It took 20 years for Children of the Sun to become an overnight success

Children of the Sun burst onto the indie scene like a muzzle flash on a dark night. Publisher Devolver Digital dropped the game’s first trailer on February 1, showcasing frenzied sniper shots and a radioactive art style. A Steam demo highlighting its initial seven stages went live that same day and became a breakout hit during February’s Steam Next Fest. Two months later it landed in full and to broad acclaim. This explosive reveal and rapid release timeline mirrors the game itself — chaotic but contained, swift and direct, sharp and bright. Though it feels like Children of the Sun popped into existence over the span of two months, it took solo developer René Rother more than 20 years to get here. René Rother As a kid in Berlin in the early 2000s, Rother was fascinated by the booming mod community. He spent his time messing around with free Counter-Strike mapping tools and Quake III mods from the demo discs tucked into his PC magazines. Rother daydreamed about having a job in game development, but it never felt like an attainable goal. “It just didn't seem possible to make games,” he told Engadget. “It's like it was this huge black box.” Rother couldn’t see an easy entry point until the 2010s, when mesh libraries and tools like GameMaker and Unity became more accessible. He discovered a fondness for creating 3D interactive art. But aside from some free online Javascript courses, he didn’t know how to program anything, so his output was limited. “I dabbled into it a little... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-04-18 19:45:11 UTC ]
News tagged with: #soundtrack collaborator #band nadja #similar droning #slowcore vibe #casual message #nice experience #proper word #psychedelic clarity #super spontaneous #necessarily knowing #eventually lead #required work #— chaotic #— visuals #major publishing #libraries

Other Publishing stories related to: 'It took 20 years for Children of the Sun to become an overnight success'


Maxim Cuts Circulation 20%

Maxim magazine is cutting the paid circulation it guarantees advertisers from 2.5 million to 2 million next year, a 20% drop, and reducing its publishing frequency to 10 issues next year from 11 this year. Last year Maxim published 12 issues. Maxim President Ben Madden said the magazine... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing frequency #rate base #executive chairman #verified circulation #audit bureau


Earle to lead Bloomsbury Children’s sales

Bloomsbury Publishing has appointed Phil Earle to the newly created role of children's sales... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bloomsbury publishing


Monster series to HarperCollins Childrens Books

HarperCollins Children's Books has acquired an illustrated young fiction series, Monster and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harpercollins children


25 years of asking, Where's Waldo?

Popular children's book character Waldo will soon be spotted in a lot more places around the world as his 25th anniversary kicks into gear.Where's Waldo? He won't be difficult to find once the 25th anniversary kicks off for the bespectacled, and beloved, children's book character. England will... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #popular children #book character #follow suit


E-books vs. print: Most parents prefer reading paper books to their children

A new survey found that more than 70 percent of parents still prefer print books to the iPad when it comes to reading to children. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #survey found


Newspaper Jobs Shrink 40% In 10 Years

While plenty of industries have shrunk over the last couple years, few have been hit as badly as newspaper publishing, which was already contracting before the economic downturn began. Since then, economic woes have simply reinforced the long-term tr ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #couple years #newspaper publishing #long-term tr


PA half year: Fiction ebook sales increased 188%

Sales of digital fiction books increased by 188% in value terms in the first half of the year,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Orion Children's Books signs another Deadly title

Orion Children's Books has acquired a new title by wildlife expert and adventurer, Steve... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #orion children #wildlife expert


E-reader numbers 'set to rise 70%' this year

Publishers are readying themselves to respond to an explosion of e-reading devices in the UK in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-reading devices


Random House Children's names new chief

Dr. Seuss, meet Harry Potter. Barbara Marcus, the former president of children's book publishing at Scholastic—the U.S. home of the Hogwarts wizard—has been named president and publisher of Random House Children's Books. The world's largest children's house publishes The Cat in the Hat and every... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2012-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #advisory board #rapid change #reaching readers #hunger games #huge opportunity


W&N to publish 100 years of New Statesman

Weidenfeld & Nicolson will publish a celebration of the New Statesman magazine’s 100th... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #weidenfeld nicolson


New children's picture books by Jon Klassen, Patrick McDonnell and Jerry Pinkney are among the new titles.

'This Is Not My Hat' is from Jon Klassen, creator of the award-winning 'I Want My Hat Back.'Picture books might be for kids who can't read, but parents have been known to enjoy them as well. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #picture books #jon klassen #jerry pinkney


Children's literature is a fast-growing genre thanks to 'Potter' & Co.

The success of 'Harry Potter, 'Twilight' and other has created a halo effect for the entire genre. And kids aren't the only ones doing it.For years, the book industry has been mired in debates about the plight of independent booksellers, the rise of Amazon and the fate of print as it struggles... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter #picture books #halo effect #book industry #independent booksellers


Manchester marks fifty years of Clockwork Orange

An exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange opens... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #clockwork orange #anthony burgess


New children's bookshop opens in Essex

A new children’s bookshop has opened in Essex, seeing “promising” sales in its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookshop opens


Spalding success for Amazon

Amazon UK has announced another self-published author has sold well though its retail site,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon uk #self-published author


Huang to take IP acquisitions role at Penguin Childrens

Penguin Children’s will continue what it describes as its transition from traditional... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #penguin children


Denise Mina wins Crime Novel of the Year

Glaswegian writer Denise Mina has won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #peculier crime


After Great Year, Scholastic Tries For Encore

Fiscal 2012 was a good year made great by The Hunger Games,” Scholastic chairman Dick Robinson told analysts in a conference call last Thursday to discuss results in the year ended May 31, in which sales rose 14%, to $2.15 billion, and net income jumped from $39.4 million to $102.4 million. The... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #great year #hunger games #conference call #book publishing #distribution group #trade division #digital editions


Neil Gaiman will pen five children's books

Neil Gaiman will write five children's books for HarperCollins, including a sequel to his 2009 children's book 'Odd and the Frost Giants.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #neil gaiman