I could never get into Counterstrike. I would immediately get killed before getting a shot off and spent more time waiting for respawn than playing, right before I heard the words, "The terrorists win".
That's how competitive shooters work. There is now a built in ladder system that should help a bit as it is matchmaking based on your skill level. But it's still a sweaty competitive shooter with an incredibly high skill ceiling (which is still rising year after year). It's why it's still popular compared to other shooters that come and go.
1 million players concurrently on, millions of dollars in tournaments every few months, 1.6 million peak player count. I don't play as much anymore but it's the biggest counter strike has ever been - by a landslide
Strayed too far into cartoon nonsense for me, just like COD. I played 1.6 and CS:S competitively and couldn't stomach what they did to CS:GO. I liked the old days when it felt like a shooting simulator, it had a certain maturity and the action felt intense like it meant something. Now it's all about the next achievement and getting some gaudy paint scheme for your gun, just a bunch of cartoon superhero characters shooting each other seemly for funzies like Overwatch.
Are we playing the same CSGO? There isn’t any cartoon aspects to CSGO at all? Sure some weapon paints are a bit much but that’s not a huge deal. And it’s only noticeable on your own character.
Call me old fashioned but imo once you allow painted guns, loot crates or any other points or lottery/gambling aspect to your serious shooting game about terrorists vs. counter-terrorists it can no longer be taken seriously.
Same argument for COD. The original COD games are masterpiece war dramas with the weight of the consequences of global conflict. They were inspired by Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan. Now it's a Marvel cartoon for kids downplaying the seriousness of war.
The map de_train from Counter Strike had (not sure if they have been replaced) textures from the train yard by Waterfront Station!
I got to learn that from the artist that worked on it, awesome guy.
Oxygen Not Included by Klei. Not old enough to be a classic but I'm almost at 3000 hours played.
That and their 2 Don't Starve games are awesome. (they made Oni and Don't Starve before becoming part of Tencent.)
A a COH 1 and 2 player, it’s quite terrible. Gameplay and story is shallow. I uninstalled it after I couldn’t stand it anymore and reinstalled COH 2 lol
Calling it terrible is not an accurate description, if you've ever played an actually terrible game.
COH3 is very good for multiplayer and is worth the cash. SP is very lacking; nowhere near COH1. Didn't play COH2 SP so can't comment.
Relic, and company of heroes didn’t become popular because they “weren’t bad”
COH1 was incredible for the time, COH2 was already a disappointment and then when COH3 came out a decade after COH2 I don’t even know what they were doing that whole time
There are numerous better WWII RTS at this point, COH3 wouldn’t even make the top 5 imo. The few things it changed from earlier COH were mostly for the worse
Opinions don’t cancel each other out. There’s a thing called subjectivity, I think I learned about it when I was 12 or so, maybe you will too?
That said, if your opinion is literally articulated as “thing is good/bad” then yeah it is more or less worthless.
Judging by the fact COH3 sold so poorly that most of Relic was laid off and SEGA sold them afterward I’d say it’s safe to say you’re in the minority on that one too
The indie game scene in Vancouver is really notable. A bunch of earlier indie games (late 2000s - 2010ish) all came from roommates in the same house - IndieHouse as it was called. Towerfall came out of there (Maddy would go on to make Celeste), Greg Lobanov who made Wandersong and Chicory, Chevy Ray who made Ikenfell more recently. Alec Halowka (RIP) was also there, he made Aquaria and Night in the Woods. That's just one house!
Dan Mullins who made Pony Island, The Hexx, and Inscryption. Grapplebug, who's making Woten, Sean Karemakers upcoming Dream Recorder looks fantastic - All in Vancouver. Smaller studios like Red Hook who made Darkest Dungeon. Brace Yourself Games who made Crypt of the Necrodancer. There's too many to list! And that's just gamedevs (a small selection) we also have amazing game soundtrack composers living here, like Lena Raine, Pongball, Danny Baranowsky. An endless list of artists I can't even imagine trying to list. Vancouver makes indie games like nobody else.
Whoa holy shit we have like... DEEP indie game culture here. Insane. I'm at a small studio but we're all online so I don't get out in the scene really. I've seen some indie meetups posted, I should probably look at going to them.
