Foundation 9 Pledges New Quality Initiatives

Independent developer collective Foundation 9 has announced an initiative to increase focus on quality standards at all of its studios, alongside the goal of raising service levels for its publishers. Through the initiative, spearheaded by Foundation 9 chief creative officer Richard Hare, the company will implement a formalized system for the evaluation and creative development of original game concepts. Foundation 9 will expand its centralized consumer testing and QA department, revamp its internal product review framework, and foster regular knowledge-sharing forums among its studios to establish organizational best practices. Along with a number of executive changes and promotions, the company recently announced it had formed a new group, headed by Jack Brummet in the role of quality assurance VP, "focused solely on evaluating and raising the quality of F9E's games." Foundation 9 says it developed more than 60 titles in 2007 for major publishers, and adds it's currently at work on more than 20 projects among all of its studios. Said CCO Hare, "Our focus, first and foremost, will be ensuring the games we make for our publishers are top-notch. But we also want to foster creative experimentation and self-expression in our talented employees by giving them a venue to pitch and develop their ideas."