be available in the GarageGames Store, and with the purchase of each you will acquire a collection of heavily commented HLSL shaders constructed especially for TGEA, as well as a detailed document where a Shader Platoon character will teach you how and why the shader works, how to integrate them into the engine, and how to modify them to extend what each shader is capable of doing. In fact, why should I sit here and explain the first Shader Pack to you when General Specular himself can tell you what he's preparing:

Quote:"Hello, MAGGOTS! I'm here to take your wimpy and mathematically-impaired selves and turn you into mean, shader writing machines! When I'm done with you, you'll be able to bling up your neighbor's dog in the blink of an eye. That furry mutt will be sparkling from specular maps and showcasing their bumpmaps - and your neighbor will be wonderin' why their poodle now looks like a Hollywood star! So get on into my camp and prepare to work those shader muscles!"

'Steamtunnel' - While I don't wish to say a whole lot just yet about this, I will say that it is the first IP developed by Gaslight Studios, it is a side-scrolling action RPG developed in Torque Game Builder, and that 'Steamtunnel' is just a code name.

If you're seeking out our home on the web, we do have a site up, although it's not finished. Feel free to target your favorite browsing software to www.GaslightStudios.net/ and peruse the wonderful unfinished world of Gaslight Studios. Heck, if you think you've got what it takes to make that site better, let us know! We're looking for a web developer with a knowledge of the Drupal portal system to help get things moving.

Lots to do, lots to discuss and lots to plan. It's been a rush, albeit a very exciting rush, over the past month and a half. Let's see what the next month and a half will bring, and the many months to follow. I now wish adieu to my good friends and fellow developers at 21-6 Productions, and welcome the future that is yet to come for Gaslight Studios.

-Dave Calabrese
President, Gaslight Studios