Editor’s note: 2011 promises to be a major one for the Research Triangle Park area’s growing videogame industry cluster with Cary-based Epic Games leading the way. Its newest title, “Bullestorm,” hits store shelves on Tuesday. And later this year, “Gears of War 3” will look to build on the more than 10-million copy selling success of the first two franchise hits. WRAL Tech Wire launches a five-part series about Epic and the Triangle game sector today.

Part Two: “Bulletstorm” produced with a woman’s touch. Read here.

CARY, N.C. – Dr. Michael Capps, president of Epic Games, has worked in the Triangle for years. He graduated summa cum laude from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (He also holds master’s degrees in computer science and electrical engineering from the UNC-Chapel Hill and MIT, and a doctorate in computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School.)

Based in Cary, he’s overseen the rise of Epic Games into one of the largest independent game studios in the world today. Just last year, Epic more than doubled the size of its local game studio, where blockbusters like Gears of War and Unreal Tournament are made.

Capps talks about the growth of games in the Triangle, while addressing the controversy surrounding the company’s newest franchise, Bulletstorm, in this exclusive interview.

How have you seen North Carolina game development grow since Epic moved here?

We chose North Carolina to house our headquarters because of the environment, the schools, the airport hub, the cost of living and quality of living — not really even knowing that Red Storm was here right down the street as a premier game developer. And it’s been really cool over the last 10 years watching this area grow, because once you have a certain amount of critical mass, more game developers are attracted. And of course game developers spin off from other game developers and keep growing. So last I heard, we have 18 or 19 game companies here now, and a lot of the best technology in the world is developed right here in the Triangle. So it’s just been really gratifying to be able to be part of that and now be really the southeast hub and one of the biggest hubs in the world for game development.

(Note: RTP is considered the third largest game development hub in the country, based on data gathered by the Wake County Economic Development Commission.)

How has that growth helped your studio grow over the past decade?

When Epic first came to the area, there were 20 of us all kind of packed into a small office. Now there are 150 of us and the governor came a few months ago to come sign a tax bill in our offices. So we’ve completely changed our perspective. I’d like to think we’ve changed the perspective of North Carolina as well, that gaming isn’t just goofy kids having a good time, but it’s a very serious business. Our technology is used for healthcare and architectural walkthroughs and all sorts of applications outside of just shooting people and having fun. And so we’ve spun this large series of businesses in this serious games and technology, and North Carolina’s been really welcoming to that because that’s the kind of jobs they want here.

How has Epic expanded beyond the Triangle?

So at Epic, we’ve always been a core team here in Raleigh for the past 10 years, but before that we were actually distributed all over the world. So it’s part of our DNA to have people collaborating in different countries and time zones working together on a common goal. And so it’s kind of neat, we’ve sort of come back to that part of a lifetime where we have an office in Korea that’s developing technology that Korean game companies need with a Korean sales force talking to the Koreans about their needs. We have one in Japan, we’ve got an office we’re setting up in Europe. And then from a development side, we’ve been able to acquire some fantastic developers, and they’re making games with the Epic label on the front and their label too. People Can Fly is shipping Bulletstorm. We did Shadow Complex, maybe the best game ever — we’ve been told — on Xbox Live Arcade from our friends out at Chair Entertainment. I think it’s been really great to have quality teams fit into our global structure and make products just as well as we were doing before, but with our help to get them noticed on a worldwide scale. So for me, it’s been a great ride, really.

How has Epic been able to stay successful and independent amidst the turbulence of the economy, which has forced the closure of several big game studios recently?

It’s been difficult for independent game companies over the past five or six years. The industry has gone through some turmoil for sure, and I think you’ve seen when the finances have been changing, secondary (used) sales are becoming a bigger impact on your bottom line. A lot of independent studios that were doing well for a while have either had to sell or gone out of business. I hate seeing it, but that’s been the trend. For Epic, we’ve certainly gotten our fair share of offers to sell the company, but we love it just like it is. We have a lot of investment in this company and its culture and the way that people work together, and I’d really rather not change that. Having a game engine business (Unreal Engine 3) honestly helps us smooth out the rough spots. We decided to move Gears of War out an entire year, and that would have been devastating to an independent studio that was living project to project, but we’ve been successful in the past thank goodness, and then we have a technology business that kind of sustains us through those times.

What has Epic learned from franchises like Unreal and Gears of War that has been applied to the new Bulletstorm shooter?

We’ve developed a couple new intellectual properties recently, Bulletstorm is a high octane shooter, Infinity Blade on the iPhone, and then Shadow Complex. And I think for each of those we’ve taken lessons from the other properties we’ve built, Unreal and Gears, trying to build characters that make sense, that have a story line that makes sense, that’s compelling that brings you through the game, and treating it seriously. It’s really easy to build a game and not think about it as a franchise and a property, but just think of it as a video game. And then if you sell 10 million of them, then you start thinking, “Oh geeze, we need to think about action figures.” But it’s too late because you didn’t make a character that could ever be an action figure, right? So after having some success, we sort of approach every project from that perspective of this is going to be a success, we better be ready for it. And I think that puts just a little bit more professionalism into the way we approach a new project. And if you’re thinking you’re going to have a huge success, you’re a lot more likely to have one.

Can you address the violent nature of Bulletstorm that some of the mainstream press has been up in arms about?

Bulletstorm has been definitely getting some attention in the press for being a violent game. It’s got more descriptors on the back of the box in the rating than I think any other video game has. But that’s the whole point. There are descriptors on the back of the box where we say very clearly, “Yeah, there’s alcohol use in this game.” If you don’t want to play a video game with alcohol use or if you don’t want your kids to, you shouldn’t get this game for them. And that’s absolutely fine, right? It’s just like the movie industry, except honestly, we give more detail than the movie industry does. It’s a game for adults. It’s got a big M on the front. It’s a Mature game, but it’s a goofy, silly, 26th century romp while you’re killing space cannibals. That’s what it’s about and it’s a lot of fun. We’ve gotten some criticism from the traditional press that maybe isn’t as informed on video games. We talked about how do we defend ourselves, but we haven’t had to because the gaming press and other game development studios have been standing up for us and saying, “Hey guys, it’s a Mature game. They’ve told you it was, it’s fun as heck, what’s the problem?” And that’s great.

Tuesday: An insider’s look at Bulletstorm.

2011 off to sluggish start for videogame industry. Read the details here.

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