Earlier this week, some coworkers and I piled into a couple of cars and drove out to Ann Arbor for a showcase of games created by students from the University of Michigan (UM) and Eastern Michigan University (EMU). They throw this showcase twice a year at the end of their semesters and it’s a fun way to meet people who are passionate about games and all of the work that goes into making them. I went last December and had a fantastic time, so I was excited to get to go again. ...
It feels like the idea of going to Mars has been in the minds of humankind for a very long time. We often fantasize about colonizing the Red Planet in Sci-Fi shows or movies or wonder ‘what would it look like?’ if we were to create a game that set up an offworld operation there, like we do in Offworld Trading Company . Every day, it seems like we inch closer and closer to a reality. We’ve had quite a few unmanned missions to Mars - Opportunity, Curiosity, Pers...
We love pie here at Stardock. And also - perhaps irrationally so - have a reverence for the number pi, too. We’re well-rounded in our interests! …if you think that’s it for pie puns, I’m sorry to tell you that’s a half-baked idea. There’s plenty more where that came from, and I’m just getting warmed up. Sorry, let’s move on! When it comes to pi, I could go on forever and ever and... AHEM. Earlier this week on 3/14, we held our an...
We knew that when we announced Sins of a Solar Empire II that people were going to be excited. When we launched the Technical Preview back in November, there was one question everyone was asking right from the onset: when would we add multiplayer? Our multiplayer update came out of opt-in on February 21st and since then has been widely enjoyed by everyone who has played. We know how fun it is to be able to play with your friends - and we also know how long a good game of Sins can go when o...
Need a splash of color in your day? Don't worry, we've got you covered with some brand-new wallpapers for your desktop - one for every day of the week! Click on any of the images below to go to WinCustomize.com and download them for yourself. These vibrant backgrounds for your Windows PC will help create a unique experience any time you log in. I like to change my wallpapers pretty often to suit my moods and interests, but it's really nice to lean into more abstract imagery and let the flow...
If you’ve lived in a specific place for most or all of your life, it’s easy to take certain local traditions for granted. I admit that even now, as many years as I’ve lived, it’s easy to forget that not every experience that I have here in Michigan is an experience that exists elsewhere. Just about everyone is familiar with Mardi Gras and the wild celebrations associated with it down in good ol’ New Orleans, but here in Metro Detroit many of us call the ...
We’re all familiar with the idea of “comfort food,” right? For some people, that means a heaping plate full of homemade southern fried chicken, while for others it might be something as simple as tomato soup out of a can with some grilled cheese. Alternatively, some might not find food to be a comfort at all and may find some peace in other things. I think “comfort activities” covers the concept fairly well as a blanket term. A comfort activity could be r...
I spend a lot of time staring off into space. To clarify, I don’t mean that literally - I don’t have a super-powered Webb Telescope, you know - but these pockets of deep thought are meant to lead to some creative thoughts and interesting answers to odd questions. While sometimes it’s a miss, in most cases I’m able to light on an idea and run with it. When I write fiction for fun, I tend to focus more on themes that fall within the high fantasy genre...
The storied legacy of Sins of a Solar Empire began way back on October 10th, 2006 - announcement day! This was long before my time at Stardock - or before I’d even heard of it, for that matter - but fortunately for me, our forums hold a great deal of history that’s just a few search queries away. From Brad’s welcome post: “Stardock Entertainment, the creators of Galactic Civilizations, and Ironclad Games which includes developers from Homeworld: Cataclysm, have...
I’ve worked at Stardock long enough now that when I think about the possibility of domineering robot overlords, this is the face I see: A screenshot of the Yor from Galactic Civilizations III. To be fair, there are plenty of other possibilities - all equally as unnerving - but let’s talk about the Yor , here. Unfamiliar with this synthetic race of murderous machines from the Galactic Civilizations series ? To be fair to them, they don’t really consider thei...
Space has always fascinated me. I admit that it doesn’t dominate my conscious thoughts as it does for many other enthusiasts, but I think it’s fairly impossible to look at images from telescopes like James Webb and be anything but at least a little curious about what’s out there. For many of us at Stardock and for our partners at other studios, the interest in space runs deep and fuels our passion for the games we create. Offworld Trading Company has been...
The holidays are in full swing here at Stardock, and we’ve had ourselves quite the busy week! Although most of us are local to Michigan, some of our colleagues work remotely with us from elsewhere. For the last couple of years, Stardock has made sure to fly them out for the festivities so that we can spend some time with them in person, and believe me we made the most of it this year! We kicked our week off with one of our patented game nights in the studio’s cafe. We wa...
I love soup. I know that seems like a strange blanket statement to make, but it’s true: nothing is as comforting as a warm bowl of soup (or chili) in your hands on a cold day. I’m the person who sticks her head out the door when the weather dips below 50 degrees and yells “SOUP SEASON!” out into the world. Just ask my neighbors. They’re witnesses. Anyway. Traditionally, we have done chili cook-offs here at Stardock, but we decided to cha...
We were lucky to have had a pretty mild October here in Michigan, but let me tell you: the chill of November has descended upon us with a vengeance. It may be cold as #$@! outside, but my insides are warm and fuzzy with gratitude for the great year we’ve had here at Stardock. Sappy? Yes, absolutely. But that’s pretty on brand for me, so you can deal with it. This year marked more of a return to “normal” with several in-person events and opportunities to...
I worked in schools for a very long time before I came to Stardock. As a result, there are certain habits and mentalities that I have carried over with me throughout the years that just haven’t gone away - in this case, an always-full candy dish at my desk. The dish has gotten bigger over the years, and more accessible. I definitely wasn’t crazy enough to leave candy in a bowl out in the open around elementary school kids! Truth be told, though, leaving it out around the...