Hi friends!
It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I write to share the news that Defiant Development is shutting down development and moving into a caretaker mode to allow past titles to remain available.
As an external contractor/friend of the studio, I feel only a fraction of what my friends are going through, but I still have no words that can express how deeply this is affecting me.
For many, Defiant have been a beacon - an example of what a strong, principled, and talented Australian studio can look like, and in many ways a leader in the Australian games industry. I feel both humbled and honoured to have been taken under their wing to be an extended part of their family. The opportunities and friendships I found there will have a lasting impact on my life.
To make sure that I'm reflecting positively on what matters to me rather than being overwhelmed by negative feelings, I've been streaming Hand of Fate 2 and inviting Defiant's developers to join me and share their memories and experiences.
This is happening pretty ad-hoc (which is why I didn't pre-announce it here!) - since this is an understandably tumultuous time, I don't have a rock solid schedule or plan for how long this will last or how many people are likely to be in a position where they're comfortable talking.
Here's a recap of what's happened so far. I'll aim to update this post every day or two. Generally, I've been streaming somewhere around 2am UTC, but may stream earlier or later depending on guests' availability/preference.
Past:
- 2019-07-24 - Stream with just me
- 2019-07-25 - Stream with Alayna Cole (Associate Producer)
- 2019-07-26 - Stream with James Scott (Programmer)
- 2019-07-28 - Stream with Jeff van Dyck (Composer)
- 2019-07-30 - Stream with Lee May (Communications Manager/Editor)
- 2019-07-31 - Stream with Ken Claassen (Programmer)
- 2019-08-01 - Stream with Jesse Gillespie (Card artist)
- 2019-08-02 - Stream with Dylan Perrett (Animator)
Planned:
- Unscheduled, but maybe interested - Chris Webb
- Unscheduled, but maybe interested - Cade Franklin
- Unscheduled, but maybe interested - John Eyre
- Unscheduled, but maybe interested - Megan Summers
- Unscheduled, but maybe interested - Liam Hill
- Unscheduled, but maybe interested - Morgan Jaffit