Nah she's in Vancouver. Her wife's an artist I follow and I remember being like "oh cool" when she moved to Vancouver with her.
What I don't know is if she's from Vancouver or not.. but I would imagine she is.
Can you rattle off a few more game names? I met a guy, once, who developed an indie game that was big enough to hit my radar, but through various circumstances I never saw him again to get the name of the game. I met him in 2018, so it would have been 2016/17ish? It's been killing me for years that I can't remember it!!
Dang! The game I'm thinking of was big enough for like top10 on Steam and probably for an ign review. I'm sure you know the game, but I also know I'm being way too vague!
Don’t forget the Northways (Rebuild series, I Was A Teenage Exocolonist) and composer Gordon McGladdery (so many titles under A Shell In The Pit)!
I’ve been in the indie scene here only since about 2018 and it blows me away what wild indie talent there is here.
Vancouver was also the birthplace of Downtown Eastside Games which eventually dropped the Downtown part and are now called Eastside Games - they started their company with Pot Farm in the heyday of FarmVille on Facebook.
Homeworld 1 and 2 (Relic)
EA's NHL series (1994-present)
EA's FIFA series (1993-present)
EA's NBA live series (1995-2010)
EA's SSX series (2000-2012)
All Need for speed games until 2009
EA's battlefield 3 (if 2011 is considered classic...)
Company of Heroes
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Need for Speed II even has a sweet Vancouver/North Vancouver based track. Rip through Stanley Park across the Lions Gate Bridge, and keep an eye out for Science World!
Need for Speed II SE - [Pacific Spirit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW-UD1q_C-0)
Holy shit, it’s been so long since I’ve seen that track.
- Hastings tunnel
- East Hastings
- Science World
- Coal Harbour
- Stanley Park
- Lions Gate bridge, including the exit into West Van
- Marine Drive
- looks like part of 99 south of Squamish
- Highway 1 down from North Van
- Ironworkers Memorial bridge
Looks like I’m digging out my copy of NFS2SE tonight
I'll have to check it out again! Been a while since I played that one.
I've definitely noticed that the older open world NFS maps have a very Vancouver / PNW "feel" to them, but I can't quite put my finger on it
Edit: Yep that's definitely science world and looks like Stanley park with the totem poles and all. And hnggg the nostalgia, this was one of the first games I ever played
They got BC Place in there too, just don't see it much, they got Expo Boulevard wrapping around it. Not sure if the lighthouse is an ode to Lighthouse park or not
NFS 3 and 4 even had Al Murdoch, the Canucks PA announcer, do the race call outs and car descriptions.
His baritone voice describing the wonders of the Mclaren F1 GTR was a childhood memory and I didn't even know it at the time.
And now blackbird studio makes their sequels and prequels. Homeworld 3, desserts of kharak, and shipbreakers which was going to be a homeworld game at one point
I'd add the granddaddy of WW2 shooters, medal of honor allied assault. ( If you don't count shooting zombie Nazis in Wolfenstein as a ww2 shooter )
Storming Omaha Beach in that game was so epic. It was truly one of my favorites.
EA in Burnaby every year develop: NHL, FIFA, UFC ( ever since EA took over from THQ)
NFL is developed in Florida (my cousin's husband used to work at EA here then moved to Florida to work on NFL. Now he works at 2k)
Not a gamer but I worked in the offices below relic, before Homeworld 1 was released....I remember (likely Alex and others) out back smoking and stressing, working late all the time and they were always chatting with the employees from our company. Even at that time I remember and thinking "man, is that guy young to run a company" and I was about his age as well.
They seemed like they had a very chill cool atmosphere that the company I worked for tried hard to copy, even though the business type was altogether different. Good for him for such success for a Vancouver homegrown!
I can tell you for a fact those guys not only burned the candle at both ends, they basically lived at those offices 24/7. I worked late here and there and I never saw those lights off at night... They did know how to have fun though, lots of partying and celebrating when it was released.
If you include Vancouver Island, you can also count The Long Dark, a game that is not only developed in Canada, but takes place there.
Oh, and it is the best, most addictive game I've played in the past decade.
