The End Of Level 9
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:45 pm
Mike, Nick and I have spoken at length over the past few months about this, about continuing to support Champion of the Raj, and just as much about when to reveal to you, and while none of us are certain that this is the right time, we had to choose a date, a time, and a place to tell you, and this was the "lucky day" and the "best place" to reveal to you that we discontinuing support for Champion of the Raj, and closing Level 9.
Over the past six years in this format, and many years in previous formats, our adventure games have provided you -- has provided us all -- a means of self-expression, and a conduit for our humor, our passions, our interests, and for all of the ways that we could (and did) enhance each other’s lives by way of this medium -- a medium at once strangely impersonal, and yet at the same time intimate to a degree never thought possible before the invention of the Nascom and the development of the VM developed here at Level 9.
To say it has succeeded wildly is an understatement. Though many have come and gone, those who truly felt the magic of Level 9 and its games at one point in their lives or another had our products become an indispensable part of themselves and how they spent their free time. For many, visiting and participating in the worlds we created became as second-nature, as tightly woven into the fabric of their lives as reading the newspaper, talking with friends, as smiling at a cool breeze, as breathing.
Level 9 was a truly magical place, at a magical time.
There can be no denying, however, that the studio as a whole has experienced a decline. Depending on your perspective, it has been a violent decline over a short period of time, but those who have taken part and remained through out the episodes, who have been there, have a little more perspective and insight, and would surely say that has been a pattern of entropy and disintegration, infecting the place and its products slowly and steadily for quite a while.
I know it. Mike and Nick knew it. And though we all feel that you are part of this experience, as much as the hands are a part of the arm, and the arm a part of the body, there has to be an authority -- in this case, an equal partnership between Nick, Austin, and myself -- to be able to make the hard decisions when the time came.
It has not been easy. All of us have such strong feelings about Level 9, Champion of the Raj, and everything we've created, that even discussing this seemed distasteful and ridiculous at the beginning. But as time moved on, and our discussion continued, it eventually became clear what we had to do.
That is why, with a bittersweet firmness, but no small sorrow, that we must announce that Level 9 will be dismantled and closed permanently, ending with it, the continued support for Champion of the Raj and our other releases.
We did not want this to be a "sudden" thing, so we chose today as the date of announcement and chose March 31st, 2008, as the final day. We felt this gave everyone enough time to come, express their thoughts, get the most out of our games while we were still willing to be around and give them a presence of their former selves, but not so long that it became a death march, or that Level 9 would be allowed to decline any further.
We will be here to listen to your replies, your concerns, even your arguments, but know that this decision was not reached lightly, and that we are committed to this plan.
For those who may suffer from this, we sincerely want to express our remorse and regret, but we hope that you will learn to appreciate the bright sides, the way we are allowing the studio to go out with dignity, and will see that this is a time not for mourning, but for celebration, of the wonderful ways in which Level 9 made all of our lives a little more fun, a little more special, and at the end of the day, a little more livable.
Thank you all for your support through the years,
Pete Austin
Over the past six years in this format, and many years in previous formats, our adventure games have provided you -- has provided us all -- a means of self-expression, and a conduit for our humor, our passions, our interests, and for all of the ways that we could (and did) enhance each other’s lives by way of this medium -- a medium at once strangely impersonal, and yet at the same time intimate to a degree never thought possible before the invention of the Nascom and the development of the VM developed here at Level 9.
To say it has succeeded wildly is an understatement. Though many have come and gone, those who truly felt the magic of Level 9 and its games at one point in their lives or another had our products become an indispensable part of themselves and how they spent their free time. For many, visiting and participating in the worlds we created became as second-nature, as tightly woven into the fabric of their lives as reading the newspaper, talking with friends, as smiling at a cool breeze, as breathing.
Level 9 was a truly magical place, at a magical time.
There can be no denying, however, that the studio as a whole has experienced a decline. Depending on your perspective, it has been a violent decline over a short period of time, but those who have taken part and remained through out the episodes, who have been there, have a little more perspective and insight, and would surely say that has been a pattern of entropy and disintegration, infecting the place and its products slowly and steadily for quite a while.
I know it. Mike and Nick knew it. And though we all feel that you are part of this experience, as much as the hands are a part of the arm, and the arm a part of the body, there has to be an authority -- in this case, an equal partnership between Nick, Austin, and myself -- to be able to make the hard decisions when the time came.
It has not been easy. All of us have such strong feelings about Level 9, Champion of the Raj, and everything we've created, that even discussing this seemed distasteful and ridiculous at the beginning. But as time moved on, and our discussion continued, it eventually became clear what we had to do.
That is why, with a bittersweet firmness, but no small sorrow, that we must announce that Level 9 will be dismantled and closed permanently, ending with it, the continued support for Champion of the Raj and our other releases.
We did not want this to be a "sudden" thing, so we chose today as the date of announcement and chose March 31st, 2008, as the final day. We felt this gave everyone enough time to come, express their thoughts, get the most out of our games while we were still willing to be around and give them a presence of their former selves, but not so long that it became a death march, or that Level 9 would be allowed to decline any further.
We will be here to listen to your replies, your concerns, even your arguments, but know that this decision was not reached lightly, and that we are committed to this plan.
For those who may suffer from this, we sincerely want to express our remorse and regret, but we hope that you will learn to appreciate the bright sides, the way we are allowing the studio to go out with dignity, and will see that this is a time not for mourning, but for celebration, of the wonderful ways in which Level 9 made all of our lives a little more fun, a little more special, and at the end of the day, a little more livable.
Thank you all for your support through the years,
Pete Austin