If you read my blog, you're certainly aware that when it comes to assessing the dire situation of the Italian videogame industry, I never refrain from expressing candid comments. It's not even a case of emperor's nakedness. There's no emperor to talk about. As simple as that. Italy has a quite remarkable literary scene, a lively film scene, a decent music scene, but when it comes to digital entertainment and digital design, there is really no scene. That does not mean that there are no talented Italian game designers, art directors, animators and programmers. Quite the contrary. But most of them live abroad since the country has limited resources, sporadic and underpowered local studios, and minimal budgets to support a competitive, healthy industry. So while game design in Italy's is almost non existent, Italian game designers are alive and kicking. Consider, for instance, Christian Cantamessa, the lead designer of Red Dead Redemption. This recent mega-hit sold more than 5 million copies in less than a month and set new standards for virtual killing, that is, 132 million murders in approximately 17 million hours worldwide [additional stats are available here]. Christian has been working as a Game Designer in the games industry since 1996. He currently lives in Carlsbad, California, where he contributes to the games developed by RockStar San Diego. On the latest issue of Rolling Stone Italy (#81), I discuss the merits of Christian's amazing Old West-themed sandbox game. If you have not played it yet, get a copy now. The summer is way to short for something so brilliant.
infographic by Gamespy [link]
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link: Rolling Stone Italy
link: Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360; PS3)
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