Disney's Avalanche

Making Hannah Montana games and proud of it.

If you're an adult gamer, where's the pleasure in playing a Hannah Montana game? Or making one, for that matter? "We're still real gamers," says Todd Dewsnup, lead artist at Disney's Avalanche Studio. "It's still a challenge to make these games. Lots of parents want games their kids can play. The goal is to make a game that kids like that adults won't hate. Just like the movies many of them are based on."

"Still, when we're playing Team Fortress 2 against some other video game developer, and they find out we're Disney, I usually hear, 'You're Disney? We'll kill you even more because you're Disney!' The thought of losing to us must be embarrassing, I guess."

Working at Avalanche manages to be a unique experience even though the work and the rules are the same as those you'd find elsewhere in the industry. The difference is that while other companies win press for innovation, personalities and daring development, Avalanche achieves stability without these things. "Independent developers have to sing for their supper," producer Jon Day notes. "Here, we're not making any milestones, but there's a certain sense of comfort in knowing that we're getting a paycheque."

Dewsnup agrees. "I used to work for a company like that. We wondered sometimes whether we'd get paid, and our fears started coming true. It was going under, and many had moved to Avalanche. I was able to transfer to Avalanche because of recommendations from my friends and it's different here, but I haven't looked back." The games are different to the ones the developers play for fun, but that doesn't discourage them. "It's no different here than anywhere else," says Dewsnup. "I could make the most brilliant piece of art in the world, and it may end up being trashed the next day."


Artist Todd Dewsnup makes games in his action-figure storage room.

"You have to have a thick skin here, there's no room for egos, just like anywhere else in the industry," adds Day. For Day, the point of pride isn't in the projects but in the actual work: "the fact stuff gets done on time, under budget, and with the team still happy. When that happens, that's my point of pride. And anyway, people who are not in the industry are still envious. We make games. That's cooler than not making games."

Part of Avalanche's unique status is its location. It's not in California, Washington, Austin or Boston. It's in Salt Lake City, a quiet town with a rich and highly conservative tradition. Even though it's considered a hot location by tech companies, even that sector of business in Utah is viewed through a more traditional lens. Videogame development is not traditional business, which is perhaps why so much of it is done in California. But at Avalanche, it's different; they have to be as innovative and creative as possible while still working under traditional business rules.

"When I tell people I meet that I work for Disney, they're always astonished there's an office here," says Dewsnup. Surprising, considering Avalanche occupies over three floors of a large, unlabelled office building on the corner of two high-traffic streets, quietly blending in with the city.

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