Campo Santo (company)

Campo Santo Productions LLC
Campo Santo
Private
Industry Video game
Founded September 18, 2013 (2013-09-18)[1]
Founder
Headquarters San Francisco, California, United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products Firewatch
Services Video game development
Number of employees
11[2] (2016)
Website camposanto.com

Campo Santo (legally named Campo Santo Productions) is an American independent video game developer founded on September 18, 2013[3] by Sean Vanaman, Jake Rodkin, Nels Anderson and Olly Moss, based in San Francisco, California.

After founding of the company, the team eventually started development on what would become Firewatch. As of September 2016, the game had sold over five hundred thousand copies, generating $10 million in revenue.[4]

History

Sean Vanaman, the company's co-founder, was originally the co-leader and lead writer of The Walking Dead. However, after discussing along with Idle Thumbs co-founder Jake Rodkin, he and Rodkin[5] co-founded Campo Santo along with Mark of the Ninja lead designer Nels Anderson and graphic artist Olly Moss on September 18, 2013.[3] Soon after, they announced Panic would back their debut video game.[6]

After a painting by Moss,[7] lead environmental artist Jane Ng adapted the painting's aesthetic style into a 3D environment[7] with the color and inspiration drawn from both New Deal advertisements and icons from the National Park Service[8] as well as a camping trip in Yellowstone National Park in which team visited a preserved fire lookout tower 2 miles out from the campsite.[8] Development eventually led to the announcement of Firewatch on March 2014, with release originally slated for 2015.[9]

On August 30, 2014, the game demo was released at PAX West, revealing the overall plotline and story of a fire lookout named Henry in the Shoshone National Forest in 1989.[10] The demo was then released again on March 12, 2015 at GDC, which also had a separate booth hosted by Ng containing the art,[11] and at PAX West on September 2, 2016 again.[12] The game was released on February 6, 2016 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, OS X and Linux with an Xbox One version released September 21, which included an audio tour and free roam mode.[13][14] The game received positive reviews from critics, and has been nominatively known alongside other "walking simulators".[15]

On February 3, 2016, through an interview with Red Bull, Vanaman stated that, although they are in no rush at all, Campo Santo's next game will not be a sequel to Firewatch.[5] On September 26, both Campo Santo and Good Universe issued a partnership to produce a feature film adaptation of Firewatch and other content.[16] On November, the company stated that the game would begin a limited-run physical release towards the end of 2016.[17]

Products

Year Title Genre Platform
2016 Firewatch adventure video game Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Ford controversy

On June 27, Ford Motor Company used an image that was similar to promotional art from Firewatch, which caused controversy from both Panic, Vanaman and others.[18] Shortly thereafter, Quirk Auto Dealers issued an apology, stating that Ford was not involved within the advertisement planning.[19]

References

  1. Seszek, Mike (September 19, 2013). "Campo Santo studio formed by former Telltale Games, Klei developers". Engadget. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. "About". Campo Sato. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Seszek, Mike (September 19, 2013). "Campo Santo studio formed by former Telltale Games, Klei developers". Engadget. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  4. Cooper, Dalton. "Firewatch Sold 500,000 Copies in First Month". GameRant. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Dreyer, Pete (February 3, 2016). "Firewatch interview with Campo Santo". Red Bull. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  6. Sasser, Cabel (March 18, 2016). "Panic Blog » Firewatch: One Month Later". Panic. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Tach, Dave (March 12, 2015). "Before Firewatch was a 3D world, it was a painting". Polygon. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Ng, Jane (October 22, 2014). "Jane Ng Q&A Part 2". Campo Santo. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  9. Tach, Dave (March 13, 2014). "Firewatch is Campo Santo's first game". Polygon. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  10. Birnbaum, Ian (August 30, 2013). "First-person mystery story Firewatch revealed by Campo Santo at PAX". PC Gamer. Retrieved September 6, 2016 via Future US.
  11. "The Art of Firewatch (GDC 2015)". Campo Santo Productions. March 12, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  12. Dornbush, Jonathon (September 2, 2016). "PAX 2016: Firewatch for Xbox One Release Date Announced". IGN. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  13. Sherif, Saed (September 5, 2016). "Indie hit Firewatch is coming to Xbox One this month". VG24/7. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  14. Hossam, Mostafa (September 6, 2016). "Want more Firewatch? It's getting two new modes soon". Kill Screen. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  15. Sims, David (February 11, 2016). "Review: Campo Santo's Hit Indie Video Game Firewatch Channels The Simplicity Of Minecraft, Dear Esther, and Gone Home". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 6, 2016 via Atlantic Media.
  16. Muncy, Jake (26 September 2016). "Campo Santo, Good Universe Team for Firewatch Film and More". Wired. Retrieved 30 November 2016 via Condé Nast.
  17. Sarkar, Samit (16 November 2016). "Firewatch getting limited-edition physical release this year". Polygon. Retrieved 30 November 2016 via Vox Media.
  18. Daniel, Perez (June 27, 2016). "Ford copies Firewatch official art for Freedom Sales Event promotion". ShackNews. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  19. Ramos, Jeff (June 28, 2016). "Ford uses Firewatch visuals for sales event". Polygon. Retrieved September 6, 2016 via Vox Media.
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