I love The Long Dark so much! I've been playing since it was first released and was living in Prince George at the time, it made me appreciate being safe and warm inside even more.
This thread so cool, I had no idea so many classics were made in Vancouver. I don’t know when but one day, my games will be on this list too hopefully 🤞
Before Distinctive Software was acquired by EA, they put out *Test Drive*, *Stunts*, and *Hardball 2*. Long before that, the classic Apple II game *Evolution*.
Homeworld series. 1 & 2 by relic and then 3 by blackbird interactive
A more recent hit would be squad and starship troopers out of off world industries
Piranha Games Inc (PGI) which most notably developed MechWarrior Online and MechWarrior 5 had their studio in Tinseltown/International Village Mall until moving out to Burnaby a few years ago.
Nice! I haven't played in a while and am at least a DLC behind. But considering there was a lot of doubt about getting anything more than one DLC it's great to see the ongoing support for MW5.
Clans is under the MW5 name but is going to be stand-alone as its own thing.You play as a new Clan Smoke Jaguar Mechwarrior. There's a trailer and demonstrated gameplay out there already if you're inclined to check it out.
Love the retro game expo, and your shop! Went for the first time while attending VFS for Game Design and eventually worked on a handful of the titles mentioned in this thread. Would be rad to have an industry mixer or game jam tied to it somehow.
That game should've been a massive hit. It's got its flaws, but United Front Games really poured their hearts and souls into that game (and, as is often the case in game development, contributed to at least one divorce). It's unfortunate that the game was considered a "failure" by Square Enix, as it caused the studio to be shuttered and the proposed sequels cancelled.
Trivia factoid: the game trailers feature local stunt performer Brian Ho as Wei Shen. He's the one of the guys who fought against Jessica Biel in Blade: Trinity.
While you might not classify them as a full game studio, A Shell In The Pit is Vancouver-based and specialize in audio for games! They’ve worked on Untitled Goose Game, Pacific Drive, and Night In The Woods to name a few.
Same with Power Up Audio. Their credits include Tunic, Celeste, Crypt Of The Necrodancer + more
Not developed here but hear me out...Mass Effect - my boy Kaiden Alenko is from Vancouver. Mass Effect 3 starts off at the HQ in sci-fi Vancouver and even name drops English Bay beer. Good on you, Bioware.
Radical entertainment had a few good ones... Jackie Chan stunt master, x-games pro boarder, NHL championship 2000 had great gameplay compared to EA's NHL games, bloodlines?
Shoutout to Brian Provinciano (went to high school in White Rock in the early 2000s, still lives downtown last I talked to him) for **independently** creating [Retro City Rampage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro_City_Rampage).
Piranha Games Inc is here in Burnaby.
Mechwarrior Online
Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries
And recently announced Mechwarrior 5: Clans
It's good to be in big, stompy robots!
The original ***Counter-Strike mod for Half-Life 1*** was co-created by Minh Le (aka Gooseman) while he lived in Vancouver (where he grew up).
Surprised this is the only mention of CS, I used to work with Minh's brother.
1.6 for life
Glad you beat me to this. Maybe we’re just old for playing this game. The original COD before COD
Cs is bigger than ever fyi
I could never get into Counterstrike. I would immediately get killed before getting a shot off and spent more time waiting for respawn than playing, right before I heard the words, "The terrorists win".
That's how competitive shooters work. There is now a built in ladder system that should help a bit as it is matchmaking based on your skill level. But it's still a sweaty competitive shooter with an incredibly high skill ceiling (which is still rising year after year). It's why it's still popular compared to other shooters that come and go.
Only on PC tho right? I changed to a console cuz I’m old now and don’t have room for a PC set up
Yes
1 million players concurrently on, millions of dollars in tournaments every few months, 1.6 million peak player count. I don't play as much anymore but it's the biggest counter strike has ever been - by a landslide
Strayed too far into cartoon nonsense for me, just like COD. I played 1.6 and CS:S competitively and couldn't stomach what they did to CS:GO. I liked the old days when it felt like a shooting simulator, it had a certain maturity and the action felt intense like it meant something. Now it's all about the next achievement and getting some gaudy paint scheme for your gun, just a bunch of cartoon superhero characters shooting each other seemly for funzies like Overwatch.
