So, Working Designs is dead. After 19 years and a ton of memorable, quirky games, the indie publisher has had to shut its doors. While the reasons for this have been debated to death, I'm not going to go over them for the thousandth time. I'm here to remember a publisher that had a clear vision of what it wanted to be based on the staff's personal taste rather than the latest marketing trends, and to explain why, in a world where Atlus and Nippon Ichi are going strong, we're poorer for having lost Working Designs.
Back in the days of NES vs. Genesis, there was a third platform called the TurboGrafx. Though it never rivaled the big two hardware manufacturers for user base, it was the very first system to allow games on the amazing new CD-ROM format thanks to the TG-CD add-on. Additionally, the TurboGrafx got to be the launch pad for Working Designs, with Parasol Stars being the first game the company ever released. Next up was the action/RPG, Cadash, followed quickly by their first-ever CD-ROM game (and first traditional RPG) Cosmic Fantasy 2. In the years that follow, games like these will be what WD specializes in: action RPG, classic RPG, and strategy/RPG, with the occasional shooter to keep things interesting. Why these kinds of games? Because they're what Victor Ireland, outspoken company president, likes to play.
That's a big part of what gave Working Designs its charm. While "Vic" was the only voice of the company despite the number of people who worked there over the years, he'd happily chat with fans on Usenet and in the WD forums. Not always politely, depending on the circumstances, but available as a person. Very few gaming companies have such a high-ranking employee talking with the fan base, dealing with complaints, and in general acting like just another gaming enthusiast, but WD managed it. There were some mixed results of course, this being the internet and all, but for the most part this gave the company the feeling of something fans could relate to on a personal basis.
And now it's gone, and what have we lost? A company that pioneered deluxe packaging, not to mention deluxe presell swag. A game or two a year that we'll never get to play now that the people willing to fight to bring them to the U.S. are disbanded. Translations that, while sometimes a bit fast and loose for their own good, were almost typo-free while being full of life and energy. A company that couldn't keep a release date to save its life.
Working Designs meant a lot of things to a lot of fans. What it means to me is former employer, though *understatement alert!* it wasn't my most successful job ever. Seeing that first paycheck with Working Designs' name on it gave me a thrill no other job has managed. It may not have been the greatest four months of my life but I'm still proud of the work I did on Arc the Lad, and take more satisfaction from having my name in the Arc III credits than I care to admit. My stuffed Nall sits above me as I type as does the stuffed Goemon, and the pinball I swiped out of the Star Trek: Next Generation machine the day I was "let go" has somehow become a prized possession. I've got Lunar, Lunar 2, Arc the Lad, Elemental Gearbolt, Thunder Force V, Growlanser Deluxe, and many, many more to remind me of a place that, no matter our history, gamed the same way I still do today.
Goodbye, Working Designs. Though you finally met a delay that wasn't temporary, your good games will live forever.
··· James Cunningham
Sources:
Q&A: Victor Ireland on the end of Working Designs
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6141225.html
Interview with Victor Ireland
http://www.gamesarefun.com/features/interviewvic.php
Interview with Working Designs' President, Victor Ireland
http://www.psxextreme.com/scripts/misc/misc.asp?MiscID=28
E3 1998 – Working Designs Interview
http://www.rpgfan.com/features/vicinterview98/index.html
