As a small research task to demonstrate that money doesn’t make good games, we were asked to look into the fall of a company known as Ion Storm. Little did I realize that said company was formed by John Romero, founder of id software and designer of the quintessential fps, Doom.
Ion Storm was formed when Romero left id software to form his own company shortly after the release of Quake which was backed by Eidos Interactive, the creators of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, who provided a large amount of fiscal support for the startup due to Romero’s reputation.
Ion Storm was born and they purchased a 54th floor penthouse in the Chase Tower, Dallas. Albeit a geek paradise, with appropriate decor, unlimited snacks and nightly sessions of Quake death-match the $2 million dollar office was an unusual location choice for the industry not to mention ridiculously expensive for a mid 90’s game developer.
Romero quickly started work on the design documentation for Daikatana which was intended to be released for Christmas of 97′ however was severely delayed. Initially the game was to use the Quake engine however upon Quake II launching Romero opted to wait for the source code to be released by id software. The source code for Quake II was eventually made public in February the following year. On top of this initial delay the source code ended up being more complex than Romero expected causing internal debate among Ion’s programmers who disagreed with the massive port to the new engine. Bonuses were quickly dispensed and work continued but not without natural attrition.
Beyond the internal issues that plagued Daikatana’s production, a marketing campaign in 97′ captured the aggressive banter of the Quake community with the fame of John Romero. The “John Romero Is Going To Make You His Bitch” advert sparked major controversy with the internet community relentlessly criticizing both ion Storm and John Romero as the project was delayed again and again.
The delay eventually stretched out to 2 years with Daikatana being received with lackluster warmth. The game was reviewed with average applause however by this time the media had already establish a negative view of Ion due to previous poor quality releases. Romero’s imminent departure was not unexpected taking with him the reputation of the Ion spark debacle. Eidos software eventually closed both the Dallas and Austin branches but not before the Austin branch released Dues Ex, an FPS that successfully combined RGP elements.
Sources:
http://www.salon.com/2002/01/02/ion_storm/
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ion-storm-closes-its-doors/1100-6118364/
Ash Jagath 