Christian Whitehead, the Australian developer who is quite literally responsible for creating the best Sonic game in the last 10 years (Sonic Mania) has today announced the creation of his brand new studio.
It’s called Evening Star and it will be based in Los Angeles with operations in Melbourne and London. Their company mission is to design fresh and fun games which will stand the test of time.
You can read a little about each of the founding members below:
Dave Padilla
CEO and Producer
As a veteran producer with over 16 years of experience in the interactive entertainment industry, Dave has played a critical role in successfully shipping numerous award-winning projects for major game studios and Fortune 500 companies. In his new capacity as a founding member at Evening Star, Dave will be utilizing the invaluable experience he gained from his years as a CEO to spearhead the creation of a new category of exciting games, while forging strategic relationships with future partners.
Christian Whitehead
Creative Director and Lead Engine Architect
Best known for his work on the Sonic brand, on such titles as Sonic Mania Plus™, Christian joins Evening Star’s team as Creative Director. He leads the creative vision for Evening Star’s games, providing a wide breadth of experience covering programming, art and design. The Retro Engine, which made Sonic Mania™ possible, has evolved into the Star Engine. It is now Evening Star’s primary game engine, for which Christian continues to serve as the Lead Engine Architect.
Tom Fry
Art Director
Tom has spent a decade as an Art Director in games development, serving a key role in devising and shipping multiple titles for console and mobile. He commands a signature sense of style, striving for flair and personality in everything he draws and animates. As a leader, he has overseen productions wielding various approaches, from pixel art to 3D, and deeply understands the balance between vision and execution.
Hunter Bridges
Technical and Audio Director
Hunter is a dual programming and audio expert, joining Evening Star as Technical Director and Audio Director. Having come from a wide-ranging career in software development, he is an innovator who adapts to changing technologies, automates complex workflows and works effectively with distributed teams. Hunter’s knowledge and education in music and sound design also grant him the understanding necessary to oversee the creation and implementation of world-class audio for Evening Star’s games.
Brad Flick
Design Director
With over a decade of experience working on award-winning projects in the entertainment industry, Brad now brings his talent and perspective to Evening Star as Design Director. He has a keen interest in video game history, equipping him with a traditional design sense focused on fun. While his sensibilities are formed from a familiarity with the history of game design, they are balanced by a practical, modern approach.