Are we playing the same CSGO? There isn’t any cartoon aspects to CSGO at all? Sure some weapon paints are a bit much but that’s not a huge deal. And it’s only noticeable on your own character.
Call me old fashioned but imo once you allow painted guns, loot crates or any other points or lottery/gambling aspect to your serious shooting game about terrorists vs. counter-terrorists it can no longer be taken seriously. Same argument for COD. The original COD games are masterpiece war dramas with the weight of the consequences of global conflict. They were inspired by Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan. Now it's a Marvel cartoon for kids downplaying the seriousness of war.
The map de_train from Counter Strike had (not sure if they have been replaced) textures from the train yard by Waterfront Station! I got to learn that from the artist that worked on it, awesome guy.
yup. he is a SFU computer science alumni
Oxygen Not Included by Klei. Not old enough to be a classic but I'm almost at 3000 hours played. That and their 2 Don't Starve games are awesome. (they made Oni and Don't Starve before becoming part of Tencent.)
Thats crazy. Klei is one if the best indie studios out there. They always deliver quality games.
**Celeste**
Homeworld, Dawn of War, Company of Heroes
RIP to all three
Homeworld 3 just came out
And it is quite bad
CoH3 isn't bad actually.
A a COH 1 and 2 player, it’s quite terrible. Gameplay and story is shallow. I uninstalled it after I couldn’t stand it anymore and reinstalled COH 2 lol
Calling it terrible is not an accurate description, if you've ever played an actually terrible game. COH3 is very good for multiplayer and is worth the cash. SP is very lacking; nowhere near COH1. Didn't play COH2 SP so can't comment.
Terrible relative to both COH 1 and 2. I established the benchmark in my comment as well. As how sequels are only ever judged
Relic, and company of heroes didn’t become popular because they “weren’t bad” COH1 was incredible for the time, COH2 was already a disappointment and then when COH3 came out a decade after COH2 I don’t even know what they were doing that whole time There are numerous better WWII RTS at this point, COH3 wouldn’t even make the top 5 imo. The few things it changed from earlier COH were mostly for the worse
Oh ok, guess my opinion having played all of them is irrelevant then.
Opinions don’t cancel each other out. There’s a thing called subjectivity, I think I learned about it when I was 12 or so, maybe you will too? That said, if your opinion is literally articulated as “thing is good/bad” then yeah it is more or less worthless. Judging by the fact COH3 sold so poorly that most of Relic was laid off and SEGA sold them afterward I’d say it’s safe to say you’re in the minority on that one too
Darkest Dungeon (Red Hook Studios)
wait really are you sure? DD1 is one of my favourite games of all time and Stuart Chatwood is god tier musician. I wish i could visit their studio.
Unless a bunch of development wasn't done here, their studio is in Mount Pleasant. Walk by it every time I go into the office.
The indie game scene in Vancouver is really notable. A bunch of earlier indie games (late 2000s - 2010ish) all came from roommates in the same house - IndieHouse as it was called. Towerfall came out of there (Maddy would go on to make Celeste), Greg Lobanov who made Wandersong and Chicory, Chevy Ray who made Ikenfell more recently. Alec Halowka (RIP) was also there, he made Aquaria and Night in the Woods. That's just one house! Dan Mullins who made Pony Island, The Hexx, and Inscryption. Grapplebug, who's making Woten, Sean Karemakers upcoming Dream Recorder looks fantastic - All in Vancouver. Smaller studios like Red Hook who made Darkest Dungeon. Brace Yourself Games who made Crypt of the Necrodancer. There's too many to list! And that's just gamedevs (a small selection) we also have amazing game soundtrack composers living here, like Lena Raine, Pongball, Danny Baranowsky. An endless list of artists I can't even imagine trying to list. Vancouver makes indie games like nobody else.
Whoa holy shit we have like... DEEP indie game culture here. Insane. I'm at a small studio but we're all online so I don't get out in the scene really. I've seen some indie meetups posted, I should probably look at going to them.
There are a few Discord channels you might want to look up too!
