Published in the July 26, 2017 edition
LOCAL VIDEO GAME DEVELOPERS Bill and Amanda Gardner released their video game Perception in May, which was a proud moment for the entire Gardner family. (Courtesy Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Local video game developers Bill and Amanda Gardner released their new project earlier this year.
Two years after launching a Kickstarter campaign and three years after the project began, the Gardners released their highly anticipated video game Perception via their company The Deep End Games in May. Amanda is the writer and producer at The Deep End Games while Bill serves as the company’s CEO and creative director.
Perception is a first person narrative horror adventure about a blind woman named Cassie, who flies from Phoenix, Arizona to the fictional Estate at Echo Bluff in Gloucester because she is looking for answers to the nightmares that have been plaguing her dreams. While at the haunted mansion, Cassie is terrorized by a villain called The Presence.
The video game was released on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is available for digital download on PC via Steam or Gog.com.
Bill said he’s thrilled to release his latest project.
“There’s nothing quite like releasing your game,” said Bill in an email sent to the Villager. “No matter how many times you do it, you never get over the rush of finally seeing your baby in storefronts. And then to get out there and watch people play your creation and engage, analyze and discuss something you devoted years of your life. It’s unreal!”
Amanda agreed.
“It’s really amazing to have our game out in the world, but the process for us still isn’t over,” said Amanda. “We’re going to some conferences to promote the game, such as PAX West and the Smithsonian Arcade. We’ve also been making amazing updates to patch into the game. So while we’re technically done releasing it, we’re not done working on it.”
According to the Perception review guide, “Amanda spent over a decade teaching advanced level high school English,” which is why Perception is influenced by classic literature such as “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller.
Bill went to Emerson and got his undergraduate degree in Film. According to the Perception Review Guide, Bill’s influences include “The Shining,” “Memento,” “The Thing,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “The Ring.”
Bill said “gamers are absolutely adoring” Perception.
“Our user reviews have been really fantastic,” said Bill. “Critics have been a bit all over the map, which was a surprise, but I think part of that is due to messaging issues and that horror games are traditionally limited in their definition. The important bit for us though was that we’ve had a lot of very useful feedback, both good and not so good, and we are able to continue to iterate on the game through patches and updates. We actually just recorded pickup sessions with Angela Morris, our lead actress.”
Amanda said “the most amazing thing for me hasn’t been official reviews, but watching people play the game on Twitch and YouTube.”
“It’s so fun to see their reactions, and the way they discuss the game with the people who are watching them,” Amanda added. “It’s an interactive experience, and it has been so fascinating to see everyone reacting to the game’s story and scares as they happen.”
In addition to bringing Perception to PC, PS4 and Xbox One, Bill said The Deep End Games is “currently cranking away on a version for Nintendo’s new system, the Switch.”
“(The Switch) is insanely popular,” said Bill. “We’re looking to be the first horror game on the system, which would be huge.”
In order to help bring Perception to life, The Deep End Games launched a Kickstarter campaign to help finance the project in May 2015.
“We were fortunate enough to earn pledges exceeding $168,000 from our Kickstarter campaign,” said Bill. “Best of all, we gained a great support network from our backers. They helped us spread the word about the game, and were a source of a ton of feedback.”
The Gardners grew up in town and attended Lynnfield schools. Bill graduated from Lynnfield High School in 1997 and Amanda graduated in 1998. The couple has four children.
Bill has been involved in the video game business for many years and used to pitch video game proposals to Nintendo when he was 10. After graduating from Emerson College, he worked as an intern at Mostow/Lieberman, the production company who created the film “U-571.” He moved back to Massachusetts to live closer to his family and work in the video game industry.
After moving back to town, Bill worked at a GameStop store when he met Irrational Games co-founder Ken Levine. Bill’s knowledge of video games impressed Levine, who in turn asked him to join Irrational Games’ team as a quality assurance specialist.
While working for Irrational Games, Bill served as the design director for 2007’s BioShock and 2012’s BioShock Infinite. After Irrational Games shut its doors, the Gardners started The Deep End Games. The company includes a number of well-known video game developers who previously worked on acclaimed video games BioShock Infinite, BioShock, Rock Band and Dead Space.
Bill said his and Amanda’s families enabled The Deep End Games to finally release Perception.
“Aside from our backers and the tremendous support we’ve had from folks in town, Perception really was a family effort,” said Bill. “I seriously could not have made this game if not for the amazing support network I have. Between my parents helping with the kids and my mother-in-law keeping us sane, putting in Herculean efforts to keep the household running and afloat, to my brother-in-law testing the game, and my brother coming up with the name of the company, and my sister helping edit audio. This game could not have happened otherwise. I plan on thanking everyone individually.”
Amanda concurred with Bill’s point of view.
“We couldn’t possibly have done this without the support from our families,” said Amanda. “We have four children, two of whom are babies. So helping hands, sitters, food, everything was appreciated! It was a long and crazy development, but our families really held us together.”
Bill said, “The person I owe the most to is my amazing wife.”
“Amanda was willing to take a chance on starting The Deep End Games together and to help me design, write, produce and create nearly every part of the game,” said Bill. “Working with her has been one of the most fulfilling professional and artistically rewarding experiences of my career.”
In addition to Perception being “built by family,” Bill said the game is “actually about my family as well.”
“Now that the game has been released, I can say that there are some key parts of local history that play a key role in the game’s story,” said Bill. “Without spoiling too much, the game takes place up in Gloucester, but that’s partly to throw people off of the real heart of the narrative, which is Salem.”
While Bill said The Deep End Games is “primarily focused on updates for Perception and bringing it to the Switch,” he said the company has “begun talks and initial designs” for a future project.
“While I am not currently interested in becoming some beast of a development house, our next game is looking considerably more ambitious,” said Bill. “While Perception was focused on telling a groundbreaking story with amazing atmosphere, what we have up our sleeve is meant to be a more evergreen approach with more mass appeal. It’s going to turn heads for sure.”
If residents are interested in video game development, they can reach out to Bill at bill@thedeependgames.com.
“We’d love to hear from folks,” said Bill. “Got questions about the game or the industry? Email us! Want to learn more about how games are made? Tweet at us! Seriously, we love interacting with gamers and people interested in games in any capacity. I landed my first job in the industry when industry legend, Ken Levine, came into the GameStop I worked at and I was eventually able to convince him to give me a shot. I always try to pay it forward.”
