Lounge72 and Pixelsurgeon
Out of context: Reply #14
- Started
- Last post
- 25 Responses
- Arber0
Interesting thread. I'm Jason Arber, co-founder and showrunner of Pixelsurgeon until I recently closed it down. Thought I'd share with you the reasons why it no longer exists.
The primary reason is lack of time. Running Pixelsurgeon was like running a full-time business that made no money. So when myself, Rich (the other co-founder of Pixelsurgeon) and Chris Sayer (the then animation director at Intro) decided to form a new animation and moving image studio called Wyld Stallyons there were simply not enough hours in the day. Compounding this was the fact my wife and I also had a daughter, and as anyone with a kid will tell you, kids soak up all your available time and energy!
Another equally important reason, and one I'm not sure I've publicly disclosed before, is that I was seriously let down by a supplier who was building the new version of Pixelsurgeon that was seriously kick-ass. It had a ton of really cool features. But after months and months, the developer had done virtually nothing, even though I'd paid them (a small amount, admittedly). Seriously pissed off I canned the project. This was about the fifth time a supplier had let me down with a redesign of the site, but the first time I'd actually used a company, and the first time I'd paid someone to do it. The previous attempts were by keen individuals who had volunteered their time, but once the scale and scope of the redesign became apparent, they withdrew their offers. Very frustrating as I had no spare cash to pour into what was essentially a vanity project.
The design had moved on substantially from the link that Mallmus posted above. By mid 2007 the look of the site was completely different and more progressive.
It's a real shame that the new version of Pixelsurgeon never saw the light of day, but with the time commitments of a new child and a new business, I probably would have driven myself crazy trying to run it, so maybe it's for the best...
I really miss Pixelsurgeon. Miss the sense of community, miss the opportunity to interview pretty much whoever took my fancy and I miss the press screenings! It's gratifying to see threads like this still discussing Pixelsurgeon, which shut it's doors almost a year ago, which is like a decade in internet time.
Thanks everyone!