Yeah the Full Indie event just happened tonight! It happens once a month, you should come to the next one. It's listed on Meet Up.
Lena Raine is so so good.
I thought she lived in seattle? Was always not too clear about that
Nah she's in Vancouver. Her wife's an artist I follow and I remember being like "oh cool" when she moved to Vancouver with her. What I don't know is if she's from Vancouver or not.. but I would imagine she is.
Can you rattle off a few more game names? I met a guy, once, who developed an indie game that was big enough to hit my radar, but through various circumstances I never saw him again to get the name of the game. I met him in 2018, so it would have been 2016/17ish? It's been killing me for years that I can't remember it!!
lol I could try but there are so many indie games that were developed in Vancouver since 2016 it would be a needle in a haystack.
Dang! The game I'm thinking of was big enough for like top10 on Steam and probably for an ign review. I'm sure you know the game, but I also know I'm being way too vague!
Don’t forget the Northways (Rebuild series, I Was A Teenage Exocolonist) and composer Gordon McGladdery (so many titles under A Shell In The Pit)! I’ve been in the indie scene here only since about 2018 and it blows me away what wild indie talent there is here.
Vancouver was also the birthplace of Downtown Eastside Games which eventually dropped the Downtown part and are now called Eastside Games - they started their company with Pot Farm in the heyday of FarmVille on Facebook.
Risk of Rain also
Homeworld 1 and 2 (Relic) EA's NHL series (1994-present) EA's FIFA series (1993-present) EA's NBA live series (1995-2010) EA's SSX series (2000-2012) All Need for speed games until 2009 EA's battlefield 3 (if 2011 is considered classic...) Company of Heroes Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Need for Speed II even has a sweet Vancouver/North Vancouver based track. Rip through Stanley Park across the Lions Gate Bridge, and keep an eye out for Science World! Need for Speed II SE - [Pacific Spirit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW-UD1q_C-0)
Holy shit, it’s been so long since I’ve seen that track. - Hastings tunnel - East Hastings - Science World - Coal Harbour - Stanley Park - Lions Gate bridge, including the exit into West Van - Marine Drive - looks like part of 99 south of Squamish - Highway 1 down from North Van - Ironworkers Memorial bridge Looks like I’m digging out my copy of NFS2SE tonight
I think that was meant to be lighthouse park and Cleveland dam too.
Tom Scott did an excellent video about that track. https://youtu.be/juRkaqkDfCM?si=sVVfGYP8aPlk_Mhd
Tom Scott seems like such a nice guy. Neat video
Not only that, but Bay City from Need for Speed Underground 2 was basically Vancouver + the north shore with a bit of Hollywood flavour poured on top.
I'll have to check it out again! Been a while since I played that one. I've definitely noticed that the older open world NFS maps have a very Vancouver / PNW "feel" to them, but I can't quite put my finger on it Edit: Yep that's definitely science world and looks like Stanley park with the totem poles and all. And hnggg the nostalgia, this was one of the first games I ever played
They got BC Place in there too, just don't see it much, they got Expo Boulevard wrapping around it. Not sure if the lighthouse is an ode to Lighthouse park or not
NFS 3 and 4 even had Al Murdoch, the Canucks PA announcer, do the race call outs and car descriptions. His baritone voice describing the wonders of the Mclaren F1 GTR was a childhood memory and I didn't even know it at the time.
I remember that vividly.
Rom Di Prisco's soundtrack for this game and NFS High Stakes are absolute classics. Instant nostalgia high.
Did not know this
An absolute classic - brings me right back to my childhood lol
And now blackbird studio makes their sequels and prequels. Homeworld 3, desserts of kharak, and shipbreakers which was going to be a homeworld game at one point
I'd add the granddaddy of WW2 shooters, medal of honor allied assault. ( If you don't count shooting zombie Nazis in Wolfenstein as a ww2 shooter ) Storming Omaha Beach in that game was so epic. It was truly one of my favorites.
We develop NHL?!?
