Factsheet
Developer:
Young Horses
Based in Chicago, Illinois
Founding date:
October 6th, 2011
Website:
younghorsesgames.com
Press Requests:
phil@younghorsesgames.com
Social:
Twitter
YouTube
TikTok
Instagram
Facebook
Releases:
Bugsnax
Octodad Dadliest Catch
Octodad
Phone:
N/A
Description
As Young Horses we strive to push the boundaries of game design in order to create experiences that players have not seen before. This is not only because we think that we should be bringing something new to our medium and our industry, but because we think that innovation is necessary to reach new, broader audiences. Our goal is to create innovative, intelligent, and charming entertainment that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.
History
BeginningsThe Young Horses were unofficially formed in March 2011 at the Game Developers Conference. We had gotten nominated as a Student Showcase Winner for Octodad, and we realized that the little game we'd created during our time at DePaul University had gained a sizable following. All 18 of the original Octodad creators gathered in a dank hostel basement theatre to decide what we all wanted to do with the rest of our game dev careers. No pressure. In the end, 8 of us decided to form a company to make a bigger and better Octodad.
And then...After some initial actions to seek some sort of funding for the next Octodad we found that the only viable way we would be able to create what would become Dadliest Catch was to both crowd and self fund it. After doing a load of research we found ourselves planning our very own Kickstarter campaign, which we set loose unto the world on July 10th, 2011. After successfully raising $24,320, we set out to create Octodad: Dadliest Catch.
Projects
Videos
Bugsnax Announcement Trailer YouTube
Octodad: Dadliest Catch Teaser Trailer YouTube
Octodad: Dadliest Catch Gameplay Preview PAX 2012 YouTube
Octodad Official Trailer YouTube
Images
If you have specific requests, please do contact us!
Logo & Icon
Awards & Recognition
- "Independent Games Festival Student Showcase Winner 2011." - For Octodad.
- "IndieDB's Top 100 Indie Games 2011." - For Octodad.
- "Fantastic Arcade Spotlight Game 2011." - For Octodad.
- "Gamasutra's Top 10 Indies of 2010 Honorable Mention." - For Octodad.
- "G4TV's Best Free Games 2010." - For Octodad.
Selected Articles
- "Everyone on the team is excited about that day, about getting the game into people's hands; about revealing the tightly held secrets of the endearing story of an octopus and his human family. They all acknowledge that, in the days and weeks after release, things could go in a number of different directions. They are eight men caught between two potentialities, an apartment-sized Schroedinger experiment crammed with eight souls."
- Charlie Hall, Polygon - "But with a whimsical tone not unlike that of the game they're making, designer and writer Majdi Badri chimes in, saying, "For a launching company that's brand new, out of the gate, and full of vigor with a sparkle in its eye, living with a bunch of guys is the thing to do!" It's that kind of upbeat approach and sense of humor that's kept the team happily chugging along at the game despite the curious living situation, and hopefully the same sort of spirit that'll make the promising sequel ultimately as special as it seems."
- Andrew Hayward, Joystiq - "…quite possibly the weirdest game I have played this year…"
- Jordan Devore, Destructoid - "…lets you concentrate on the little things, like staying relatively upright and not smashing every single object in your house…"
- Quintin Smith, Rock, Paper, Shotgun - "…It’s the best slapstick routine I’ve seen in a game, period…"
- Allen Cook, Gamers With Jobs - "…the indie game that stole my heart…"
- Stephen Johnson, G4TV
Team & Repeating Collaborator
Bria Davis
Community Director
Kevin Geisler
COO, Programmer
John Murphy
Designer
Seth Parker
Audio Composition/Design
Jeff Rosenthal
3D Art/Technical Artist
Devon Scott-Tunkin
CFO, Programmer, Webmaster
Chris Stallman
Lead Artist
Philip Tibitoski
CEO, Business Development
Megan Varde
Environment Artist
Kevin Zuhn
Creative Director, Writer, Designer
presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks