The work is just beginning for Raleigh video game startup Lightforge Games.
Lightforge, which said it raised $15 million in 2022, announced its first game last month. But Co-founder Matt Schembari said the hurdles are just beginning, as the next step is to find a publisher.
In many ways, it’s similar to the road show entrepreneurs take when seeking out investors. But with publishers, you’re looking at those with experience in the sector, and marketing chops can be everything.
The game Lightforge is putting out is in an entirely new category, Schembari said — collaborative, story-telling RPGs. That means it will require just the right type of publisher.
He describes it as a role playing game where “you get together with friends and you make up a story as you go.”
“We provide a lot of the framework and tools and gameplay that makes it really easy for players to be creative and make it up as they go,” he said.
Schembari, like many in his team, is a veteran of Cary’s Epic Games, the developer behind the blockbuster “Fortnite” title.
The idea had been circulating in his head for a decade, he said.
“It’s this idea of how do you make a video game where what you’re saying and imagining is as important as what you’re doing on the game pad?” he said.
The concept has its roots in table top role playing games, think wizards and mystical creatures such as Dungeons & Dragons, where you are a character, part of a story that changes with your actions. He describes it as providing prompts for “players getting together and having fun,” sort of like Cards Against Humanity.
“The core gameplay is getting together with your friends and laughing,” he said, adding that the team took inspiration from improv comedy, where responses to prompts can completely change the narrative.
Schembari said the idea was only part of the vision behind creating Lightforge.
“I really wanted to build a studio with a company culture like the one that we have, one that is very much focused on everything from employee well-being to excellence,” he said.
Lightforge’s workforce operates remotely from all over the globe. While much of the headcount is based in the Triangle, remote employees are spread out, from Hawaii to Germany to Canada and Brazil.
But by being centered in the Triangle, it can take advantage of the growing video game cluster.
“I can definitely say this is a really great place to be for video games, the truth is, throughout the world, there aren’t a lot of cities who have a video game scene,” he said.
The company, at 35 employees, is not currently hiring but could staff up in the coming months depending on how the search for a publisher goes, Schembari said.
Schembari was previously director of user interface at Epic Games. He was "responsible for Front End systems such as the Battle Pass, Challenges, Store, Social and Lobby,” according to his LinkedIn page. Prior to that, he served eight years at Blizzard Entertainment, acting as lead software engineer, UI, and working on games such as “Heroes of the Storm” and “StarCraft 2.”