6 ms·

Worms or bust: The story of Britain’s most tenacious indie games company (2016)

92 points by indigodaddy 5y ago

cmsj 5y ago
Some of the most fun I ever had on IRC was hanging out in #worms with an excellent gang of people, including Andy Davidson who created the game. Glad to see Team17 getting back to their roots - I hope that some of that old spirit can come with it for a new generation.
snowgrove 5y ago
I love Worms, but if there’s a runner-up for “Britain’s most tenacious indie games company” then surely it is Hello Games. They launched No Man’s Sky in 2016 to universal disappointment and fan outrage, but kept working on it post-launch (under extreme stress and with little income to speak of) for years until they met & exceeded fan’s original expectations. Gratified fans eventually paid to put up a “Thank you Hello Games” billboard on a road near their office. The whole story is incredible and worth your time: https://youtu.be/O5BJVO3PDeQ https://youtu.be/O5BJVO3PDeQ
- sjtindell 5y ago
  What I love about this story is the lack of pr from the company itself. It seems like they just put their heads down and got to work, and they delivered in spades. Meanwhile an EA or an Activision will put out three times as many press releases about their fixes as they will actual fixes, if they release any real fixes at all. A dozen posts saying “we hear you” and then changes that make it seem like they didn’t listen at all.
  - Agentlien 5y ago
    I think that's entirely the right approach seeing as heavy PR rife with overpromising is what put them in that situation to begin with. I finally got the game two years ago to play in VR and with the state it is in now I can say it lives up to what I had expected. But it seems there was a really long road from launch to that point.
nly 5y ago
20 years on from its original release, Worms Aramegeddon is still getting occasional patches, from Deadcode, who has access to the source code and Team17's blessing: https://worms2d.info/Updates_(Worms_Armageddon) https://worms2d.info/Updates_(Worms_Armageddon) The game also works perfectly under WINE as a result
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
semitones 5y ago
I used to play Worms so much as a child, it's nice to read about Team17's origins.
McP 5y ago
Thank you Team17 for giving me my break into software. I was/am a massive introvert and had failed many interviews because I was so awkward to talk to. At Team17 the interviewer just talked at me for an hour while I listened and that was it (my demo was a pretty awesome GTA clone so I guess he didn't feel the need to assess my skills further). But yeah, lots of Worms games. Worms 3D and Worms Forts were in full production simultaneously. The lead designer explained to me that this was what the publisher demanded, and he had a mortgage to pay. So it was a bit disenchanting but I'm still grateful to have lived the dream.
j7ake 5y ago
Worms Armageddon was a source of hundreds of hours of fun both as a couch game and online as a kid. Simple yet has surprising depth to keep one playing forever. I recently tried to play it again but for reason it has lost its magic. Maybe a consequence of age.
- pengstrom 5y ago
  I recently discovered the roper schemes. Infinite rope, indestructible terrain, one crate per turn. Short turns. You swing madly fast, trying to pick up the crate before engaging another player. Recommended.
  - password4321 5y ago
    Liero can be played in browser now, for those who remember https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22980676 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22980676
- Agentlien 5y ago
  I played so ridiculously much Worms when it first came out and almost as much Worms 2. When Worms Armageddon came out I thought I'd had my fill and it didn't seem that different from Worms 2. But with a few neat additions and the huge range of crazy challenges it actually felt really fresh and I just kept playing it. Now I haven't touched it for twenty years. I wonder if I'd feel like you that it has lost its magic or not.
- JansjoFromIkea 5y ago
  Did you play Armageddon with the updated mods and stuff? I'd say it holds up a fair bit better than all of the ones that came after it tbh
  - fire 5y ago
    Do you have any links? Last time I touched armageddon it was fairly broken :(
egypturnash 5y ago
Team 17 has recently reminded a lot of people they exist by tweeting that they were going to get into NFTs, then retracting this the next day after a bunch of their fans, and multiple dev teams they work with, told them how much they hated this idea: https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/1/22913110/team17-worms-nft-metaworms-gaming-playtonic-overcooked https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/1/22913110/team17-worms-nft-...
- skocznymroczny 5y ago
  The problem with current proposals/implementations of NFTs in games is that they offer nothing new. Paying for skins and other ingame content is nothing new, and the fact that it's on a blockchain doesn't change anything. Also, if the game company goes down, your NFT is useless, so it's hardly a token of ownership.
  - Hamuko 5y ago
    >Also, if the game company goes down, your NFT is useless, so it's hardly a token of ownership. That's hardly limited to gaming implementations of NFTs.
    - bobthepanda 5y ago
      no, but it's not a demonstrable improvement in the space either, so why bother?
    - redisman 5y ago
      No but at least in games it has some use until the game goes down. The rest of NFTs are just “buy your own plot of land on mars” type purchase
      - noneeeed 5y ago
        Thankyou, I've been trying to come up with an analogy for the pointlessness of the current NFTs, I think the buying land on mars, or "buying" a star might be the one I was looking for.
beaconstudios 5y ago
Team17 are great - I grew up playing Worms games alongside Westwood Studios and Bullfrog games so they're a real favourite, and unlike the other two they're still going, making and publishing great games - if you're ever in the market for a fun party game, you can't go wrong with Overcooked 1&2!
- falcrist 5y ago
  I honestly didn't realize Overcooked was a Team17 game. The art style certainly fits, now that I look at it.
  - beaconstudios 5y ago
    It's made by Ghost Town Games and published by T17, but I think they helped out with the development for Overcooked 2.
- smoldesu 5y ago
  Same here, unfortunately all of my friends hated Worms growing up and begged me to play anything else when we got together. Over 13+ years of owning and playing Worms, I think I've gotten through maybe 2 rounds of the game against other people I knew. At this point it's an inside joke, if we're particularly bored I'll suggest that we boot up Worms Reloaded, and all of the sudden my friends will find better things to do.
- riedel 5y ago
  One of the few games I actually legally owned as a teenager was project-x. I also remember playing alien breed. I actually did not know they still existed. I think I'll spin up my Amiga emulator later. Nothing like playing with those old micro switch joysticks.
  - gpderetta 5y ago
    I had completely forgotten about Alien Breed. It was a great series of games, especially Tower Assault.
fxtentacle 5y ago
All those Worms, Overcooked 1+2, and Moving out. Team 17 makes amazing local multiplayer games. Especially Overcooked on Switch was great to play with friends on the living room TV. I wouldn't be surprised if T17 suffers from the pandemic because for me, they are the definition of games to play with friends (and not alone).
- Hamuko 5y ago
  Team 17 didn't make Overcooked 1, only published it.
- hnuser123456 5y ago
  Overcooked 2 has online and I've only ever played it post-pandemic online with friends.
- dorkwood 5y ago
  Moving Out wasn't made by Team17, only published. The game itself was made by SMG Studio and DevM.
kingcharles 5y ago
Martyn Brown (co-founder) always seemed like a really stand-up guy. I remember him fondly from when he was one of the TFT. https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/3ylmm4/a_staggering_127mb_san_andreas_bridge_facts/cyethcv/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/3ylmm4/a_staggering...
- barneygale 5y ago
  TFT?
  - kingcharles 5y ago
    It's like the Illuminati. There are signs hidden everywhere. https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/3ylmm4/a_staggering_127mb_san_andreas_bridge_facts/cyethcv/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/3ylmm4/a_staggering...

