A Fond Farewell
06/07/05

Well, everyone, it's been a while since you last had an update from the ClownKeep team.  It's with a heavy heart that we have to report that the team has decided to fade into the background of Indie Game Development for a while. Working on The Chronicles of Ny was a great learning experience, one that NONE of us will walk away from empty handed.  Unfortunately, there comes a point when life comes at you hard... and despite your passions, you have to get your priorities straight.  Everyone on the ClownKeep team has done an excellent job in their roles, and it is not due to a lack of hard work or a loss in any persons' drive that the current project will not be finished.

ClownKeep will not be gone forever, though, mind you.  Rather, we've decided to go on hiatus for a time until life has settled down enough that we can afford to get back to our hobbies again.  All of us have full time jobs that keep us supported and, most importantly, families that we need to take care of.  There will come a day when the pressures of life have eased up and we'll meet up again to talk about 'this project or that'... and then the suggestion to awaken ClownKeep will be brought up and the gleam in our eyes will return.

Though The Chronicles of Ny has been canceled the following people should be recognized in their contribution to the project:


David M. LaRocca – Project Lead and Lead Artist


Cameron Aycock – Lead Programmer
Cameron started in the spring of 2003 as a programmer and quickly gained the rank of Lead Programmer because of his coding knowledge, determination, and loyalty to the team. He has given much more to ClownKeep than just his coding skills; 95% of our weekly meetings were held at his house. He is a big reason why the project was able to go as far as it did and we thank him greatly.

Mike Blount – 3D Artist and Scripter
Mike has been with the team since the beginning and has worn many hats during his tenure here. Mike has been a 3D Artist, Writer, Designer, Scripter, 2D Artist, etc, etc, etc and he has always taken every challenge without any complaints. He has been a very loyal member and he is much appreciated.

John Coburn – Lead Character Modeler and Lead Animator
John joined the team a couple days before Christmas of 2003 and since that time he has been one of our hardest workers and most loyal team members. He joined the team about a week after we started crunch for the 2004 GDC and despite the massive amount of work we gave him he never backed down. His attention to detail and the quality of his work was a perfect fit for the project.

Bruce Muncher – Lead Designer and Lead Writer
Bruce joined the team in the spring of 2002 as a Writer and Designer. He created an entire world that “The Chronicles of Ny” took place in. In this world he had hundreds of NPC’s, dozens of races, thousands of lines of dialog, detailed history, and dozens, if not hundreds, of towns covering a land about the size of Europe. He also created a sprawling storyline that contained multiple paths and endings. It is because of his amazing vision and imagination that we were able to have the experience of working on this project.

Jamie Bolton – Musician and Level Designer
Jamie started back in the summer of 2002 as a Musician. His songs were an inspiration during the long nights of development. Continuously playing in the background, these songs gave life to the kingdom of Ny. After a few months Jamie decided he wanted to do more than just make music for Ny so we introduced him to the world of level design. Even though he had no prior 3D experience he was able to quickly learn various software programs and ultimately become a great help with the levels. Jamie’s years of dedication to the team is greatly appreciated.

Doug Sims – Scripter
Doug joined ClownKeep in late 2003 as a Sound Effects Engineer but quickly moved into the role of a scripter. He worked on many important items like GUI functionality, particle effects, foliage generators, and much more. He has the great ability to finish projects quickly while maintaining a high quality standard.

Philip Lanzino – Concept Artist
Philip was the only member of ClownKeep that wasn’t located locally but the distance did not slow down his art production at all. After seeing a few Ny screenshots on RPG Planet he emailed us many examples of his work. After we saw his talent we quickly invited him to the team. He drew thousands of sketches that ranged from character designs, beasts, races, environments, deities, armor, weapons, buildings, logos, box art, etc. Philip has an artistic talent that many could only hope to possess.

A very special thanks to:

Brandon Russell - Code
Carlo Romano - Consulting
Daniel Davis - Concept Art
Daniel Murphree – Models
Davis Godwin – Concept Art
Doug Word – Code and Hosting

We will be posting screenshots of the last build of “The Chronicles of Ny” in a few days.