July 21, 2009
RICHARD GARFIELD AND SKAFF ELIAS
JOIN FORCES WITH MIND CONTROL SOFTWARE ON GROUND-BREAKING ONLINE STRATEGY GAME
The Geniuses Behind the Magic: The
Gathering Tabletop Phenomenon Now Focus Online and Introduce: "Mind Twist"
Award-winning video game developer Mind Control Software announced today that it
has joined forces with Richard Garfield and Skaff Elias-creators of Magic: The
Gathering and its Pro Tour-to develop a revolutionary online strategy game,
code-named Mind Twist
www.themindtwist.com .
Since Garfield invented his
genre-creating product, Magic: The Gathering, the market for tabletop strategy
games has consistently passed the billion dollar mark each year. In his work
with Mind Control Software, Garfield plans to bring the elements of tabletop
gaming to the digital realm, using the same gaming expertise and creative genius
that devised one of the biggest tabletop franchises in history.
"We couldn’t be more excited about
our partnership with Richard and Skaff, and the genuine rock star talent they
bring to our team," said Andrew Leker, CEO, Founder, and Chief Designer of Mind
Control Software. "These guys have been delivering compelling social
entertainment experiences in the tabletop realm for years, and it’s only now in
this new era of social media that the same experiences are possible online."
"The potential of digital games
fascinates me and I left Wizards of the Coast to pursue them," said Richard
Garfield. "Mind Control has the expertise to bring my designs to a new
generation of gamers, and the platform technology to build the right ‘meta-game’
around them."Both Garfield and Elias have also joined Mind Control Software’s
advisory board and will be involved with several other projects at Mind Control,
in addition to the development of Mind Twist.
Mind Twist is a free-to-play game
with a microtransaction-based business model built on Mind Control Software’s
state-of-the-art Orbital Game Platform. Orbital is a soup-to-nuts game engine at
the heart of dozens of shipped games, and now, in addition, it supports play
across different gaming devices. Mind Twist will launch on Facebook and iPhone,
with other platforms added over time. Players can currently follow the game on
Twitter (@TheMindTwist) and Facebook.
"We are proud that our technology
will be bringing Richard’s vision to life," Leker continued. "We are confident
that the man who rebuilt tabletop games into a billion dollar industry will be
instrumental in leading a new age of online gaming."
