Deck Nine

Idol Minds, LLC, since 2017 doing business as Deck Nine, is an American video game developer based in Westminster, Colorado. The studio was founded in April 1997 by Mark Lyons and Scott Atkins. Lyons serves as president and chief technology officer of the company.

Idol Minds, LLC
Deck Nine (2017–present)
TypePrivate
IndustryVideo games
FoundedApril 1, 1997 (1997-04-01) in Boulder, Colorado, US
Founders
  • Mark Lyons
  • Scott Atkins
Headquarters
Westminster, Colorado
,
US
Key people
Mark Lyons (president, CTO)
Websitedeckninegames.com

History

Idol Minds was founded by programmer Mark Lyons and artist Scott Atkins on April 1, 1997, in Boulder, Colorado.[1][2] Both had previously been employed by Sony Interactive Studios America in San Diego, and to establish Idol Minds Lyons and his family moved from California to Colorado.[1][3] Originally located in Boulder, the company later moved to Louisville in 2003, and to Westminster in 2015.

Idol Minds became widely known for their ragdoll physics-based game Pain, which was first released on November 29, 2007.[4][5] The game went on to become the "all time top downloaded game" on PlayStation Network of 2008.[6][7] On October 21, 2009, it was reported that Idol Minds, in a series of layoffs, had made 26 of its 46 employees redundant.[8][9] An employee of the company cited budget cuts from Pain publisher Sony Computer Entertainment as primary reason for the staff reduction.[10]

On June 7, 2011, at that year's E3, Sony Computer Entertainment announced Ruin, a "Diablo-style action role-playing game" for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3, to be in development at Idol Minds, in co-operation with San Diego Studio.[11][12] Later retitled Warrior's Lair on January 13, 2012,[13] Idol Minds was taken off the project on April 2 that year.[14][15] Warrior's Lair was eventually canceled in July 2013.[16][17]

In 2012, Idol Minds shifted its focus onto mobile free-to-play games.[18]

On August 10, 2015, a Kickstarter project was launched for a nature photography game titled "Shutterbug", seeking to raise US$400,000 in funding. The project was canceled 10 days later, after raising $2,973, with Idol Minds stating that "things didn't work out".[19][20]

On May 31, 2017, Idol Minds announced that the studio had changed its direction of development to focus on narrative-driven games, having developed a toolset called "StoryForge", and effectively adopted the trading name "Deck Nine".[21][22] The company stated that a "brand new addition to a critically acclaimed franchise" was already in development.[23][24] The day after, on June 1, 2017, multiple images from a supposed prequel to the 2015 graphic adventure game Life Is Strange leaked through Deck Nine's website.[25][26] The leak surprised journalists, as a sequel to Life Is Strange, Life Is Strange 2 had been announced to be in development at Dontnod Entertainment, the creators of the franchise, the month before.[27][28] On June 11, 2017, at Microsoft's E3 2017 press conference, Life Is Strange publisher Square Enix announced the game in development at Deck Nine to be Life Is Strange: Before the Storm.[29][30] The first out of three episodes from Before the Storm was released on August 31, 2017.[31][32]

On September 20, 2018, Deck Nine announced to be working on a new game with Square Enix.[33]

Games developed

As Idol Minds
Year Title Platform(s)
1998 Cool Boarders 3 PlayStation
Rally Cross 2
1999 Cool Boarders 4
Supercross Circuit
2000 Cool Boarders 2001 PlayStation, PlayStation 2
2003 My Street PlayStation 2
2005 Neopets: The Darkest Faerie
2007 Pain PlayStation 3
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa PlayStation 2
2012 Ratchet & Clank Collection PlayStation 3
Linked Together iOS
2013 Ratchet: Deadlocked PlayStation 3

As Deck Nine
Year Title Platform(s)
2017 Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

