Inside Ready At Dawn’s The Order: 1886 Hiring Spree
According to Ru Weerasuriya, the concept for The Order: 1886 has been drifting around Ready at Dawn since 2005, give or take. Since major production has begun, the studio has orchestrated a land-grab of massive proportions. Based on what we know, The Order: 1886 will be a heavily cinematic, single player experience that aims to push the boundaries of destructible environments, and at the same time, blend science fiction with science fact. The narrative takes place in an alternate universe within the setting of England at the cusp of the industrial revolution. It seems the studio has gone to great lengths to ensure they have the talent on-hand to achieve the task. The following summarizes the top industry talent Ready at Dawn has acquired since The Order: 1886 has been in development.
Level Design and Environment/Art
There are likely many more folks who’ve been hired to this department since production began, but talent from some very notable studios are included in the crop I was able to track down. The level design in The Order: 1886 will be immensely important. It will be used to create a sense of immersion as well as redefine what we currently classify as a “cover shooter”. RAD has attracted talent from
id Software (Doom, Rage),
Volition (Saints Row),
Airtight Games (Murdered: Soul Suspect),
Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas),
Blizzard (Diablo 3), and
343i (Halo 4). These talented designers and artists have all joined the studio in the past 14 months. It’s easy to see that RAD is serious about its detailed design and environment output in The Order: 1886.
Cinematic Art/Animation, Lighting, and Sound
The Order: 1886 will also rely on a heavily cinematic element to drive visual and audio immersion. In the sound department, RAD has brought on talent formerly of
IO Interactive (Hitman: Absolution). As far as animation goes, the studio has brought on professionals from
Activision/Blizzard (Diablo, World of Warcraft) and
Sony pictures. Sound design will be central to bringing the sci-fi-inspired arsenal of The Order: 1886 to life. On the animation spectrum,
having a former Sony Pictures employee and a long-time senior animator from Blizzard can only mean good things.
Fast forward to present day, and Ready at Dawn has swelled to over a hundred (108) experienced programmers and designers. A nice sized studio for focused, streamlined development. The combined expertise of studio members formerly of 343i, Blizzard/Activision, Volition, Obsidian, and IO Interactive is sure to a very positive effect on development. We haven’t seen any proper gameplay of The Order as of yet, but a mere four days stand between us and new footage.
http://www.igameresponsibly.com/2014/02/14/inside-ready-at-dawns-the-order-1886-hiring-spree/
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