NR, utd.

Description

NR, utd began as a single developer with a dream of a single student within UAT (University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, AZ USA). As a single person enrolled in college, efficiency and minimal expenses were a neccessity to grow the company. As the company grew to develop a team for Crystalline Cauldron, the need to work as a team and work within minimal resources provided a major learning experience. As the company continued to grow, it began to discover it's unique niche and voice in the game industry. As it continues to further specialize in its niche and master the call of its voice, NR, utd. will set a path to help fulfill a long-term strategy of success.

History

Beginning with F.L.I.M.

NR, utd. began a humble, minimal beginning back in 2003 with a single person developing a game by himself. Working just within his resources as a single developer who is also a full-time student working a full-time job. Using the resources of Multimedia Fusion, The Adventures of F.L.I.M. was completed within approximately eight months.

Preparing the Cauldron

The fall semester of 2003 in University of Advancing Technology (Tempe, AZ) led to NR, utd. beginning the journey of it's first team project. This project would become Crystalline Cauldron, a real-time card battle battleground. Crystalline Cauldron continued on for four semesters before moving onto it's next program.

Developing an Isometric Point of View

Through the process of Crystalline Cauldron becoming put to rest, NR, utd. began the process of exploring isometric rendering with the usage of 2D artwork to create a 3D effect. Several prototypes were developed with the use of the process. Tinker Time, one of the prototypes that was originally created for a map making purpose, was released from the research and development phase. A major project began to take shape but quickly was put to into the back burner when the scope grew beyond the means and resources that NR, utd. had available at the time.

Rhythmic Revolution

An assessment of the current resources that NR, utd. showed a strength of music and programming but a weakened set of art assets and funds. This led NR, utd. to explore the genre of rhythmically interactive entertainment. This began the journey of Mantis Shuffle. Through the development cycle, the developer landscape has changed in unprecedented ways. The Mantis Shuffle saw the rise and fall of AAA rhythmically interactive entertainment, the burial of DirectX, the coming of XNA, the rise of indie developers, and the emergence of smartphone technology. A focus on the company's strength continued an uphill struggle to match with the changing landscape of the developer world.

Rebirth of New Beginnings

Through the massive changes that have changed during the Mantis Shuffle development cycle, NR, utd. took the time to embark on a renaissance to reacquaint the company with the new terrain and the faster development cycles. Focused on a new image and a signature cast of the elemental siblings, NR, utd. began looking into game jams and exploring development engines while also entering the process of negotiating with investors. Through the process, the company settled it's focus on the Unity engine and began negotiations for a project that did not come to be revealed as investors fell through. The development process did lead to the completion of Summon the Chaos for the GameJolt Chaos competition.

Crowdsourcing Emergence

The unreliable process of investors, time and energy drained, and the lack of nothing to show financially for the process resulted in the perfect timing to explore the rising hero of independent developers, crowdsourcing campaigns. The wanting of a smaller project from the investors to show the team's capabilities was a small, well-crafted idea that felt shimmering for the horizon of crowdsourcing campaigns. The project being brought to life by NR, utd. for their first crowdsourcing is called H-o-H and is using some new talent and life that is brought to the company. But as the bubble on crowdsourcing began to burst and losing of vital team members due to outside obligations, it was time to scale down further and get a fresher start for the new terrain of a post-crowdsourcing world.

Returning to the roots but retaining the experience and cast

The bust of losing the vital artist and composer for H-o-H led NR, utd. to return to it's roots and re-examine everything from the ground up. The game developer atmosphere has changed and evolved greatly since the company began and it was now time and position to start fresh from the beginning. Moving on to Elemensional Rift and keeping the scope down to a point that a single developer can manage was necessary for this new start. Returning to this beginning, however, did not mean letting beloved characters die off into the forgotten abyss. Elemensional Rift is taking some of the most beloved characters and creating a new universe, the NRverse, where NR, utd. shall rise again like a phoenix emerging from the ashes to shine brighter than the brightest sun with the help of the experience but the strengths of freshly grounded beginnings.

The planned future

NR, utd. is a company that always tries to plan several steps and be prepared to prepare it's team with the proper necessities for future development when ready to take on the next project. The long term goal will include further, deeper development of what NR, utd. has defined as the backbone cast that will form the structure of the NRverse. The revisit of former projects are on the agenda for NR, utd. Potential development for a new direction in the rhythmically interactive genre is also another potential task for the company to grow the company with. Another task on the NR, utd. projection is to explore a concept that is only being revealed to be "reality distortion".

Projects

• Crystalline Cauldron
• H-o-H
• Mantis Shuffle
• Summon The Chaos
• The Adventures Of FLIM
• Tinker Time
• Elemensional Rift