Stardock Hires Civilization 4 Mod Creator to Run Game Development

Stardock has hired Derek "Kael" Paxton, creator of the Civilization IV mod 'Fall from Heaven', to "oversee Stardock's ongoing development and...

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Stardock has hired Derek "Kael" Paxton, creator of the Civilization IV mod 'Fall from Heaven', to "oversee Stardock's ongoing development and expansions of the recently released fantasy strategy game, Elemental: War of Magic."

The launch of Elemental was, by some accounts, "disastrous" and bringing in some external talent is a good move. Brad Wardell, Stardock's CEO, "will serve as the executive producer and lead AI developer on Elemental," and had previously served as the lead designer on the game.

Wardell has explained the next steps for Elemental in a post on the official site.

We are going to have Elemental: War of Magic v1.1 be the transition between he and I. After that, we'll begin work on the first expansion pack for Elemental which will be given to all people who currently own Elemental: War of Magic. I won't go into any details on that expansion since our new Producer will be heavily involved in the specifics of the design.

Stardock could work on and release Fall from Heaven, either as an Elemental mod or retail product, since Paxton owns the IP. When asked about plans for future games, including Fall from Heaven, Shacknews was told:

"To date we have not announced anything past Elemental expansions and post-release support," said Stephanie Tinsley Schopp, PR representative for Stardock.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    October 12, 2010 1:45 PM

    Oh yeah, because that worked out so well for Civ V...

    • reply
      October 12, 2010 1:55 PM

      They hired a mod developer to oversee the production of Civ V. Which mod was he from?

      • reply
        October 12, 2010 1:59 PM

        i'd really like to know how making a mod gets you a management position inside an actual company.

        • reply
          October 12, 2010 2:09 PM

          [deleted]

          • reply
            October 12, 2010 2:31 PM

            I wonder how clueless people think Stardock is. *ducks*

            Seriously though...some people manage their mods better than most people manage MOST business'.

            The problem is...there are billion of mods that never take off beyond more than just concept art and a "now hiring 1 programmer" posting that make the community seem less professional than they really are.

            These are people taking serious skills and producing content for free. That goes pretty far. Just imagine what some people could do if they devote all their time/energy towards a project! :D

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