References
  1. "info". Idol Minds. Archived from the original on May 29, 1998.
  2. Thomas, David (March 10, 2003). "Preteens may follow 'My Street' online Louisville's Idol Minds aims to expand appeal of Internet gaming". The Denver Post. Digital First Media. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  3. Mook, Bob (November 20, 2005). "Louisville company tries to leave mark in video game world". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  4. Roper, Chris (November 7, 2007). "Pain is Coming". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  5. Caron, Frank (November 30, 2007). "Pain brings pleasure on the PlayStation Network". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  6. Cavalli, Earnest (December 30, 2012). "Pain Tops 2008 PSN Download List". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  7. Plunkett, Luke (January 26, 2009). "Open Up For A Strong Dose Of PSN Stats". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  8. Yoon, Andrew (October 21, 2009). "Rumor: PAIN developer Idol Minds lays off more than half of staff". Engadget. AOL Tech. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  9. Crecente, Brian (October 21, 2009). "PS3 PAIN Developers Hit With Lay-Offs?". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  10. Staff (October 21, 2009). "Pain Developer Idol Minds Cuts Staff". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  11. Schramm, Mike (June 7, 2011). "Ruin preview: Hack and social". Engadget. AOL Tech. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  12. Welsh, Oli (June 7, 2011). "Ruin announced for Vita and PS3". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  13. Dutton, Fred (January 13, 2012). "Vita/PS3 RPG Ruin gets a new name". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  14. Dutton, Fred (April 2, 2012). "Sony takes Pain developer off Warrior's Lair". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  15. Brightman, James (April 2, 2012). "Sony pulls Pain studio Idol Minds off Warrior's Lair project". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  16. Lien, Tracey (July 3, 2013). "Sony cancels Warrior's Lair on PS Vita and PS3". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  17. Moriarty, Colin (July 3, 2013). "Warrior's Lair on PS3 and Vita Has Been Cancelled". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  18. "Games — Idol Minds Game Development". June 16, 2016. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2018. Unfortunately, the title was not completed and in 2012 we shifted into mobile F2P gaming.
  19. "Shutterbug (Canceled)". Kickstarter. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  20. "Colorado team's video game project a fantastical photo safari". The Pueblo Chieftain. August 17, 2015. Archived from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  21. Wawro, Alex (May 31, 2017). "Pain dev Idol Minds rebrands and shifts focus to 'narrative-driven' games". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  22. Dring, Christopher (June 1, 2017). "Pain developer Idol Minds rebrands to focus on narrative". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  23. Romano, Sal (May 31, 2017). "Pain developer rebrands as narrative-driven Deck Nine, to reveal new entry in acclaimed franchise at E3 2017". Gematsu. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  24. Byrne, Katharine (June 1, 2017). "Idol Minds re-brands as Deck Nine Games, working on a 'new addition to a critically acclaimed franchise'". MCV. NewBay Media. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  25. Sarkar, Samit (June 1, 2017). "Report: Life is Strange prequel leaked". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  26. Kim, Matt (June 1, 2017). "The Life is Strange Prequel Screenshots Leak Online". USgamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  27. Mahboubian-Jones, Justin (June 5, 2017). "Life is Strange prequel could also be on the way, leaked images suggest". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  28. Schreier, Jason (June 1, 2017). "Images Of Apparent Life Is Strange Prequel Pop Up". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  29. O'Connor, James (June 11, 2017). "Life is Strange's three-part prequel, Before The Storm, announced". VG247. Videogaming247. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  30. Davenport, James (June 11, 2017). "Life is Strange: Before the Storm is releasing its first episode this August". PC Gamer. Future US. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  31. O'Connor, Alice (June 12, 2017). "Life Is Strange: Before the Storm starts in August". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  32. Sarkar, Samit (June 11, 2017). "Life is Strange prequel Before the Storm debuts this summer (update)". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  33. Fogel, Stefanie (September 20, 2018). "'Life Is Strange: Before the Storm' Dev Making New Square Enix Game". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
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