Six months ago I wrote about n-Space “hitting the wall.” In October of last year, a perfect storm of circumstances forced me to do the unthinkable – layoff the entire staff after almost 16 years in business. Things have changed a lot since then and it’s well past time for an update…

n-Space is still very much alive.

The week after the layoff many of us were back in the office, putting the pieces back together and finalizing deals to rebuild the company. We now have 5 titles in development – three on 3DS, one DS and one for 360 Kinect. We have rehired as many previous employees as possible, and picked up several new ones as well. Our total headcount now almost 60 and climbing, and we’re all very excited to share with you what we’ve been working on. Look for more on that front in the run-up to E3.

None of this would have been possible without the hard work and sacrifice of our staff who have, through it all, showed great strength and done amazing work. Coming back from the dead is hard to do and it left n-Space somewhat fragile, but with our reputation and capabilities intact. Later this year I intend to roll out plans for employee profit sharing and stock options, among other new benefits. Until then, irreverent t-shirts, carmel apple lollipops and an upcoming retreat are how I show my thanks for their hard work and undying support.

Disappointingly, but not too surprisingly, our recovery has received no significant coverage by the local or game media. It’s funny how quickly bad news spreads, especially in this internet age, and how many ignorant, hateful people rushed to dance on our grave that day. Sour grapes? You bet. Thanks to our fans, friends and family that have supported us through this challenge.

The industry seems to have turned the corner. <Knock On Wood>

Both DICE and GDC were very good conferences from a business development point of view. n-Space attends these shows to meet with potential partners, pitch concepts and discuss their upcoming development needs. We had nearly such 20 meetings at GDC alone, with a variety of publishers. All were anxious to place products on console, handheld, web and mobile platforms. This is a welcome change from the last two years, when meetings felt more like obligations than opportunities.

I believe that established independent developers like n-Space who have managed to survive the recent bloodbath are set to flourish. It’s not a return to normal, but establishing a new normal as the industry has fundamentally changed. Here are a few predictions / observations:

The job market in the game industry is flooded with entry level talent.

As part of our hiring efforts, n-Space hosted a space in the GDC career pavilion this year – a first for us. It was a positive experience and worth it for PR and Good Will alone. Jen, Cheryl and Erica worked the booth for three long days and kept smiling throughout it. They met a lot of great people, collected some strong resumes, gave out n-Space t-shirts and carmel apple lollipops.

The overwhelming majority of candidates were entry level. Thanks to a recent surge in the number of schools selling the dream of a job in game development, there are a tremendous number of kids looking for a start in this challenging industry. I’m afraid this will end badly for many of them, who are often poorly prepared by opportunistic programs and are competing with many other experienced candidates affected by rounds of recent layoffs around the world.

If you are in this group, you better know your craft and be prepared to work very, very hard to make yourself stand out and get noticed. We’ll do a separate blog post on that topic very soon.

That’s all for now. Sorry for the long-winded post, but I have a lot on my mind after 6 months of silence. Look for more activity here from now on, with posts from myself and other n-Space staff.

Thanks for your interest in n-Space.