Palm Pilot Torment?

Guido Henkel, the producer of Black Isle's oddball role-playing game Planescape Torment and the Realms of Arkania series, has unveiled his new company - G3 Studios. Although the name might suggest a link with the Mac, the company is in fact dedicated to developing games for PDA systems and the GameBoy Advance, starting with the Pocket PC. Henkel seems to be the latest developer to become frustrated with PC game development, following in the footsteps of John Romero and Tom Hall, who founded Monkeystone last year and have already released their first PDA game - a far cry from the multi-million dollar budgets and four year development cycles of Ion Storm. "Unlike the desktop PC world, where you are fighting countless configurations, operating systems and requirements, handhelds are a very enclosed platform. This allows us to concentrate on making better games, turning them around with smaller teams in much shorter time", Guido enthused. "Working in such an emerging market is exciting and challenging. Not only do we have to develop new business models and open up new business opportunities, but we also have to put on a different mindset when it comes to designing and developing our products. What works on a standard desktop PC may not be suitable for a lightweight handheld with limited storage capacities and a stylus as input device. But it is exactly that challenge that makes it so refreshing, together with the fact that we are helping to shape and drive an entirely new market." Exactly what G3 are working on so far isn't clear, although the press release suggests "a varied palette of products including original content, as well as licensed properties which will be ported from other platforms". The company is planning to cover every genre from "casino style games" (eugh) to more interesting action and role-playing efforts. Further details should be available on the G3 website later in the month. Related Feature - Romero and Killcreek Monkeying around

Source - press release