Stats
Founded: 2006
Location: Redmond, WA
Mission: To bring some fresh air to the industry by re-inventing popular genres, as well as reviving some of those that we feel have become under appreciated or under represented in the market. We aim to do this through innovative and quality titles that we care passionately about.
Brief History
The team has been together quite a while now, and honestly, it's been a long road. We began as hobbyists in 2005, but after a few months realized that our ambitions were greater than that. We all wanted to make games for a living, and we were all adamant about choosing our own projects and maintaining creative freedom. In the summer of 2006 we made it official and Novo Interactive LLC was born. Since then we've worked hard to develop our own proprietary engine and crank out some amazing designs. This all adds up to us being able to bring you some fantastic games in the very near future.
What the heck is Novo?
Novo is a Latin root meaning, quite simply, "new." It can be seen in our modern words...
innovate: to introduce something new; make changes in anything established. And...
renovate: to reinvigorate; refresh; revive.
These two concepts combined exemplify what we want to bring to the industry at large and what we strive for each time we sit down in a design meeting.
Innovation has unfortunately become something of a dirty word in some circles because it is frequently used as a replacement for "gimmicky" in marketing materials. Sometimes titles are different simply for the sake of being different. This is not what we mean. We are after meaningful evolution in ways that make sense for a genre and truly enhance the final experience.
To achieve that end, we do some things differently here at Novo. Every single member of the team is involved in design. This seems only fitting since each of them has lived and breathed a plethora of games since their childhood and brings a unique perspective to our process. This allows us to approach each design challenge from all possible angles, despite the convention, and see if there isn't something new to try that just might be better. Occasionally, and through much debate, we find the best answer isn't a new one, but a very old one that just needs to be updated. So we also frequently discuss games we've loved from our past to distill those elements that made them great, and learn how we can apply those lessons to our own projects. We are sure that you will also enjoy seeing the spirit of some of your old favorites revisited.
Life is too short to spend on projects that just pay the bills, so another important aspect of Novo is this: we only make games that we want to play. Selfish, perhaps, but it's also what guarantees that we will always work our hardest to create the best experience and value possible. Our selection process involves submissions from any one in the company that wishes to make one, and then after a series of presentations and votes the concept that is most interesting and within our production capacity is chosen. This strong personal investment in each and every project we undertake from the whole team means we will never release an un-finished game, or place our pocketbooks above the quality of that final experience we all care so deeply about seeing come to fruition.
We hope that if you agree with even part of what we're about, you will come back to visit us often, and share with us your own thoughts on anything and everything related to this unique medium we love so much. Most importantly, we hope you enjoy the games.
The Novo Declaration
Here in Redmond, we catch a Seattle based radio station called 107.7 The End. It's been around for quite some time (they were the first ones to give Nirvana airplay) but I feel it reached it's peak during my college years. For a couple of years they had something called The End Declaration. It was their pledge to do all of the things that any average listener would want from a radio station. They would never talk over a song. They would always tell you the artist and track name. They actually let the DJs pick the music for their own shows. It was a joy to listen, and a big part of myself and my roommate's introduction to music. So I started thinking, if they can do it with radio, why can't we do it with video games? I imagine there will be lots of discussion to come on what exactly should be on OUR list, but if you're sick and tired of un-skippable cut-scenes, or games that get released when they're still bugged all to hell, pipe up. When it's done, we'll post the Declaration on our site so anyone and everyone can call us on it if we ever screw up.
The Team
Art
Josiah Colborn - Art Director
Andrew (Bill) Brown - Senior Artist
Brandon McCurry - Artist
Tech
Eric Anderson - Technical Director
Joshua Price - Gameplay Programmer
Isaiah Cooper - Gameplay Programmer
Design
Rial Lerum - Design Director
Web
Daryl Roberts - Senior Web Developer
Admin
Walker Hardin - Producer
Choose one of five fantasy characters and jump into stage after stage of vibrant monster filled mayhem. Power up your abilities and search for magical gear to help you as you struggle to survive the hordes alone, or with up to three friends. Watch your buddies back, or try to beat them down and keep the treasure for yourself; However you choose to play, you're in for some intense top down action gaming. Click here to learn more.
© Novo Interactive, LLC
