14 DAY TRIAL // Stardock seems to be getting ready to specialize in the successful revival of glorious series of the past. After announcing that they plan to make Elemental: War of Magic, a game which is inspired by Master of Magic, the company says it is thinking of breathing new life into Star Control and Master of Orion.
Gamasutra talked to Brad Wardell, the Chief Executive Officer of Stardock, which have already published highly rated games like Galactic Civilizations II and Sins of a Solar Empire, and gleaned a few details regarding his plans for the future. Talking about the 1990 title which combined strategy and combat, Wardell said that “I actually pitched Atari on a whole idea for a true successor to Star Control”, detailing that he envisioned it as a successor to Star Control II.
Wardell also mentioned another cult game, saying “We'd like to do a Master of Orion 4. It would be an updated Master of Orion 2. There would be more to it, but that would be the basis of it”.
And with a second internal development team now close to being complete and ready for business, the company is also looking at creating a role playing experience in the vein of Baldur's Gate II, with an isometric view and party interaction (Wardell mentions he particularly liked Minsc with his giant hamster companion). There's even a suggestion that Gas Powered Games, which is now getting ready to put the finishing touches on Demigod, could handle the development process for the title. The big problem with creating successors to all the above mentioned games is that Stardock does not have the intellectual property rights it needs to use the same names, locations and concepts.
Wardell certainly has big and interesting ideas but, at the moment, his main concern should be following up on the very exciting initial announcement and making Elemental: War of Magic a great game.