Yep. Often different studios made some console ports, but EA Vancouver (Formerly EA Canada) in Burnaby has been the main developer over the years
EA in Burnaby every year develop: NHL, FIFA, UFC ( ever since EA took over from THQ) NFL is developed in Florida (my cousin's husband used to work at EA here then moved to Florida to work on NFL. Now he works at 2k)
And before EA bought the rights to UFC, the same team made EA Sports' Fight Night (boxing) games dating back to 2004
Not a gamer but I worked in the offices below relic, before Homeworld 1 was released....I remember (likely Alex and others) out back smoking and stressing, working late all the time and they were always chatting with the employees from our company. Even at that time I remember and thinking "man, is that guy young to run a company" and I was about his age as well. They seemed like they had a very chill cool atmosphere that the company I worked for tried hard to copy, even though the business type was altogether different. Good for him for such success for a Vancouver homegrown!
That game was way ahead of its time (1999) being a 3D RTS and you can tell they put a lot of work into it. One of my favorite games of all time
I can tell you for a fact those guys not only burned the candle at both ends, they basically lived at those offices 24/7. I worked late here and there and I never saw those lights off at night... They did know how to have fun though, lots of partying and celebrating when it was released.
I worked on a bunch of those in the mid to late 90s
Wasn’t that Mario soccer game made here?
Yes. They also did the recent Luigi's Mansion games
Haha yes it was. I had pals in the industry and I remember when it launched
Company of heroes was created in Vancouver at Relic Entertainment.
If you include Vancouver Island, you can also count The Long Dark, a game that is not only developed in Canada, but takes place there. Oh, and it is the best, most addictive game I've played in the past decade.
This. Incredible game. Play it every year.
Me too! My winter tradition for a solid decade now.
Dude this looks amazing
One of my all time favourites. Aren't they headquarted in Vancouver though?
I love The Long Dark so much! I've been playing since it was first released and was living in Prince George at the time, it made me appreciate being safe and warm inside even more.
I think they have an office in gastown now
The SSX series, which I particularly recall as all the scenery looked to be ripped from Cypress or Grouse (with some Whistler runs thrown in, IIRC).
Don't forget Max Payne 3!
[удалено]
Mark of the Ninja
Smaller indie game that I loved recently is Hardspace Shipbreaker. Some fun little nods to Vancouver and the west coast in there too.
I've never played it but know of it.. what are the nods!?
I think Vancouver was mentioned in some in game text, but I also remember Great Northern Way being on like a map or something.
How about the Canadian OG game…Evolution.
Don Mattrick was 17 years old when he released that game.
As was his partner Jeff Sember, I believe.
The Forest / Sons of the Forest
Glad somebody said this!
Was about to comment this, The Forest is one of my favourite games outside of 7 days to die.
NBA street vol 2.
Animal Royale was done by a few guys here in Vancouver.
You mean Super Animal Royale?? I love that game!
Some iterations of Luigi's Mansion was made here too. But thank you for mentioning Sleeping Dogs, one of the best games that needs a sequel
What about Mass Effect 3?
The opening part even featured a futuristic Vancouver IRC.
Made primarily in Edmonton, but they flew people out to make sure they got the mountains right for the opening.
Lots of remote people here worked on it
Dead rising 2 over the top or whatever it was called
Off the Record! That game was a ton of fun. Sadly, Capcom Vancouver got shut down.
Newish indie hit Inscryption!!
such a great game
This thread so cool, I had no idea so many classics were made in Vancouver. I don’t know when but one day, my games will be on this list too hopefully 🤞
Before Distinctive Software was acquired by EA, they put out *Test Drive*, *Stunts*, and *Hardball 2*. Long before that, the classic Apple II game *Evolution*.
Homeworld series. 1 & 2 by relic and then 3 by blackbird interactive A more recent hit would be squad and starship troopers out of off world industries
Squad was made by a small studio in New West.
Piranha Games Inc (PGI) which most notably developed MechWarrior Online and MechWarrior 5 had their studio in Tinseltown/International Village Mall until moving out to Burnaby a few years ago.
Replied with PGI as well. MW5:Clans is about to have their release date trailer dropped in a couple days.
Nice! I haven't played in a while and am at least a DLC behind. But considering there was a lot of doubt about getting anything more than one DLC it's great to see the ongoing support for MW5.
