Mike Laidlaw, former creative director for the Dragon Age series, has founded a new studio in Québec City with Thomas Giroux, Jeff Skalski, and Frédéric St-Laurent B. Each is a game industry veteran with over 15 years of experience.
The new studio, called Yellow Brick Games, is looking to take a "back to basics" approach to game development "centered on the pleasure of crafting new game experiences, in a flexible and more personable environment that an independent studio can provide,” said Giroux, Yellow Brick Games' CEO. Laidlaw acts as chief creative officer, Skalski, who served as Senior Producer at EA and Ubisoft, is the studio's COO and executive producer. Frédéric St-Laurent B, who has worked as a game director for Ubisoft Quebec over the last decade, now serves as game director on Yellow Brick Games' as of yet unannounced first project.
"We have learned a lot from working on world-class, multi-year projects with thousands of colleagues and we want to take a different approach," Skalski said. "Leveraging a smaller talented team where people come first, we will create amazing worlds and experiences for all others to enjoy. The market is moving fast, and we have no desire to play catchup and chase it when we can influence where it goes."
"For veterans of big-studio productions like myself and much of our team, this is the perfect time to get back to a small, agile, and highly motivated group," Laidlaw added. "We want our games here at Yellow Brick to take potentially millions of players on wondrous journeys, and we want every member of our team to have a direct impact on the new worlds we’re creating."
Like other experienced game developers who've gone independent, it sounds like the team at Yellow Brick Games is seeking creative freedom and more control over their creations overall. Currently, Yellow Brick is made up of 15 people, many of which are working remotely. For upcoming news, you can follow the studio's Twitter account or visit its official website.
