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There are a lot of Texan stereotypes that came to mind during our visit to the region, but the most striking event took place on the first morning of our stay. It snowed. It almost never snows in Texas, and though the state became gripped with a fear of transport chaos (ring any bells?), it was a signal to throw away whatever preconceptions we had. Because Texas is more than the Lone Star state and it’s more than the home of id Software in Dallas (though the studio behind Doom remains an important part), and more than the home of Origin in Austin (though it is sadly missed).
Texas is the home of a new generation of developers, from an astonishingly vibrant indie scene forged by new stars such as Newtoy, Twisted Pixel and Semi Secret Software, to the huge strides being made by more established companies such as Arkane Studios and Sony Online Entertainment. Always the home state of companies who do their own thing – look at the history of 3D Realms or Gathering Of Developers, which admittedly took things to extremes – companies such as Total Immersion and Trion World Network keep that spirit alive by charting new paths in MMOGs and serious games.
In fact, Texas is like those snowflakes that surprised us so much on our first morning – it reveals more and more the closer you get.