ABOUT US
THE EXPOSITORY CUTSCENE OF WEBPAGES
We are Wraith Games, the award-winning interactive media artists’ collective (read: worker-owned indie game studio) behind the block-crunching puzzle game, Collapsus!
Founded in 2005, Wraith started as a few friends and an idea: "Hey, let's make a game." Through the years, while our lineup has shifted around a bit, Wraith has grown into a close-knit group of skilled game developers with a common passion for excellence, love of play, and razor-sharp focus on accessibility.
We set out to make games that inspire players to challenge themselves, think outside of the box, and most importantly... have fun!
OUR PHILOSOPHY
THE PILLARS OF WRAITH
LIFTING THE STANDARD
We are anti-crunch and pro-worker, first and foremost. The games industry can always do better by the people that keep it moving.
GAMES FOR EVERYONE
We believe that everyone should be able to have fun! We strive to make diverse, accessible games for all players.
GREEN IS GOLD
We want to do our part for the environment; Mother Earth only has one life! That's why Wraith Games operates as an entirely paperless company.
CROSS PLATFORM
We want you to be able to play our games. We release our games on as many platforms as we can.
INDEPENDENT. REALLY.
We've turned down more offers than we can count for not meshing with our belief that gaming is for everyone, regardless of background. We are not for sale.
OPEN SOURCE
We work within, and release content for, open-source programs and platforms as much as we can.
MEET THE TEAM
THE MINDS BEHIND THE EYES
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & LEAD DESIGNER
JAY KIDD
THEY/THEM
ART DIRECTOR & ANIMATOR
CHRIS QUAY
HE/THEY
LEAD PROGRAMMER
LUCAS LACER
HE/THEY
GAME DESIGNER & QA TESTING
ADAM BROWN
HE/HIM
LOCALIZATION & QA TESTING
KRISTY
IWEMA-KIDD
SHE/THEY
BUSINESS DIRECTOR
THORNE PENN
HE/HIM
MUSICIAN & SOUND DESIGNER
GLENN DUBOIS
HE/HIM
VIDEO PRODUCTION & BRAND MANAGER
STEVIE DORGAN
SHE/THEY
TABLETOP GAME DESIGNER
ANTHONY DONNELLY
HE/HIM
TIMELINE
DELINEATED, TIMELY
THE HOBBYIST YEARS
Wraith created many small, unpolished games (now dubbed the “50 Terrible Prototypes”), published for free online. Two of these games were the prototypes for “Collapsus” and “Fly Guy”, while the other 48 have been relegated to the mists of time.
GETTING SERIOUS
Wraith switched gears and decided to take on development as a business, rather than just a hobby. Wraith underwent a major rebranding, reorganized as employee-owned, began operating out of our first studio space, “Studio 1.0”, and focused even harder on Collapsus.
WRAITH GAMES IS BORN
Originally named “Mind's Eye Games”, Wraith was founded by fresh-faced high school student Jay Kidd, who just wanted to make fun games with their friends. Inspired by a monster in Dungeons & Dragons, the studio name was soon changed to the far snappier “Wraith Games".
START YOUR ENGINES
Wraith began work on the prototype that became the gravity-defying first-person puzzler, “Physix”, which was set to be published by GamePro Labs (the publishing arm of GamePro Magazine) before they shuttered in 2011. At this time, we also received both the Fly Guy and Collapsus projects. Fly Guy would see an online release, while Collapsus became the most ambitious project to date!
LIFTOFF
Wraith worked non-stop on Collapsus while earning even more awards, attracting public attention at IndieMEGABOOTH and the SAAM Arcade at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, all while leaving Studio 1.0 behind and going remote.
PICKING UP SPEED
Members of the team made press appearances on places like NPR, gave industry talks on accessibility, created the physical arcade game “Radarkanoid”, and officially became Nintendo, Sony, & Microsoft developers. Collapsus was approved on Steam Greenlight and begins racking up awards for innovative play and accessibility.
ONWARD AND UPWARD
Coming out of the global pandemic, Wraith began going back to events, opened Collapsus up for Early Access, moved into the temporary Studio 2.0, and then the fully-equipped Studio 3.0! We even started pre-production on our next game, Caveworm! We don't know exactly what the future holds, but we do know that Wraith Games is ready for anything!
THE WRAITH THEORY
THE BEST WAY TO DO WHAT WE DO
Running opposite to many standard American business practices, Wraith has looked heavily into alternative management styles and has determined that treating team members with respect and giving them flexibility ensures the best games possible.
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WORKER OWNED
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Instead of the traditional employer/employee dynamic, Wraith Games operates through flat management. All company decisions are voted on democratically by workers who are not employed by the company, but are instead co-owners with equal stake in the business. On a project-by-project basis, teams form to handle specific goals based on mutual interest. Leadership inside these teams shift and evolve continually to meet changing demands.
You can read more about our worker-ownership in our Worker Collective Primer HERE
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24 HOUR WORK WEEK
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Taking inspiration from the French standard of a 4 day work week and the Swedish standard of a 6 hour work day, team members can work on their own time wherever they please to discover the schedule best fitting them and their style. This keeps team members from feeling bogged down by the imperfect, unoptimized 9-5 office schedule. This also eliminates the possibilities of overtime and "crunch time", a practice that seriously harms developers.
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UNLIMITED PTO
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This structure conveys trust in team members, supports their lives and interests, and reduces the possibility of burnout. By creating one pool of unlimited days off, there's less stress attached to doctor/vet visits, the freedom to take mental health days and maternity/paternity/adoption leave, the ability to pursue hobbies, continuing education, or other ventures. In this type of structure, team members tend to be more active, engaged and productive than traditional limited paid leave models.