Papyrus Designers Leave, Form ‘Blue Fang’ Studio Making Non-Racing Games

A couple of years after it’s previous exodus, Papyrus have lost another couple of big names. Adam Levesque and John Wheeler were heavily involved with NASCAR Racing, NASCAR Racing 2 and Grand Prix Legends.

The good news is that they say it’s nothing to do with Papyrus or Sierra this time. They just wanted to go make their own games.

Text from GameCenter:

Adam Levesque and John Wheeler are out to prove you can indeed change horses midstream without getting soaked. Why else would this pair of car race specialists leave the relative sanctity of Papyrus Design Group–a company in which they were both big wheels, so to speak–for the uncertainty of their own development house? More to the point, just what the heck are two die-hard racers doing building a (gasp) role-playing game?

“We’re ready for it and feel quite capable of pulling it off,” Levesque said.

Levesque and Wheeler’s past achievements certainly speak for themselves. As producer and designer of the revered NASCAR Racing and NASCAR Racing 2, and as executive producer of the highly anticipated Grand Prix Legends, Levesque’s name should be familiar to serious PC motorists. Wheeler, who served as technical lead and programmer supervisor for all three games, is one of the key reasons Papyrus is arguably the foremost race simulation developer in PC gaming.

“The reasons for leaving (Papyrus) were completely personal and had nothing at all to do with anything happening at Papyrus,” said Levesque, who left his post in March of this year. “My last year, as the general manager, was a great learning experience. But I was getting farther and farther away from actually ‘making’ great games. I really wanted to get back into design and the more creative aspects of making games as opposed to upper management.”

Now, with their heady Papyrus days behind them, Levesque and Wheeler have founded the Boston-based Blue Fang Games and are ready to start a whole new winning streak. But really, Adam, a role-playing game?

“Well, I’ve been playing games for a long time and pretty much buy every game that comes out. Electronics Boutique loves me,” said Levesque. “Seriously, though, role playing has always been a passion of mine, from the first edition of AD&D; to Rolemaster, the system I play now.”

Though details on the as-yet-untitled project are extremely sketchy at this point, Blue Fang does admit the game will be a “new style” of role playing. According to Levesque, “It’s really a cross between strategy and role playing. We actually worked on the game for a few months at Papyrus. But Papyrus decided it was best to focus solely on racing games, which was the right decision at the time.” One thing is certain: Blue Fang’s first game definitely won’t involve automobiles.

Blue Fang’s initial effort will debut sometime in the year 2000. In the meantime, check Blue Fang’s site for the latest developments.