Bruce Straley and Wildflower Interactive Navigate Crisis After Microsoft Cancels Coven of the Chicken Foot
Bruce Straley, the Wildflower Interactive co founder and lead developer, noted that there is a ton of work to be done. To keep the lights on, his studio came to depend on private investment from venture capitalists after a highly volatile period of near cancellation for the studio’s first title Coven of the Chicken Foot.
“There’s a ton of work to be done,” Straley noted. “When we put out a trailer, we saw there was a lot of private money for us. They really helped out and that’s a part of the problem that venture money that flows to indies in crisis or from a setback and that keeps us going.”
For those unfamiliar with Straley, he is a visionary industry legend responsible for creating the conceptual basis of design and directing major blockbuster titles like Uncharted, The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2, and the early development of Uncharted 4 at Naughty Dog. When Straley, joined by his Uncharted/The Last of Us design veteran Nels Anderson, founded Wildflower Interactive, the idea was that the group would be developing on more creative freedom.
The studio partnered with Microsoft as its publisher and financial backer on their first venture, a charming but unique puzzle title by the name of Coven of the Chicken Foot. The trouble started about six months ago when a public industry professional, Quentin Cobb (formerly industry relations for WB Games, and producer on the Game Developers Choice Awards), took to social media to detail the near crisis he believed his former colleague was going through. According to Cobb, the studio, on the cusp of launching its game, was blindsided by the sudden cancellation of the partnership and financing agreement.