92 points by indigodaddy 5y ago

cmsj 5y ago

Some of the most fun I ever had on IRC was hanging out in #worms with an excellent gang of people, including Andy Davidson who created the game. Glad to see Team17 getting back to their roots - I hope that some of that old spirit can come with it for a new generation.

snowgrove 5y ago

I love Worms, but if there’s a runner-up for “Britain’s most tenacious indie games company” then surely it is Hello Games. They launched No Man’s Sky in 2016 to universal disappointment and fan outrage, but kept working on it post-launch (under extreme stress and with little income to speak of) for years until they met & exceeded fan’s original expectations. Gratified fans eventually paid to put up a “Thank you Hello Games” billboard on a road near their office. The whole story is incredible and worth your time: https://youtu.be/O5BJVO3PDeQ https://youtu.be/O5BJVO3PDeQ

sjtindell 5y ago
What I love about this story is the lack of pr from the company itself. It seems like they just put their heads down and got to work, and they delivered in spades. Meanwhile an EA or an Activision will put out three times as many press releases about their fixes as they will actual fixes, if they release any real fixes at all. A dozen posts saying “we hear you” and then changes that make it seem like they didn’t listen at all.
- Agentlien 5y ago
  I think that's entirely the right approach seeing as heavy PR rife with overpromising is what put them in that situation to begin with. I finally got the game two years ago to play in VR and with the state it is in now I can say it lives up to what I had expected. But it seems there was a really long road from launch to that point.

nly 5y ago

20 years on from its original release, Worms Aramegeddon is still getting occasional patches, from Deadcode, who has access to the source code and Team17's blessing: https://worms2d.info/Updates_(Worms_Armageddon) https://worms2d.info/Updates_(Worms_Armageddon) The game also works perfectly under WINE as a result

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

semitones 5y ago

I used to play Worms so much as a child, it's nice to read about Team17's origins.

