New Zealand indie studio Dinosaur Polo Club (Mini Motorways) has made an unusual announcement: publicly canceling a game in development. The refreshingly honest update provides insightful details, and even screenshots and concept art. The good news: nobody was laid off as a result.
Ultimately, it came down to the size and scope of the project.
The game’s working title was Magic School, where players would manage a school for young spellcasters in a fantasy world. Not exactly an original idea, but the minimalist style and oil painting art looks great in the released screenshots.
“The Magic School team was an absolutely incredible group of people. Everybody was so inspiring and driven throughout the project’s life, and it was a joy to collaborate with such talented folks,” said Zala Habib, designer.
As the concept of the game grew, the indie studio determined their resources were too limited.
“Ultimately, we simply did not see a path forward for Magic School. However, we still wanted to share the amazing work the team had produced over the course of prototyping,” said Amie Wolken, CEO. “So much great game development never sees the light of day because studios are often shy about sharing when things don’t go as planned. Instead, we are choosing to celebrate what we learned along the way and the incredible work from our team.”
Dinosaur Polo Club confirmed working on a third title in the Mini series as well as “the development of an entirely new monolithic game.”
