The Immeasurable Damage COVID did to the Runaway Mage Project
By Xander Townsend | Misfit Media Editor
At the start of 2020, I received Government funding to materialise my dream game project Runaway Mage. I have spoken a few times about Runaway Mage, but for those who are new, it is a single-player VR experience designed to help those who suffer from anxiety and mental illness with a focus is on exploration, immersion, and relaxation.
(Runaway Mage Demo for GDC, March 2020)
In March of 2020, I was due to bring the Runaway Mage demo which we had been working on tirelessly, and attend the biggest game dev conference in the world, GDC. 3 days before I was to get on a plane and make my way to San Francisco, international borders were being closed with the COVID-19 pandemic starting to cause serious fear all across the world.
Due to COVID, I lost every conference I had planned to showcase Runaway Mage at, I lost international potential, I lost all my devs to full time large corporation work, I lost all potential of clinical trials, you certainly couldn't put a headset on anyone in public, and you definitely couldn't run any playtests. All industry events were put on pause, all VR clinical trials were halted, and the game development industry became extremely low priority in terms of support. Contract developers started disappearing as they were being acquired by massive companies.
The Runaway Mage game, with no developers and no public showcase, began to dissolve into the unnoticed. After listing a development job position for over a year, I started to give up hope and figured my dream would dissipate into nothing. I cannot begin to describe the amount of destruction this pandemic has done to my career, my perspective on the games industry, and my dream game.
Before COVID, the Runaway Mage game was starting to build some traction, with connections I had made at MIT in Boston showing serious interest. The game conferences that happen around the world made for the perfect timelines to give Runaway Mage the international traction it deserved. This was my shot to show industry that I could create VR games that made a difference and tried something different and unique. I was desperate to show people the potential VR and psychology had within the context of an artists imagination. I ended up letting down all those who helped me and believed in me.
After a whole year of constant setbacks and economic destruction, we recently were able to hire a dev to get Runaway Mage to the finish line. We are doing our very best and hope to give you all some amazing game content. But please, before you think that the destruction of the COVID-19 pandemic is over as businesses are allowed to re-open and day-to-day life is becoming more like it was before, it hasn't even begun. Runaway Mage was condemned after the first case of COVID-19, and was buried by those who decided to allow our economy to suffer.