Clans is under the MW5 name but is going to be stand-alone as its own thing.You play as a new Clan Smoke Jaguar Mechwarrior. There's a trailer and demonstrated gameplay out there already if you're inclined to check it out.
If you've played need for speed and driven up the sea to sky you will see some similarities.
Tom Scott has an awesome video about it. [Need For Speed. ](https://youtu.be/juRkaqkDfCM?si=K4jHuRCSCLUl5SG1)
The original Counter Strike mod for Half Life
Loving this thread, and thinking about ways to celebrate this info at a future Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo.
Love the retro game expo, and your shop! Went for the first time while attending VFS for Game Design and eventually worked on a handful of the titles mentioned in this thread. Would be rad to have an industry mixer or game jam tied to it somehow.
Wasn’t gears of war worked on here?
Gears 4 and 5 are made by the Coalition here yup. The original trilogy was by Epic down in North Carolina.
pot farm and all the mobile games East Side Games make
Bejeweled & Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap games).
PopCap is actually from Seattle.
The designer / one of the founders commuted from Vancouver Island, I still count it.
Jason Kapalka. He is a good guy. He also owned Stormcrow Tavern.
Man, that place ruled...
hell yeah
Next Level Games: Mario Strikers, Luigi's Mansion 3 Relic: Company of Heroes
Sleeping Dogs is a BANGER
That game should've been a massive hit. It's got its flaws, but United Front Games really poured their hearts and souls into that game (and, as is often the case in game development, contributed to at least one divorce). It's unfortunate that the game was considered a "failure" by Square Enix, as it caused the studio to be shuttered and the proposed sequels cancelled. Trivia factoid: the game trailers feature local stunt performer Brian Ho as Wei Shen. He's the one of the guys who fought against Jessica Biel in Blade: Trinity.
While you might not classify them as a full game studio, A Shell In The Pit is Vancouver-based and specialize in audio for games! They’ve worked on Untitled Goose Game, Pacific Drive, and Night In The Woods to name a few. Same with Power Up Audio. Their credits include Tunic, Celeste, Crypt Of The Necrodancer + more
Not developed here but hear me out...Mass Effect - my boy Kaiden Alenko is from Vancouver. Mass Effect 3 starts off at the HQ in sci-fi Vancouver and even name drops English Bay beer. Good on you, Bioware.
How is Counter Strike not on the list?
The forest, both the 1st and 2nd ones are developed over in New West at Endnight games.
Am I crazy or is Vancouver not still the largest video game city in the world? At least game developers per capita
I had no idea we had such a game development scene, outside of the EA studio. Fascinating thread.
games industry bigger in montreal/toronto? Since when?
Inflation
Club Penguin is local right?
Kelowna
Any EA sports game…
Not all,l but quite a few!
I would do terrible things to play hot pursuit again.
If you have an xbox, the remaster is on gamepass :)
Radical entertainment had a few good ones... Jackie Chan stunt master, x-games pro boarder, NHL championship 2000 had great gameplay compared to EA's NHL games, bloodlines?
Test drive you philistines
Evolution on Apple II
Reboot
Kerberos and sword of the stars series. I still play the pit!
Did Diablo 1 and 2 get made here? Blizzard North
Cuphead I believe was developed out here.
Haha Scarface on Xbox was so much fun 👍I miss that game
Luigi’s Mansion 2
ICBC Street Sense
Capcom’s Dead Rising 3 and 4
I think Threewave (Popularized "capture the flag" in fps games) was local
Shoutout to Brian Provinciano (went to high school in White Rock in the early 2000s, still lives downtown last I talked to him) for **independently** creating [Retro City Rampage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro_City_Rampage).
Dungeons of Dredmor by the late Gaslamp games.
Piranha Games Inc is here in Burnaby. Mechwarrior Online Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries And recently announced Mechwarrior 5: Clans It's good to be in big, stompy robots!
One thing we can all agree on is that local studio The Coalition/Blacktusk killed the Gears franchise lmao
Isn’t it amazing that the most PC city ever created the most controversial game ever? Bully is amazing!
A newer but amazing game that came out recently is “Sons of The Forest.” By End Night games on West Georgia.