Go inside the Digital Madhouse with LifePix | A Studio Profile

Living in the hot, sun-soaked state of Arizona, those of us in the gaming industry have little options in terms of checking out some local studios.  Most developer houses are born out of cities where things actually happen after dark, instead of the masses crawling back into our Air Conditioned homes for refuge from the day.  We had Rainbow Studios (a THQ studio most known for their ATV Offroad series, and a few licensed games), but lo and behold THQ just shut down their studio this week.  We have Running with Scissors, a Tucson-based pc developer most known for shock and awe, than really anything else resembling good games.

Read the rest and check out LifePix after the break




We had grand intentions of connecting with the Rainbow guys - as we had a few friends who worked there, check out the studio, and do a profile piece on them.  Regrettably, that never happened, and so we've decided to not let another opportunity slip through.

Meet Digital Madhouse.  What, you've never heard of them?  Well, we think you will pretty soon.  Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, they're an up and coming game and app development house that has some strong console DNA.  We met with the guys over there, Ben Drolet, Devin Knudsen, Dave Knudsen and Joseph Heinl.  I went in with some preconceived notions of what I thought an up and coming studio would be like.  I assumed it would be bright, colorful, loud and full of energy.  However, it was dark, lights down, and quiet.  I soon learned this was because the smaller team of 14 is cranking away at their latest projects, (and that they were asked to keep the nerf gun shooting to a minimum).

Their latest offering, which is a few weeks from launch, is a Facebook App called LifePix.  Less game, and more of a photo-manipulation and sharing application unlike anything currently available on the Facebook platform.  Users can view their own photos, and photos of anyone on their friends list and customize them using pre-made graphics, and layouts.  We saw some of this in action, when they took some images off another friends page, added some fake mustaches, and text to make a goofy version of the photo.  It's then saved as a copy right next to the original (gotta love non-destructive workflow).  We'll definitely have some more info available, and as we approach closer to the launch (they're expecting to launch a closed beta in the next week or two), we'll put up some specific posts on the project.

While walking the halls of the studio, we stumbled upon a closed room with a single window looking upon.  While we were able to peer inside, we weren't able to talk about or take pictures of the project.  This is where their console roots come into play, and from what they described to us and the games inherent social aspects, we're pretty excited about the project.  As they have more to share, so will we.

So Digital Madhouse, again, not a name you've heard of, but they do have a few releases on the Facebook platform, and iOS platform.  You can check out the Burbs and LifePix on Facebook, and you can catch Ace Fighter Plane and Galactic Battle Strike on any of your iOS devices.

www.digitalmadhouse.com
www.lifepixapp.com
@lifepix_tweets