McP 5y ago

Thank you Team17 for giving me my break into software. I was/am a massive introvert and had failed many interviews because I was so awkward to talk to. At Team17 the interviewer just talked at me for an hour while I listened and that was it (my demo was a pretty awesome GTA clone so I guess he didn't feel the need to assess my skills further). But yeah, lots of Worms games. Worms 3D and Worms Forts were in full production simultaneously. The lead designer explained to me that this was what the publisher demanded, and he had a mortgage to pay. So it was a bit disenchanting but I'm still grateful to have lived the dream.

j7ake 5y ago

Worms Armageddon was a source of hundreds of hours of fun both as a couch game and online as a kid. Simple yet has surprising depth to keep one playing forever. I recently tried to play it again but for reason it has lost its magic. Maybe a consequence of age.

pengstrom 5y ago
I recently discovered the roper schemes. Infinite rope, indestructible terrain, one crate per turn. Short turns. You swing madly fast, trying to pick up the crate before engaging another player. Recommended.
- password4321 5y ago
  Liero can be played in browser now, for those who remember https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22980676 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22980676
Agentlien 5y ago
I played so ridiculously much Worms when it first came out and almost as much Worms 2. When Worms Armageddon came out I thought I'd had my fill and it didn't seem that different from Worms 2. But with a few neat additions and the huge range of crazy challenges it actually felt really fresh and I just kept playing it. Now I haven't touched it for twenty years. I wonder if I'd feel like you that it has lost its magic or not.
JansjoFromIkea 5y ago
Did you play Armageddon with the updated mods and stuff? I'd say it holds up a fair bit better than all of the ones that came after it tbh
- fire 5y ago
  Do you have any links? Last time I touched armageddon it was fairly broken :(

egypturnash 5y ago

Team 17 has recently reminded a lot of people they exist by tweeting that they were going to get into NFTs, then retracting this the next day after a bunch of their fans, and multiple dev teams they work with, told them how much they hated this idea: https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/1/22913110/team17-worms-nft-metaworms-gaming-playtonic-overcooked https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/1/22913110/team17-worms-nft-...

skocznymroczny 5y ago
The problem with current proposals/implementations of NFTs in games is that they offer nothing new. Paying for skins and other ingame content is nothing new, and the fact that it's on a blockchain doesn't change anything. Also, if the game company goes down, your NFT is useless, so it's hardly a token of ownership.
- Hamuko 5y ago
  >Also, if the game company goes down, your NFT is useless, so it's hardly a token of ownership. That's hardly limited to gaming implementations of NFTs.
  - bobthepanda 5y ago
    no, but it's not a demonstrable improvement in the space either, so why bother?
  - redisman 5y ago
    No but at least in games it has some use until the game goes down. The rest of NFTs are just “buy your own plot of land on mars” type purchase
    - noneeeed 5y ago
      Thankyou, I've been trying to come up with an analogy for the pointlessness of the current NFTs, I think the buying land on mars, or "buying" a star might be the one I was looking for.

beaconstudios 5y ago

Team17 are great - I grew up playing Worms games alongside Westwood Studios and Bullfrog games so they're a real favourite, and unlike the other two they're still going, making and publishing great games - if you're ever in the market for a fun party game, you can't go wrong with Overcooked 1&2!

falcrist 5y ago
I honestly didn't realize Overcooked was a Team17 game. The art style certainly fits, now that I look at it.
- beaconstudios 5y ago
  It's made by Ghost Town Games and published by T17, but I think they helped out with the development for Overcooked 2.
smoldesu 5y ago
Same here, unfortunately all of my friends hated Worms growing up and begged me to play anything else when we got together. Over 13+ years of owning and playing Worms, I think I've gotten through maybe 2 rounds of the game against other people I knew. At this point it's an inside joke, if we're particularly bored I'll suggest that we boot up Worms Reloaded, and all of the sudden my friends will find better things to do.
riedel 5y ago
One of the few games I actually legally owned as a teenager was project-x. I also remember playing alien breed. I actually did not know they still existed. I think I'll spin up my Amiga emulator later. Nothing like playing with those old micro switch joysticks.
- gpderetta 5y ago
  I had completely forgotten about Alien Breed. It was a great series of games, especially Tower Assault.

fxtentacle 5y ago

All those Worms, Overcooked 1+2, and Moving out. Team 17 makes amazing local multiplayer games. Especially Overcooked on Switch was great to play with friends on the living room TV. I wouldn't be surprised if T17 suffers from the pandemic because for me, they are the definition of games to play with friends (and not alone).

Hamuko 5y ago
Team 17 didn't make Overcooked 1, only published it.
hnuser123456 5y ago
Overcooked 2 has online and I've only ever played it post-pandemic online with friends.
dorkwood 5y ago
Moving Out wasn't made by Team17, only published. The game itself was made by SMG Studio and DevM.

kingcharles 5y ago

Martyn Brown (co-founder) always seemed like a really stand-up guy. I remember him fondly from when he was one of the TFT. https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/3ylmm4/a_staggering_127mb_san_andreas_bridge_facts/cyethcv/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/3ylmm4/a_staggering...

barneygale 5y ago
TFT?
- kingcharles 5y ago
  It's like the Illuminati. There are signs hidden everywhere. https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/3ylmm4/a_staggering_127mb_san_andreas_bridge_facts/cyethcv/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/3ylmm4/a_staggering...