Haden Blackman, former executive producer of LucasArts' Star Wars games, is the new head of 2K's new San-Francisco-based studio, Hangar 13.
Blackman started out as a writer for LucasArts before eventually overseeing the studio's entire Star Wars franchise. His successful ventures in crafting video game and comic book narrative earned him awards from the Writer's Guild of America and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
"It was an easy choice bringing on a talented creative mind and proven leader like Haden Blackman to head our new 2K studio," says Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "Under Blackman's direction, Hangar 13 will lead the charge in creating some of the most memorable AAA experiences of this generation."
The gaming world is left to concoct conspiracy theories as to what is actually going on inside Hangar 13, but Blackman and company are refusing to even hint to what game they're working on.
While Blackman confirms a new game is in the works, he refuses to reveal whether it's a new intellectual property or an iteration on an existing 2K title. What Blackman will reveal is the studio's mantra: every player's story is unique.
"Our ambition is to create next-generation games that allow players to shape their own experiences, from the moment-to-moment gameplay to the long-term impact on the world, characters and narrative," says Blackman. "To realize this goal, we're building proprietary technology and assembling a core team passionate about delivering mature experiences loaded with meaningful choices."
The Hangar 13 head says he felt like they are only scratching the surface of gameplay that is rich in narrative and filled with opportunity to make players feel as if every choice was shaping the story in some way. He says he wants to make players think about how "moment-to-moment" decisions impact the world on the micro and macro levels.
"So that's the biggest thing for me; making sure we get back to the spirit of why I got into games in the first place, which is this idea that it's an interactive medium and I could be a co-author of the experience in some way," says Blackman.
Rod Fergusson, who worked on Gears of War and 2K's BioShock Infinite, announced in September 2013 that he was going to work for a new 2K studio. When Blackman was recently asked if Hangar 13 is the new studio that Fergusson spoke of in 2013, the former LucasArts executive would neither confirm or deny those suspicions.
Some prior 2K titles include Borderlands and Civilization V.
