Zombie fans and fantasy fans now have a unique studio collaboration to look forward to.

League of Legends Designer Kimberly Voll teamed up with Left 4 Dead writer Chet Faliszek to form the Stray Bombay Company, the duo announced in a blog post.

The blog post relates how Faliszek realized games could change people's lives for the better. He once got an e-mail from a person stationed in Iraq who was having difficulties with his marriage, for obvious reasons -- he was far away, in a dangerous situation and he and his wife missed each other. When talking about issues failed, they jumped into Left 4 Dead games and realized it was best for them -- it let them interact as though they were on the couch back home.

Faliszek said the aim of smart and social games is something he very much wants to achieve with the new studio, which is why Voll is his team member. Her expertise in artificial intelligence and human-centric design will benefit players, he said.

Voll and Faliszek added that they are eager to meet the gaming community at the Game Developer Conference, and to take resumes by e-mail, so if you're wanting to join up with an innovative studio this could be your big chance.

 

As for players, we have no clue yet on what this collaboration means. The duo said they are going to need to go dark for a while to begin figuring out what to focus on first, but eventually, players will be asked to provide some feedback on their ideas.

While it's difficult to see beloved game designers moving on to new projects, there is also the potential for a neat new thing that wouldn't be possible in a larger studio. Large studios need to be accountable to a big customer base, which means often sticking with the winners -- games that are continuations of a series, or games that are supposed to hop on to trendy topics such as battle royale.

More innovation often comes from the indie studios such as Stray Bombay, because it allows designers a smaller group to satisfy. The lead times may be longer, and the games may be a little more obscure, but you're guaranteed to get something interesting. And with so much experience in the studio leaders, we're really excited to see what's next.

You can learn more about Stray Bombay at www.straybombay.com.

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